# Performance Monitor

> Track your site's performance, accessibility, and SEO scores using Google PageSpeed Insights.

Source: https://flywp.com/docs/site/performance/performance-monitor/

If your site feels slow or you’re not sure why it’s not ranking as well as it should, the Performance Monitor gives you a clear picture of what’s holding it back — and exactly what to fix. It runs your site through **Google PageSpeed Insights** (a free analysis tool powered by Google’s Lighthouse engine that simulates how real users experience your pages) and surfaces scores across four key areas: speed, accessibility, best practices, and SEO.

![Performance monitoring scores](https://flywp.com/images/docs/screenshots/site-performance-monitor.png)

You can run a scan any time you want a snapshot, or schedule them automatically so FlyWP builds a history you can track over time. This is especially useful after making changes like enabling caching or optimizing images — you’ll see the before-and-after impact in plain numbers.

:::tip
Reach for the Performance Monitor whenever you’ve made changes to your site and want to confirm they actually improved things, or when a client asks why their site feels slow.
:::

## What Gets Measured

Each scan evaluates your site across four categories:

| Category | What It Measures |
| --- | --- |
| **Performance** | Page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Scores are based on lab data simulating a real user experience. |
| **Accessibility** | How usable your site is for people with disabilities — including screen reader support, color contrast, and keyboard navigation. |
| **Best Practices** | Whether your site follows web development best practices, such as using HTTPS, avoiding deprecated APIs, and proper image formats. |
| **SEO** | How well your site is optimized for search engines, including meta tags, mobile-friendliness, crawlable links, and structured data. |

Each category receives a score from 0 to 100:

- **0–49** (red) — needs significant improvement
- **50–89** (orange) — room for improvement
- **90–100** (green) — good

## Core Web Vitals

The Performance Monitor also reports your **Core Web Vitals** — a set of real-world performance metrics that Google uses as ranking signals. Unlike the scores above (which are based on simulated lab conditions), Core Web Vitals reflect how actual visitors experience your site:

| Metric | What It Measures | Good Threshold |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)** | How long it takes for the main content to appear on screen | Under 2.5 seconds |
| **Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)** | How much the page layout shifts unexpectedly during loading — for example, a button jumping before you click it | Under 0.1 |
| **Interaction to Next Paint (INP)** | How quickly the page responds after a user taps or clicks something | Under 200 milliseconds |

## Running a Scan

### Manual Scan

1. Navigate to your site’s **Performance Monitor** tab.
2. Click **Run Scan**.
3. FlyWP sends your site’s URL to Google PageSpeed Insights and displays the results once the analysis is complete.

### Automated Scans

Enable automated scans to run performance checks on a regular schedule. FlyWP stores each result so you can track trends over time — helpful for spotting regressions after a plugin update or content change.

## Scan History

The **scan history** shows every performance scan FlyWP has run for your site. Each row includes:

- **Date** — when the scan was performed
- **Performance score** — the overall performance number
- **Accessibility score** — the accessibility rating
- **Best Practices score** — the best practices rating
- **SEO score** — the search engine optimization rating

Click any historical scan to view its full breakdown, including individual audit results and recommendations.

:::tip
Run a scan before and after making performance changes (like enabling caching or optimizing images) to measure the impact of your work.
:::

## Acting on the Results

Each scan includes detailed audit results with specific, actionable recommendations. Common improvements include:

- **Enable caching** — use FlyWP’s [FastCGI Cache and Object Cache](https://flywp.com/docs/site/performance/cache-management/) (server-side caches that store pre-built pages so PHP doesn’t have to rebuild them on every visit) to speed up response times
- **Optimize images** — compress and serve images in modern formats like WebP
- **Minimize JavaScript and CSS** — reduce the size of render-blocking resources (files that pause page rendering until they finish downloading)
- **Use lazy loading** — defer loading of off-screen images and iframes until the user scrolls toward them
- **Improve server response time** — check your [PHP settings](https://flywp.com/docs/site/settings/) and hosting resources

:::note
PageSpeed scores are a guide, not an absolute measure. A score of 100 is not always necessary or realistic for every site. Focus on meaningful improvements that affect real user experience.
:::

## Related Pages

- [Caching Overview](https://flywp.com/docs/site/performance/cache-management/)
- [Uptime Monitor](https://flywp.com/docs/site/monitoring-and-logs/uptime-monitor/)
- [Site Settings](https://flywp.com/docs/site/settings/)
- [Logs](https://flywp.com/docs/site/monitoring-and-logs/logs/)