Speedtest 2: Google Analytics plugins
This is the second speedtest of the three Google Analytics plugins I initially tested here. The reason I decided to test again is because the WP Google Analytics plugin har just been updated to a newer version.
This test was done on a slower internet access than the first one, so it’s no use comparing the numbers from the two tests. The test is done on a fresh install of Wordpress, using Firefox with Firebug.
The plugins in question are
- Google Analyticator 2.12 by Ronald Heft, Jr.
- Google Analytics for Wordpress 2.5.3 by Joost de Valk
- WP Google Analytics 1.1.0 by Aaron D. Campbell
| No plugins | Google Analyticator | Google Analytics for Wordpress | WP Google Analytics | |
| Try 1 | 1.08s | 1.6s | 1.63s | 1.55s |
| Try 2 | 891ms | 1.43s | 1.71s | 1.25s |
| Try 3 | 1.08s | 1.41s | 2.18s | 1.44s |
| Try 4 | 1.07s | 1.33s | 1.44s | 1.27s |
| Try 5 | 1.08s | 1.16s | 1.5s | 1.46s |
| Average | 1.04s | 1.39s | 1.69s | 1.39s |
| Diff. | + 0.35s | + 0.65s | + 0.35s |
As you can see the results for WP Google Analytics is not as great as the first test. If this is because the new version or something else, I can’t say. Remember also that it is only the speed of opening the page with the plugins activated that is taken into account in this test.
Note
The WP Google Analytics plugin inserts the javascript in the footer. The Google Analytics for Wordpress plugin inserts it in the header, and Google Analyticator let’s you choose betweeen the footer and the header (Default is footer).
As the writer of WP Google Analytics, I just wanted to ask a quick question about the test. Dis all three plugins tag outgoing links to log them properly? I know that my plugin does this by default, but I’m not sure about the other two. Also, do they both work with both the new and legacy versions of the Google Analytics code?
Thanks for taking the time to put up the test. I might try a few tests of my own in the next couple weeks, to see if I can’t gain back any lost performance.
All plugins was testet with the default options, and all three used the new version of the Google Analytics code. Please let me know how your own tests go.