What is PLS by checkpoint
PLS by checkpoint breaks down your Perceived Load Speed (PLS) by major user journey events, called checkpoints. In most cases, checkpoints are automatically populated by Uxify for each site, but they can be customized in the Settings menu to add or remove key touchpoints. Since checkpoints represent critical moments in the user journey, they need to load fast to keep users engaged.
PLS is a real-user metric created by Uxify that reflects how quickly a page feels like it loads. While LCP focuses on a single largest element, PLS captures the load experience of all meaningful elements on the screen, making it more representative of how users perceive the page.
Checkpoints often include landing, product, cart, and checkout pages in e-commerce. When a checkpoint has a poor PLS score, users are more likely to drop off — not because the page failed to load, but because it felt too slow.
Healthy PLS by checkpoint sample
Should you worry
A healthy PLS by checkpoint lens looks all green. While some checkpoints may be slightly slower than others, as long as none drift into the yellow or red zones, the perceived load speed is in a good place. The greener the checkpoint, the smoother the experience.
Unhealthy PLS by checkpoint sample
An unhealthy PLS by checkpoint lens often reveals that certain key pages — like product or collection — have slower perceived load speeds. When PLS is poor on high-traffic checkpoints, it increases friction right where users are making critical decisions. This can lead to higher bounce rates and lower conversions, even if technically everything is loading correctly.
Resolving unhealthy PLS by checkpoint
Go-to action plan to resolve an unhealthy PLS by checkpoint:
Ask Uxi to analyze your PLS by checkpoint and suggest improvements.
Use Filters to focus on the slowest checkpoints, then explore other PLS lenses to identify overlapping issues.
Simulate LCP of the suspected lens to see if fixing it will resolve the PLS by checkpoint. If yes, this is where the resolution focus should be.
Use an automated optimization tool like Navigation AI to improve your PLS by checkpoint.
Once you’ve improved PLS, set an alert to be the first to know if it starts worsening again.
Try it yourself
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