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GOV.UK Frontend vs HSTS

Based on 13 and 2556 real audits

View GOV.UK Frontend details | View HSTS details
MetricGOV.UK FrontendHSTSWinner
Performance7549GOV.UK Frontend
Accessibility9989GOV.UK Frontend
Best Practices10088GOV.UK Frontend
SEO9891GOV.UK Frontend
Security7870GOV.UK Frontend
TTFB216ms364msGOV.UK Frontend
Composite8475GOV.UK Frontend
Performance
GOV.UK Frontend
75
HSTS
49
Accessibility
GOV.UK Frontend
99
HSTS
89
Security
GOV.UK Frontend
78
HSTS
70
SEO
GOV.UK Frontend
98
HSTS
91
Composite
GOV.UK Frontend
84
HSTS
75

GOV.UK Frontend outperforms HSTS in 7 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (84 vs 75). HSTS leads in no categories.

When to choose GOV.UK Frontend

Choose GOV.UK Frontend when your primary concern is server response time and performance. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose HSTS

HSTS doesn't clearly lead GOV.UK Frontend in any category on the sampled sites — pick it based on developer experience, ecosystem, or existing team skills rather than the audit scores.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 13 audited GOV.UK Frontend sites and 2556 audited HSTS sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

FAQ

Which is faster, GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (75 vs 49 on average).
Which has better security, GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS?
GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on security analysis (78 vs 70 on average).
Which has better accessibility, GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor GOV.UK Frontend (99 vs 89). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS?
GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (98 vs 91 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS?
GOV.UK Frontend sites show lower Time to First Byte (216 ms vs 364 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose GOV.UK Frontend or HSTS for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. GOV.UK Frontend scores higher on overall composite score while GOV.UK Frontend may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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