Comparing Performance Across Time Periods

Comparing Performance Across Time Periods

Keeping track of your website's performance is crucial, but understanding how your changes affect it is even more important. PerfBee's Performance Boost product includes the Period Comparison feature, allowing you to easily compare your website's performance scores across different time frames.

What is Period Comparison?

Period Comparison lets you compare average performance scores between two specific date ranges. This helps you quickly assess whether recent changes, such as code optimizations or content updates, have improved or negatively impacted your website's speed and user experience. You can see the score delta (the difference) for each Core Web Vitals category, providing clear insights into your performance trends.

Using Period Comparison

The Period Comparison feature is located within the PerfBee Dashboard, under the Performance Boost tab. You'll find several options to compare your website's performance.

Preset Options

We've made it easy to compare common time periods with pre-set options:

• This Week vs. Last Week: Compare your website's performance this week to the previous week.
• This Month vs. Last Month: Compare your website's performance this month to the previous month.

Custom Date Range

For more specific comparisons, you can use the custom date range selection:

1. Navigate to the Performance Boost tab within the PerfBee Dashboard.
2. Select the "Period Comparison" option.
3. Use the date pickers to choose your desired start and end dates for both comparison periods.
4. Click "Compare" to generate the report.

Reading Score Deltas

The report will display the average performance scores for each period, along with the delta (difference) between them. A positive delta indicates an improvement, while a negative delta indicates a regression. The metrics include LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), and INP (Interaction to Next Paint), providing a comprehensive overview of your website's performance. Focus on the key areas that matter most for your website's user experience.

Use Case: Measuring the Impact of Optimizations

A primary use case for Period Comparison is measuring the impact of optimizations. For example:

1. You implement image compression to reduce LCP.
2. Use Period Comparison to compare the week before the change to the week after.
3. If the LCP score shows a positive delta (improvement), your optimization was successful.
4. If the score regressed, you can troubleshoot the changes or revert them.

By regularly using Period Comparison, you can ensure that your website performance is consistently improving and providing the best possible user experience. For more information, please consult the PerfBee Documentation.