Knowledge Base

Website optimization is one of the keys to success in today's digital world. Fast loading times, user-friendly interfaces, and ranking high in search engines help businesses strengthen their online presence. Google's Lighthouse tool plays an important role in this optimization process. However, the data and recommendations provided by Lighthouse are just a starting point for website optimization. In this article, we will examine in detail the limitations of Lighthouse and what we need for a more comprehensive optimization strategy.

1. What is Lighthouse and How Does it Work?

1.1 Basic Functions of Lighthouse

Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool developed by Google. It is used to improve the quality of web pages (performance, accessibility, SEO, best practices). Lighthouse analyzes the page from different angles and provides improvement suggestions. It is built into Chrome DevTools and can also be run from the command line.

1.2 Lighthouse Metrics and Scoring System

Lighthouse evaluates the performance of your website using various metrics. These metrics are:

• First Contentful Paint (FCP): The time it takes for the browser to render the first piece of content.
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): The time it takes for the page's main content to be rendered.
• First Input Delay (FID): The time elapsed between a user's first interaction with the page and the browser's response to that interaction.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): The unexpected shifting of visual elements on the page.
• Speed Index: A visual measure of how quickly the page loads.
• Time to Interactive (TTI): The time it takes for the page to become fully interactive.

Lighthouse creates an overall performance score by weighting these metrics. The scoring system ranges from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better performance.

1.3 How to Use Lighthouse?

There are several different ways to use Lighthouse:

1. Chrome DevTools: Open DevTools in the Chrome browser (by pressing F12 or right-clicking and clicking "Inspect"). Select the "Lighthouse" tab and click the "Generate Report" button, selecting the categories you want to analyze.
2. Command Line: If Node.js and npm are installed, you can install Lighthouse with the command npm install -g lighthouse. Then, you can analyze a website with the command lighthouse https://www.example.com.
3. Web.dev: You can also generate a Lighthouse report using Google's web.dev/measure tool.

2. Limitations and Shortcomings of Lighthouse

2.1 Only Provides a Snapshot

Lighthouse evaluates your website's performance at a specific moment. This may not fully reflect how your website's performance changes over time or the experiences of different users. For example, the server may be busy when you analyze a page, which could affect the results.

2.2 Does Not Fully Reflect User Experience

Since Lighthouse is an automated tool, it does not fully understand how users interact with your website. User behaviors, page layout, content quality, and similar factors cannot be directly measured by Lighthouse.

2.3 Focuses Only on Technical Optimizations

Lighthouse generally focuses on technical optimizations (e.g., optimizing images, minifying JavaScript). However, factors such as content quality, user interface design, and marketing strategies are also important for the success of a website. These factors are not taken into account by Lighthouse.

2.4 Offers Context-Independent Recommendations

Lighthouse provides general optimization recommendations, but these recommendations may not be suitable for every website. For example, an optimization recommended for an e-commerce site may not be suitable for a blog. Each website has its own unique needs and goals.

2.5 Operates in a Synthetic Test Environment

Lighthouse operates in a synthetic test environment, meaning that real user traffic and device diversity are not simulated. This means that Lighthouse's results may not fully reflect real-world performance. Different devices, browsers, and network conditions can significantly affect website performance.

3. Additional Tools and Techniques to Use in Website Optimization

3.1 Real User Monitoring (RUM)

Real User Monitoring (RUM) allows you to monitor the experiences of real users visiting your website. RUM tools collect loading times, interaction times, errors, and other performance metrics. This data helps you understand your website's real-world performance and prioritize your optimization efforts.

<script>
  (function(e,t){var n=e.amplitude||{_q:[],on:function(){this._q.push([arguments])}};
  function a(e){n._q.push([e])}var i=t.createElement("script");
  i.type="text/javascript";i.async=true;
  i.src="https://cdn.amplitude.com/libs/amplitude-8.17.0-min.gz.js";
  i.onload=function(){if(!e.amplitude.runQueuedFunctions){
  console.log("[Amplitude] Error: Could not run Amplitude queued functions. For more information, see https://developers.amplitude.com/docs/javascript-troubleshooting#troubleshooting-queued-functions");}}
  var s=t.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(i,s);
  e.amplitude=n})(window,document);

  amplitude.init('YOUR_API_KEY');
</script>

Example RUM tools include: New Relic, Datadog, SpeedCurve, Google Analytics (with advanced tracking).

3.2 Server-Side Monitoring

Server-side monitoring allows you to monitor the performance of your web server and databases. This helps you identify slow queries, memory leaks, and other performance issues. Server-side monitoring tools can help you identify and resolve performance bottlenecks on the back end of your website.

Example server-side monitoring tools include: Dynatrace, AppDynamics, Prometheus, Grafana.

3.3 A/B Testing

A/B testing allows you to compare different versions of your website and determine which one performs better. A/B testing can be used to optimize the performance of headings, images, buttons, and other elements. A/B testing helps you make informed decisions based on user behavior.

Example A/B testing tools include: Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize.

3.4 Code Analysis and Profiling

Code analysis and profiling help you identify performance issues in your website's code. Profiling tools show you which parts of your code are spending the most time. This information can help you optimize your code and improve performance.

Example code analysis and profiling tools include: Chrome DevTools Performance tab, Webpack Bundle Analyzer, Lighthouse Treemap.

3.5 Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network that stores your website's static content (images, videos, JavaScript files) on servers around the world. CDNs allow users to access your website faster because content is served from the server closest to the user's location. CDNs can significantly improve your website's loading times.

Example CDN providers include: Cloudflare, Akamai, Amazon CloudFront.

3.6 Image Optimization

Images can significantly impact the performance of websites. Large images slow down loading times and negatively affect the user experience. Optimizing images means reducing file sizes and using appropriate formats. The WebP format provides better compression than JPEG and PNG formats.

Example image optimization tools include: TinyPNG, ImageOptim, Squoosh.

4. SEO Optimization and Lighthouse

4.1 Lighthouse's SEO Audits

Lighthouse offers a series of audits to check if your website is optimized for SEO. These audits include:

• Meta Description: Checks if each page has a meta description.
• Title Tag: Checks if each page has a title tag.
• Mobile Friendliness: Checks if the page displays correctly on mobile devices.
• Valid HTML: Checks if the page has valid HTML.
• Accessibility: Checks if the page is accessible (e.g., images with alt text).

4.2 Lighthouse's Recommendations for SEO Optimization

Lighthouse offers a series of recommendations for SEO optimization. These recommendations include:

• Keyword Research: Identify the keywords your target audience uses and use them in your content.
• Content Optimization: Optimize your content with keywords and make it readable.
• Link Building: Get links from other websites and create internal links on your own website.
• Mobile Optimization: Optimize your website for mobile devices.
• Sitemap: Create a sitemap and submit it to Google.

4.3 Limitations of Lighthouse in SEO Optimization

While Lighthouse is a useful tool for SEO optimization, it has some limitations:

• Focuses Only on Technical SEO: Lighthouse generally focuses on technical SEO and does not consider factors such as content quality and user experience.
• Does Not Analyze Competition: Lighthouse does not analyze your competitors' websites and does not help you gain a competitive advantage.
• Does Not Track Algorithm Changes: Google's search algorithm is constantly changing, and Lighthouse may not always keep up with these changes.

5. Accessibility and Lighthouse

5.1 Lighthouse's Accessibility Audits

Lighthouse offers a series of audits to check the accessibility of your website. These audits include:

• Images with Alt Text: Checks if all images have alt text.
• Color Contrast: Checks if text and background colors have sufficient contrast ratio.
• ARIA Attributes: Checks if ARIA attributes are used correctly.
• Keyboard Accessibility: Checks if the website is fully accessible via keyboard.

5.2 Why is Accessibility Important?

Accessibility ensures that your website can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities. An accessible website helps you reach more users and comply with legal requirements. Additionally, accessibility can also improve SEO.

5.3 Lighthouse's Recommendations for Accessibility Optimization

Lighthouse offers a series of recommendations for accessibility optimization. These recommendations include:

• Use Meaningful Alt Text: Use meaningful alt text that describes the content of the images.
• Provide High Contrast Ratios: Provide sufficient contrast between text and background colors.
• Use ARIA Attributes Correctly: Use ARIA attributes correctly and meaningfully.
• Ensure Keyboard Accessibility: Make sure your website is fully accessible via keyboard.

6. Real-Life Examples and Case Studies

6.1 Case Study 1: E-Commerce Site Performance Optimization

An e-commerce site received low performance scores from Lighthouse. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that large-sized images and unoptimized JavaScript code caused performance problems. The site optimized the images, minified the JavaScript code, and distributed static content using a CDN. As a result, loading times were significantly reduced, and conversion rates increased.

6.2 Case Study 2: Blog Site SEO Optimization

A blog site ranked low in search engines. Lighthouse showed that meta descriptions and title tags were missing. The site added unique meta descriptions and title tags to each page, optimized its content with keywords, and obtained links from other blogs. As a result, search engine rankings increased and traffic increased.

6.3 Real-Life Example: The Importance of Mobile Optimization

Today, a large portion of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. A website that is not optimized for mobile devices negatively affects the user experience and ranks low in search engines. A news site had a website that was not optimized for mobile devices. The site made the website compatible with mobile devices using responsive design and increased the speed of mobile pages using AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). As a result, mobile traffic increased and user satisfaction increased.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

• 7.1 Why Does Lighthouse's Score Keep Changing?
• Lighthouse's score can be affected by network conditions, server load, browser extensions, and other factors. The constantly changing score may mean that your website's performance is unstable. To achieve more stable performance, optimize your server infrastructure, use a CDN, and remove unnecessary JavaScript code.
• 7.2 How Can I Implement the Optimizations Recommended by Lighthouse?
• Lighthouse provides optimization recommendations, but it is your responsibility to implement these recommendations. You may need web development skills and tools to implement the recommendations. If you do not have experience in this area, you can get help from a web development expert.
• 7.3 What are the Alternatives to Lighthouse?
• The alternatives to Lighthouse are: WebPageTest, GTmetrix, Pingdom Website Speed Test, Dareboost. These tools can help you evaluate your website's performance from different perspectives and get optimization recommendations.

8. Conclusion and Summary

Lighthouse is a valuable tool for website optimization, but it is not sufficient on its own. Lighthouse assesses your website's performance at a specific point in time and focuses on technical optimizations. For a more comprehensive optimization strategy, you need to use additional tools and techniques such as Real User Monitoring (RUM), server-side monitoring, A/B testing, code analysis and profiling, Content Delivery Network (CDN), and image optimization. Additionally, it is important to pay attention to SEO and accessibility optimization. Website optimization is a continuous process, and you need to regularly monitor your performance and make improvements.

• Lighthouse is the starting point of the optimization process.
• Real user data helps you determine optimization priorities.
• SEO and accessibility are important for the success of your website.
• Website optimization is a continuous process.