# Getting started with Insights from Google PageSpeed

- Source: https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/
- Published by: PlugStack
- Last updated: 2026-10-14

Insights from Google PageSpeed checks the pages of your site with Google PageSpeed Insights and keeps the results in your WordPress admin. Instead of testing one URL at a time on pagespeed.web.dev, you see every page in one list, the average for the whole site, and how your scores change over time.

 

Each page gets the same five scores Google shows: Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO and AI Agents. When Google has data from real Chrome users, you also get the Core Web Vitals for the page and for the whole site.

 

## Requirements

 
 

|  | Minimum |
| --- | --- |
| WordPress | 6.6 |
| PHP | 7.2 |
| Google API key | Free, takes about five minutes |

 
 

Your site has to be reachable from the internet. Google loads each page from its own servers, so pages on localhost, behind a login or in maintenance mode cannot be checked.

 

## Install the plugin

 
1. 1
   In your WordPress admin go to **Plugins → Add New** and search for *Insights from Google PageSpeed*.
2. 2
   Click **Install Now**, then **Activate**.
3. 3
   Open **Tools → Pagespeed Insights**. This is where everything lives.

 

## Your first scan

 
1. 1
   Get a free API key from Google. [Get a Google API key](https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/google-api-key/) walks you through it.
2. 2
   Go to the **Settings** tab, paste the key and click **Check key**. When it says the key works, click **Save settings**.
3. 3
   Under *What to check*, pick what you want to scan: Pages, Posts, Category archives, Custom URLs or your own post types. Save again.
4. 4
   Click **Start scan** in the top right. The progress bar shows which page is being checked.

 
![Desktop and Mobile switch, Recheck all and Start scan in the plugin header](https://plugstack.dev/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/insights-pagespeed-scan-controls.webp)

*The scan controls in the plugin header.*

 

Google needs around 10 to 20 seconds per page, and twice that if you check both desktop and mobile. You can leave the page while it runs. Reports appear as each page is done.

 

## Where things live

 
 

| Tab | What you find there |
| --- | --- |
| Overview | Average scores for the whole site, the score trend, and the pages and issues to look at first |
| Reports | Every checked page with its scores, sortable and searchable |
| Snapshots | Saved copies of the Overview, so you can compare before and after a change |
| Custom URLs | Extra URLs to check, added by hand, from a CSV file or from an XML sitemap |
| Ignored | Pages that are skipped, including pages Google could not load |
| Settings | API key, report type, what to check, schedule and advanced options |

 
 

## Next steps

 
- [Get a Google API key](https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/google-api-key/)
- [Reading your reports](https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/reports/): what the scores and metrics mean
- [Settings](https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/settings/): every option explained
- [Troubleshooting](https://plugstack.dev/docs/google-pagespeed-insights/troubleshooting/): when a scan does not start or a page is skipped