Web Performance and Load Testing Glossary

There are a considerable number of different terms covering web performance and performance load testing. The glossary provides a single reference point for as many as we can identify.

Term

Term Description

Accelerated Mobile Pages

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an industry-led open source initiative to deliver web pages to mobile-connected devices faster.

AMP

AMP | no longer an acronym but the new name for the accelerated mobile pages open source project started by Google in 2015.

Critical Render Path

Critical Render Path | The process, made up of several steps, that all browsers and user agents use to build and render web pages from an HTML stream.

Data Start Time

Data start time | an important web performance calculated from metric timing points made available through the W3C's Navigation Timing API

HTTP

HTTP | stands for HyperText Transport Protocol and is the communications method between internet-connected computers.

HyperText Transport Protocol

HyperText Transport Protocol | HTTP for short is the stateless transport mechanism of in the internet.

Navigation Timing API

Navigation Timing API | Endorsed by the W3C it provides a software-based interface that provides timing-related data for websites and applications.

Real User Monitoring

Real User Monitoring (RUM) | collects real-time performance and availability data about each interaction a visitor to your website has with a view to understanding and reporting on customer experience

RUM

RUM | an acronym for real user monitoring which collects performance and availability data on the customer experience of a website visitor.

Synthetic Monitoring

Synthetic Monitoring | regularly monitors a website or other online service regularly, with a view to reporting on performance and availability

Time to First Byte

Time to First Byte | an important web performance metric measuring how long it takes to deliver the first byte of a web page

W3C

W3C | The World Wide Web Consortium is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.