AJ @ WpFASTER.org

Hello msthunder1,

The speed evaluations – it’s a political matter of the customer.

I’m not sure what this means or what you sell but two things: 1.) As stated earlier, one gets a speed ‘grade’ but PageSpeed Insights is not a speed evaluation — it measures precisely nothing, no metrics are given. PageSpeed Insights is by definition and purpose a basic best practices tool; 2.) if it is performance optimization services you sell you might consider educating your customers to this reality and steering them in the direction of what is best for their website and its users. Which isn’t always the highest grades on any given best practices tool but is always the most performant website for its real users. As counterintuitive as it is these are often two very different things.

i’ve now noticed a second site having the same CSS “render blocking” issues. Take a look, maybe you’ll find something that i’m overlooking: https://www.scoopandspoon.com/

As you can see here in any one of these real world tests, the concatenated CSS file is in fact loaded after domContentLoaded: https://www.webpagetest.org/result/160404_HV_Z4X/

The website certainly has performance issues but render blocking CSS isn’t one of them.

In other words the issue is not that this website’s CSS is render blocking but that PSI is falsely reporting that it is. Not incidentally, this is a good example of why you must use the right tool for the job otherwise you’ll end up chasing vapor trying to please a synthetic tool instead of your customer’s best interests.

Be well,
AJ

@msthunder1,

[…] afaik, i’m having people check on the site via the Google’s PageSpeed Insights; i don’t have enough arguments to say that they should stop doing this on GPI

You now have the only one you really need cf. my initial reply. ??

As I am doing here, all you can do is attempt to enlighten others such that they can then begin to exorcise themselves of the Internet mythology that has sprung up around PSI.

and use a different speed test,

One gets a speed ‘grade’ but PageSpeed Insights is not a speed test per se. It is by definition and purpose a basic best practices tool; one that provides insights into performance items that will likely improve key user experience centered performance metrics. Unlike WebPageTest.org — which is Google’s real world performance testing platform — PSI issues no performance metrics at all. And so to get those and to see what’s really going on Google provides WebPageTest.org.

cause google don’t know what they’re doing. ??

One must use the right tool for the job, as they say. That PSI does not always recognize alternate means by which to defer noncritical CSS does not mean that one ought not use PSI for what it is (a best practices tool). Conversely, it does not mean that PSI should be used to assess real world performance.

Also they care about indexing, if i recall google favors mobile-friendly websites more than non mobile-friendly, so i cannot walk around the GPI test.

Whether or not one’s noncritical CSS is in reality deferred and whether or not one has a mobile friendly website are mutually exclusive matters.

One thing comes to mind though – what if everything is above-the-fold? Like when you have an entrance page that’s 100% w&h. Could this cause the issue with render blocking CSS? Cause technically, if everything is above the fold, it has to load everything regardless?

Are you able to share the URL, msthunder1?

Be well,
AJ

Hi folks,

@msthunder1,

For a real world appraisal of what’s going on with your website in terms of actual performance always use WebPageTest.org.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights — which is a basic best practices tool, not a real world performance testing platform — sometimes does not recognize anything other than the RequestAnimationFrame method of deferring noncritical CSS. The irony of this is that Frank’s solution is superior in that it fires the remaining CSS at domContentLoaded instead of at onload.

This said, PageSpeed Insights doesn’t always get it wrong either. So, and again, to see what’s really going on use WebPageTest.org and base your performance optimization decisions on those real world tests.

Be well,
AJ

It appears to be Chrome-specific, mkaszuba, as it doesn’t occur in Firefox: https://www.webpagetest.org/result/160217_NV_ZVP/

What seems to be happening is that since https://www.blackballoon.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/bb_head_main.jpg

and

https://www.blackballoon.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/bb_main_testimonials.jpg

are fired by the aggregated .JS file, Chrome is sometimes getting confused about when its okay to begin rendering. Short of unpacking the JavaScript associated with those two images (probably not the best idea) you’re sort of buggered, there.

Be well,
AJ

Hi Frank, mkaszuba,

This is a PSI ‘bug’. It doesn’t always recognize when CSS is deferred. You can clearly see in any of these real world test runs that the deferred file is fired at domContentLoaded: https://www.webpagetest.org/result/160217_NW_YSX/

You do have some bizarre Start Render Time anomalies though, mkaszuba.

Be well,
AJ

Hi sarscott,

The CloudFlare extension in W3TC is not necessary and is generally more trouble than it is worth. So deactivate that; make sure minification is off in W3TC General Settings; activate your desired settings from within the CloudFlare dashboard itself and you should be ready to roll.

Be well,
AJ

Hi Theo,

I’ve seen your video on inline and defer and the per page plugin.
It’s been very helpful. Thanks.

Ah, that’s great!

I am using cloudflare and will activate the message for old browsers. I have been reluctant about this because i’m on a free plan and the messages are therefore only in English, which is not the site’s language.

Hmmm, yes. Luckily, English is pretty much a global language at this point, and most people speak enough of it that the A Better Browser message will be understood.

All the best to you

And to you. ??

@superpoincare

https://browserhacks.com/#hack-7e41bb4d3e33ad5da4d7d737b7bf3981

Very nice. ??

Be well, all,
AJ

Oh, I know. If only there were more Theos! ??

It’s just that the difference between a browser like IE8 and, say, the latest Chrome or Firefox is analogous to the difference between Neanderthal and modern man lol. ??

AJ

Hi timholz,

If you have a meaningful portion of your website’s visitors still lugging around on IE8 (ugh…really?), your first, best option would be to bring these visitors into the modernity fold. Perhaps with a browser recognition message such as that offered by CloudFlare…?: https://www.cloudflare.com/apps/abetterbrowser/

??

To be frank (no pun intended), asking any plugin developer — free OR premium — to make their plugins work with thoroughly antiquated browsers is a bit much. Just sayin’.

Be well,
AJ

How do I roll back to previous version the AO 1.9.4?

https://downloads.www.ads-software.com/plugin/autoptimize.1.9.4.zip

??

Be well. And never stop using AO!
AJ

Hi folks,

The method of using the Per Page Add to Head plugin does indeed work but is a pain in the as$ if you have a lot of pages/posts. It’s a great work-around, however, if you’re just starting your website or have a site with very few pages/posts.

Tick “Inline and Defer CSS?” in AO, leaving the text field blank. Then, as noted by timholz, add your critical CSS on a per-page basis with style tags and an ID that is excluded from AO. e.g.:

<style id="your-above-the-fold-css">your critical css here</style>

Protip: In per-page-add-to/perpagehead.php change line 113 to: add_action('wp_head', 'perpageath_display', 0);

??

Be well,
AJ

I am in the (unfortunate?) habit of speaking my mind, especially when I am 3 glasses of Pinot Noir in. ??

it is his plugin that is throwing up errors

Because of your mal-coded/mal-configured setup and/or configuration and/or ignorance. This is an observation, not an accusation.

Your approach to support was bothersome, rude and abrupt. As are most. There needs to be a book written on Internet etiquette, lol.

You’ve since gained a certain cordiality and respect (your name’s now Ryan, even! Hi Ryan!), so that’s of course good.

That you’ve gotten this…:

Unterminated String at byte 270143: “);return t=i.SEGMENT(),’

…indicates not a problem with Autoptimize, but with your site/setup. And there’s Frank, helping you anyway.

That’s the point. ??

Good luck,
AJ

I’m receiving a ton of errors in my error log from your plugin

Because of your mal-coded/mal-configured setup and/or configuration and/or ignorance.

Every once in a while it would be genuinely invigorating to see someone at least demonstratively willing to admit they’ve been – at least – aloof when making accusations towards Frank’s above-and-beyond efforts.

Frank’s WAY too nice a guy to tell you this, but you’re an as*shole.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to produce high-quality, FREE, support-ready WordPress plugins. What a fuc*ing nightmare lol.

So this is where you, Hyflex, as a criticaly-thinking, truth-loving, Humanistic being get to thank Frank for helping you.

Right?

All else follows.

Be well,
AJ

Absolutely, yes. ??

Now, to get users to test with the right tool(s) lol. A truly Sisyphean task.

AJ

FYI: I think the most urgent new feature of post-AO2.0 would be “minify but not aggregate” for best HTTP/2 optimization.

Not so fast, mate… ??

Prediction: We will all be quite surprised just how little HTTP/2 changes the efficacy of traditional performance optimization techniques. In essence, HTTP/2 improves the performance of…well.. performance!

Be well,
AJ