C — https://arstechnica.com | BeaverCheck Audit

Site Health

Score: 77 / 100

Based on 8 categories, 0 sections

How is this calculated?

The overall score is a weighted average of individual category scores. Categories with more impact on user experience and security carry more weight.

Performance 25%Security 25%Accessibility 15%SEO 10%Infrastructure 10%Compliance 8%Content 5%Sustainability 2%

Weights reflect general web best practices. Individual needs may differ.

Top Priorities (5)

'unsafe-eval' found in script source

Security › Content Security Policy

'unsafe-inline' found in script source

Security › Content Security Policy

HSTS header is missing

Security › Security Headers

2 button(s) with no accessible text

Accessibility › Link & Button Quality

2 control(s) without accessible label

Accessibility › Form Accessibility

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[![BeaverCheck](https://beavercheck.com/badge?url=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com)](https://beavercheck.com/results/6b64cf47-19df-4110-993d-7cc83480e112)

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Lighthouse Scores

Industry-standard audits powered by Google Lighthouse.

Performance

Accessibility

100

Best Practices

100

SEO

Core Web Vitals

Key metrics that affect user experience.

First Contentful Paint First Contentful Paint — how long until the browser renders the first piece of content. Under 1.8s is good.

2.66 s

Largest Contentful Paint Largest Contentful Paint — how long until the largest visible element loads. Under 2.5s is good.

9.50 s

Total Blocking Time Total Blocking Time — total time the main thread was blocked, preventing user input. Under 200ms is good.

2.42 s

Cumulative Layout Shift Cumulative Layout Shift — measures visual stability. How much the page layout shifts during loading. Under 0.1 is good.

0.003

Speed Index Speed Index — how quickly content is visually displayed during load. Under 3.4s is good.

3.92 s

Time to Interactive Time to Interactive — how long until the page is fully interactive and responds to user input. Under 3.8s is good.

12.83 s

Detailed Report

Audit breakdown by category with detailed findings.

Performance

Insights

Remove large, duplicate JavaScript modules from bundles to reduce unnecessary bytes consumed by network activity.

Polyfills and transforms enable older browsers to use new JavaScript features. However, many aren't necessary for modern browsers. Consider modifying your JavaScript build process to not transpile Baseline features, unless you know you must support older browsers. Learn why most sites can deploy ES6+ code without transpiling

3rd party code can significantly impact load performance. Reduce and defer loading of 3rd party code to prioritize your page's content.

A long cache lifetime can speed up repeat visits to your page. Learn more about caching.

Request	Cache TTL	Transfer Size
privacy.condenastdigital.com/fides.js?property_id=FDS-MIKT8M&	3600.0 s	198.0 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg	0.0 ms	110.4 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2250244723-768x43...	0.0 ms	102.1 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55185418641_c81ccfeefb_k-1000...	0.0 ms	82.2 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/exploit-vulnerability-securit...	0.0 ms	78.0 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js	0.0 ms	71.3 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2232214770-768x43...	0.0 ms	71.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bluecrayfish-768x432.jpg	0.0 ms	61.5 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/iceage2-768x432-1774358659.jpg	0.0 ms	56.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/earth1-768x432.jpg	0.0 ms	53.7 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/earth1-500x500.jpg	0.0 ms	46.7 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/iceage2-500x500.jpg	0.0 ms	40.8 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/7cHmv4okm5zmbtYoK-...	0.0 ms	39.2 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55185418641_c81ccfeefb_k-768x...	0.0 ms	37.3 KiB
ads-static.conde.digital/production/cns/builds/ars-technica/ars-technica.min.js	900.0 s	40.7 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	0.0 ms	33.8 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/grok-icon-768x432-1775247978.jpg	0.0 ms	32.2 KiB
arstechnica.com/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/cntracking.8e5b8b.js	0.0 ms	31.8 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/grok-icon-600x600-1775247973.jpg	0.0 ms	31.6 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	0.0 ms	26.1 KiB
globalservices.conde.digital/p77xzrbz9z.js	0.0 ms	26.0 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpStKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	0.0 ms	24.7 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpMtKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	0.0 ms	24.4 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/XLYlIZPxYpJfTbZAFV...	0.0 ms	24.0 KiB
/wp-content/plugins/article-forum-connect/public/js/ifram...	0.0 ms	7.5 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/stats.74db3c.js	0.0 ms	3.7 KiB
globalservices.conde.digital/cwv-attribution.4.2.4.js	0.0 ms	2.8 KiB
/wp-content/plugins/article-forum-connect/public/js/ifram...	0.0 ms	2.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/ge...	0.0 ms	1.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/ads.ae0b0b.js	0.0 ms	1.1 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/ads.01e938.css	0.0 ms	1.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/hi...	0.0 ms	398 B

Reducing the download time of images can improve the perceived load time of the page and LCP. Learn more about optimizing image size

	URL	Resource Size	Est Savings
Listing image for first story in Most Read: "Cognitive surrender" leads AI user… `ol > li.group > a > img.h-auto`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg	109.8 KiB	62.2 KiB
In an aerial view, the Netflix logo is displayed above Netflix corporate office… `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2250244723-768x43...	101.5 KiB	53.9 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/exploit-vulnerability-securit...	77.3 KiB	23.3 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2232214770-768x43...	70.7 KiB	16.7 KiB
A blue crayfish on a countertop `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bluecrayfish-768x432.jpg	60.9 KiB	6.9 KiB

Avoid chaining critical requests by reducing the length of chains, reducing the download size of resources, or deferring the download of unnecessary resources to improve page load.

description: [preconnect](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/performance/uses-rel-preconnect/) hints help the browser establish a connection earlier in the page load, saving time when the first request for that origin is made. The following are the origins that the page preconnected to.

title: Preconnected origins

description: Add [preconnect](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/performance/uses-rel-preconnect/) hints to your most important origins, but try to use no more than 4.

title: Preconnect candidates

Requests are blocking the page's initial render, which may delay LCP. Deferring or inlining can move these network requests out of the critical path.

URL	Transfer Size	Duration
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	33.8 KiB	151 ms
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	26.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/hi...	398 B	151 ms
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/ads.01e938.css	1.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/ge...	1.3 KiB	758 ms

Consider setting font-display to swap or optional to ensure text is consistently visible. swap can be further optimized to mitigate layout shifts with font metric overrides.

URL	Est Savings
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/7cHmv4okm5zmbtYoK-...	15 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/XLYlIZPxYpJfTbZAFV...	15 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpStKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	5.0 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpMtKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	5.0 ms

These insights are also available in the Chrome DevTools Performance Panel - record a trace to view more detailed information.

The maximum potential First Input Delay that your users could experience is the duration of the longest task. Learn more about the Maximum Potential First Input Delay metric.

Time to Interactive is the amount of time it takes for the page to become fully interactive. Learn more about the Time to Interactive metric.

TTI

Diagnostics

Reduce unused rules from stylesheets and defer CSS not used for above-the-fold content to decrease bytes consumed by network activity. Learn how to reduce unused CSS.

Estimated savings: 150 ms 56.5 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/* Show Continue without Accepting a.k.a. dismiss */ .pri_1cbe431f-25a8-4af9-8ee7-61e8645c2b94 .fid…	32.7 KiB	32.5 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	25.8 KiB	24.0 KiB

Reduce unused JavaScript and defer loading scripts until they are required to decrease bytes consumed by network activity. Learn how to reduce unused JavaScript.

Estimated savings: 900 ms 390.4 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/pagead/managed/js/gpt/m202603310101/pubads_impl.js	182.4 KiB	140.2 KiB
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-NLXNPCQ	172.2 KiB	76.4 KiB
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-PVBXQMCR&gtm=4e6411	118.2 KiB	59.4 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js	71.0 KiB	57.9 KiB
ads-static.conde.digital/production/cns/builds/ars-technica/ars-technica.min.js	40.2 KiB	32.2 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	33.5 KiB	24.3 KiB

Consider reducing the time spent parsing, compiling, and executing JS. You may find delivering smaller JS payloads helps with this. Learn how to reduce Javascript execution time.

URL	Total CPU Time	Script Evaluation	Script Parse
arstechnica.com/	1.3 s	86 ms	24 ms
privacy.condenastdigital.com/fides.js?property_id=FDS-MIKT8M&	970 ms	570 ms	335 ms
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js	954 ms	788 ms	35 ms
Unattributable	785 ms	24 ms	0.0 ms
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-NLXNPCQ	606 ms	489 ms	104 ms
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-PVBXQMCR&gtm=4e6411	360 ms	235 ms	69 ms
/pagead/managed/js/gpt/m202603310101/pubads_impl.js	325 ms	228 ms	94 ms
www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js	143 ms	125 ms	17 ms
globalservices.conde.digital/p77xzrbz9z.js	142 ms	119 ms	16 ms
planebasin.com/dist/25dd01b14_8715a062a12be6f05714ee41f1a252e6e86d0.index.js	137 ms	106 ms	12 ms
arstechnica.com/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/cntracking.8e5b8b.js	120 ms	99 ms	20 ms
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	98 ms	58 ms	19 ms

Consider reducing the time spent parsing, compiling and executing JS. You may find delivering smaller JS payloads helps with this. Learn how to minimize main-thread work

Category	Time Spent
Script Evaluation	3.0 s
Other	1.0 s
Style & Layout	897 ms
Script Parsing & Compilation	779 ms
Parse HTML & CSS	225 ms
Rendering	145 ms
Garbage Collection	52 ms

Minifying CSS files can reduce network payload sizes. Learn how to minify CSS.

Estimated savings: 0.0 ms 3.2 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/* Show Continue without Accepting a.k.a. dismiss */ .pri_1cbe431f-25a8-4af9-8ee7-61e8645c2b94 .fid…	32.7 KiB	3.2 KiB

Set an explicit width and height on image elements to reduce layout shifts and improve CLS. Learn how to set image dimensions

	URL
Listing image for first story in Most Read: "Cognitive surrender" leads AI user… `ol > li.group > a > img.h-auto`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg

More information about the performance of your application. These numbers don't directly affect the Performance score.

●Layout shift culprits

●Document request latency

●Optimize DOM size

●Forced reflow

●LCP breakdown

●Modern HTTP

●Optimize viewport for mobile

●Minify JavaScript

●Avoids enormous network payloads Total size was 2,121 KiB

●User Timing marks and measures 6 user timings

●Avoid long main-thread tasks 20 long tasks found

●Page didn't prevent back/forward cache restoration

●Network Requests

●Network Round Trip Times 100 ms

●Server Backend Latencies 100 ms

●Tasks

●Diagnostics

●Metrics

●Screenshot Thumbnails

●Final Screenshot

●Script Treemap Data

●Resources Summary

●Avoid multiple page redirects

●Initial server response time was short Root document took 220 ms

●Avoid large layout shifts 2 layout shifts found

○INP breakdown

○LCP request discovery

○Avoid non-composited animations

Accessibility

These checks highlight opportunities to improve the accessibility of your web app. Automatic detection can only detect a subset of issues and does not guarantee the accessibility of your web app, so manual testing is also encouraged.

Names and labels

Link text (and alternate text for images, when used as links) that is discernible, unique, and focusable improves the navigation experience for screen reader users. Learn how to make links accessible.

Failing Elements
article#card-2148335 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148335 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148621 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148621 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148639 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148639 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148605 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148605 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148587 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148587 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148522 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148522 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148397 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148397 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148459 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148459 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.mx-auto > div.justify-between > div.site-footer-statement > a `div.mx-auto > div.justify-between > div.site-footer-statement > a`

These are opportunities to improve the semantics of the controls in your application. This may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

○Interactive controls are keyboard focusable

○Interactive elements indicate their purpose and state

○The page has a logical tab order

○Visual order on the page follows DOM order

○User focus is not accidentally trapped in a region

○The user's focus is directed to new content added to the page

○HTML5 landmark elements are used to improve navigation

○Offscreen content is hidden from assistive technology

○Custom controls have associated labels

○Custom controls have ARIA roles

●`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`

●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes

●Elements with an ARIA `[role]` that require children to contain a specific `[role]` have all required children.

●`[role]`s are contained by their required parent element

●`[role]` values are valid

●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values

●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled

●Buttons have an accessible name

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●`[user-scalable="no"]` is not used in the `<meta name="viewport">` element and the `[maximum-scale]` attribute is not less than 5.

●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role

●Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` have accessible names.

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents

●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes

●Background and foreground colors have a sufficient contrast ratio

●Document has a `<title>` element

●`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute

●`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).

●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements

●No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●ARIA IDs are unique

●Identical links have the same purpose.

●Elements with visible text labels have matching accessible names.

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names

○ARIA input fields have accessible names

○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names

○Elements with the `role=text` attribute do not have focusable descendents.

○ARIA toggle fields have accessible names

○ARIA `tooltip` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `treeitem` elements have accessible names

○The page contains a heading, skip link, or landmark region

○`<dl>`'s contain only properly-ordered `<dt>` and `<dd>` groups, `<script>`, `<template>` or `<div>` elements.

○Definition list items are wrapped in `<dl>` elements

○No form fields have multiple labels

○`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title

○`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.

○Input buttons have discernible text.

○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text

○Form elements have associated labels

○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`

○`<object>` elements have alternate text

○Select elements have associated label elements.

○Skip links are focusable.

○Cells in a `<table>` element that use the `[headers]` attribute refer to table cells within the same table.

○`<th>` elements and elements with `[role="columnheader"/"rowheader"]` have data cells they describe.

○`[lang]` attributes have a valid value

○`<video>` elements contain a `<track>` element with `[kind="captions"]`

○Tables have different content in the summary attribute and `<caption>`.

○All heading elements contain content.

○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.

○Tables use `<caption>` instead of cells with the `[colspan]` attribute to indicate a caption.

○`<td>` elements in a large `<table>` have one or more table headers.

100

Best Practices

●Uses HTTPS

●Avoids deprecated APIs

●Avoids third-party cookies

●Allows users to paste into input fields

●Avoids requesting the geolocation permission on page load

●Avoids requesting the notification permission on page load

●Displays images with correct aspect ratio

●Serves images with appropriate resolution

●Page has the HTML doctype

●Properly defines charset

●No browser errors logged to the console

●No issues in the `Issues` panel in Chrome Devtools

●Ensure CSP is effective against XSS attacks

●Use a strong HSTS policy

●Ensure proper origin isolation with COOP

●Mitigate DOM-based XSS with Trusted Types

●Detected JavaScript libraries

●Page has valid source maps

○Redirects HTTP traffic to HTTPS

○Mitigate clickjacking with XFO or CSP

100

SEO

These checks ensure that your page is following basic search engine optimization advice. There are many additional factors Lighthouse does not score here that may affect your search ranking, including performance on Core Web Vitals. Learn more about Google Search Essentials.

○Structured data is valid

●Page isn’t blocked from indexing

●Document has a `<title>` element

●Document has a meta description

●Page has successful HTTP status code

●Links have descriptive text

●Links are crawlable

●robots.txt is valid

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●Document has a valid `hreflang`

●Document has a valid `rel=canonical`

Lighthouse Scores

Industry-standard audits powered by Google Lighthouse. — Desktop

Performance

Accessibility

100

Best Practices

100

SEO

Core Web Vitals

Key metrics that affect user experience. — Desktop

First Contentful Paint First Contentful Paint — how long until the browser renders the first piece of content. Under 1.8s is good.

1.09 s

Largest Contentful Paint Largest Contentful Paint — how long until the largest visible element loads. Under 2.5s is good.

1.21 s

Total Blocking Time Total Blocking Time — total time the main thread was blocked, preventing user input. Under 200ms is good.

275 ms

Cumulative Layout Shift Cumulative Layout Shift — measures visual stability. How much the page layout shifts during loading. Under 0.1 is good.

0.003

Speed Index Speed Index — how quickly content is visually displayed during load. Under 3.4s is good.

1.62 s

Time to Interactive Time to Interactive — how long until the page is fully interactive and responds to user input. Under 3.8s is good.

2.95 s

Detailed Report

Audit breakdown by category with detailed findings.

Performance

Insights

Remove large, duplicate JavaScript modules from bundles to reduce unnecessary bytes consumed by network activity.

3rd party code can significantly impact load performance. Reduce and defer loading of 3rd party code to prioritize your page's content.

A long cache lifetime can speed up repeat visits to your page. Learn more about caching.

Request	Cache TTL	Transfer Size
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Newly-discovered-fossil-from-...	0.0 ms	227.1 KiB
privacy.condenastdigital.com/fides.js?property_id=FDS-MIKT8M&	3600.0 s	198.0 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg	0.0 ms	110.4 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/exploit-vulnerability-securit...	0.0 ms	78.0 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js	0.0 ms	71.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Google-Vids-384x216.png	0.0 ms	51.2 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2268609420-300x30...	0.0 ms	45.1 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2250244723-384x21...	0.0 ms	44.7 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-1082963892-300x30...	0.0 ms	41.1 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/7cHmv4okm5zmbtYoK-...	0.0 ms	39.2 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-384x216.jpg	0.0 ms	38.8 KiB
ads-static.conde.digital/production/cns/builds/ars-technica/ars-technica.min.js	900.0 s	40.7 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bluecrayfish-384x216.jpg	0.0 ms	35.7 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2269134483-384x21...	0.0 ms	35.5 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2232214770-384x21...	0.0 ms	34.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	0.0 ms	33.8 KiB
arstechnica.com/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/cntracking.8e5b8b.js	0.0 ms	31.8 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2253795243-384x21...	0.0 ms	29.4 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	0.0 ms	26.1 KiB
globalservices.conde.digital/p77xzrbz9z.js	0.0 ms	26.0 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpStKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	0.0 ms	24.7 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpMtKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	0.0 ms	24.4 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KSC-20260324-PH-JBS01_0016lar...	0.0 ms	24.2 KiB
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/XLYlIZPxYpJfTbZAFV...	0.0 ms	24.0 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/iceage2-300x300.jpg	0.0 ms	18.6 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/earth1-300x300.jpg	0.0 ms	17.7 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/grok-icon-300x300-1775247971.jpg	0.0 ms	17.6 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/openai-sam-altman-384x216.jpg	0.0 ms	17.3 KiB
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/wp-content/plugins/article-forum-connect/public/js/ifram...	0.0 ms	7.5 KiB
/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/KSC-SLS_03302026_Artemis-II-L...	0.0 ms	5.1 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/stats.74db3c.js	0.0 ms	3.7 KiB
globalservices.conde.digital/cwv-attribution.4.2.4.js	0.0 ms	2.8 KiB
/wp-content/plugins/article-forum-connect/public/js/ifram...	0.0 ms	2.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/ge...	0.0 ms	1.3 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/ads.ae0b0b.js	0.0 ms	1.1 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/ads.01e938.css	0.0 ms	1.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/hi...	0.0 ms	398 B

A forced reflow occurs when JavaScript queries geometric properties (such as offsetWidth) after styles have been invalidated by a change to the DOM state. This can result in poor performance. Learn more about forced reflows and possible mitigations.

headings: [map[key:source label:Top function call valueType:source-location] map[granularity:1 key:reflowTime label:Total reflow time valueType:ms]]

items: [map[reflowTime:24.933 source:map[column:311 line:1 type:source-location url:https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js urlProvider:network]]]

headings: [map[key:source label:Source valueType:source-location] map[granularity:1 key:reflowTime label:Total reflow time valueType:ms]]

items: [map[reflowTime:47.048 source:map[type:text value:[unattributed]]] map[reflowTime:24.933 source:map[column:191943 line:0 type:source-location url:https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js urlProvider:network]]]

Reducing the download time of images can improve the perceived load time of the page and LCP. Learn more about optimizing image size

	URL	Resource Size	Est Savings
Image of a black fossil imprint of what appears to be a thick worm-like creatur… `div.flex > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Newly-discovered-fossil-from-...	226.4 KiB	216.2 KiB
Listing image for first story in Most Read: "Cognitive surrender" leads AI user… `ol > li.group > a > img.h-auto`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg	109.8 KiB	97.2 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/exploit-vulnerability-securit...	77.3 KiB	47.0 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Google-Vids-384x216.png	50.6 KiB	37.1 KiB
Rows of large solar panels sit on the ground in an industrial area. `div.flex > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2268609420-300x30...	44.5 KiB	34.4 KiB
In an aerial view, the Netflix logo is displayed above Netflix corporate office… `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2250244723-384x21...	44.1 KiB	30.6 KiB
Image of a brown and beige pattern being displayed by an octopus moving in fron… `div.flex > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-1082963892-300x30...	40.5 KiB	30.4 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-384x216.jpg	38.2 KiB	24.7 KiB
A blue crayfish on a countertop `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bluecrayfish-384x216.jpg	35.1 KiB	21.6 KiB
WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 30: Used electric vehicles are displayed on the… `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2269134483-384x21...	34.9 KiB	21.4 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2232214770-384x21...	33.7 KiB	20.2 KiB
Early examples of Native American dice `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/iceage2-300x300.jpg	18.1 KiB	17.3 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/earth1-300x300.jpg	17.1 KiB	16.4 KiB
A person's finger hovering over the Grok app icon on a phone screen. `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/grok-icon-300x300-1775247971.jpg	17.0 KiB	16.3 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2253795243-384x21...	28.8 KiB	15.3 KiB
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150 `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a > img.group-hover:saturate-150`	/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55185418641_c81ccfeefb_k-300x...	15.2 KiB	14.4 KiB

Avoid chaining critical requests by reducing the length of chains, reducing the download size of resources, or deferring the download of unnecessary resources to improve page load.

title: Preconnected origins

description: Add [preconnect](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/performance/uses-rel-preconnect/) hints to your most important origins, but try to use no more than 4.

title: Preconnect candidates

Requests are blocking the page's initial render, which may delay LCP. Deferring or inlining can move these network requests out of the critical path.

URL	Transfer Size	Duration
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	33.8 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	26.1 KiB
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/hi...	398 B
/wp-content/mu-plugins/_composer_elasticpress/dist/css/ge...	1.3 KiB	206 ms
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/ads.01e938.css	1.1 KiB

Consider setting font-display to swap or optional to ensure text is consistently visible. swap can be further optimized to mitigate layout shifts with font metric overrides.

URL	Est Savings
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpMtKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	15 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/XLYlIZPxYpJfTbZAFV...	10 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/nwpStKy2OAdR1K-Iwh...	5.0 ms
/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/fonts/7cHmv4okm5zmbtYoK-...	5.0 ms

These insights are also available in the Chrome DevTools Performance Panel - record a trace to view more detailed information.

The maximum potential First Input Delay that your users could experience is the duration of the longest task. Learn more about the Maximum Potential First Input Delay metric.

Time to Interactive is the amount of time it takes for the page to become fully interactive. Learn more about the Time to Interactive metric.

TTI

Diagnostics

Minifying CSS files can reduce network payload sizes. Learn how to minify CSS.

Estimated savings: 0.0 ms 3.2 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/* Show Continue without Accepting a.k.a. dismiss */ .pri_1cbe431f-25a8-4af9-8ee7-61e8645c2b94 .fid…	32.7 KiB	3.2 KiB

Reduce unused rules from stylesheets and defer CSS not used for above-the-fold content to decrease bytes consumed by network activity. Learn how to reduce unused CSS.

Estimated savings: 0.0 ms 55.7 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/* Show Continue without Accepting a.k.a. dismiss */ .pri_1cbe431f-25a8-4af9-8ee7-61e8645c2b94 .fid…	32.7 KiB	32.5 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/css/app.50b992.css	25.8 KiB	23.2 KiB

Reduce unused JavaScript and defer loading scripts until they are required to decrease bytes consumed by network activity. Learn how to reduce unused JavaScript.

Estimated savings: 0.0 ms 388.6 KiB

URL	Transfer Size	Est Savings
/pagead/managed/js/gpt/m202603310101/pubads_impl.js	182.4 KiB	138.3 KiB
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-NLXNPCQ	172.2 KiB	76.4 KiB
www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-PVBXQMCR&gtm=4e6411	118.2 KiB	59.4 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/themes/ars-v9/public/js/app.25ba18.js	71.0 KiB	57.9 KiB
ads-static.conde.digital/production/cns/builds/ars-technica/ars-technica.min.js	40.2 KiB	32.2 KiB
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1	33.5 KiB	24.3 KiB

Set an explicit width and height on image elements to reduce layout shifts and improve CLS. Learn how to set image dimensions

	URL
Listing image for first story in Most Read: "Cognitive surrender" leads AI user… `ol > li.group > a > img.h-auto`	cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-520147094-768x432.jpg

More information about the performance of your application. These numbers don't directly affect the Performance score.

●Layout shift culprits

●Document request latency

●Optimize DOM size

●LCP breakdown

●LCP request discovery

●Modern HTTP

●Optimize viewport for mobile

●Minify JavaScript

●Avoids enormous network payloads Total size was 2,222 KiB

●User Timing marks and measures 6 user timings

●JavaScript execution time 0.8 s

●Minimizes main-thread work 1.6 s

●Avoid long main-thread tasks 7 long tasks found

●Page didn't prevent back/forward cache restoration

●Network Requests

●Network Round Trip Times 100 ms

●Server Backend Latencies 100 ms

●Tasks

●Diagnostics

●Metrics

●Screenshot Thumbnails

●Final Screenshot

●Script Treemap Data

●Resources Summary

●Avoid multiple page redirects

●Initial server response time was short Root document took 220 ms

●Avoid large layout shifts 1 layout shift found

○INP breakdown

○Avoid non-composited animations

Accessibility

Names and labels

Failing Elements
article#card-2148335 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148335 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148621 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148621 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148639 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148639 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148605 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148605 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148587 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148587 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148522 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148522 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148397 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148397 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
article#card-2148459 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a `article#card-2148459 > div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a `div.dusk:bg-gray-700 > div.flex > div.relative > a`
div.mx-auto > div.justify-between > div.site-footer-statement > a `div.mx-auto > div.justify-between > div.site-footer-statement > a`

These are opportunities to improve the semantics of the controls in your application. This may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

○Interactive controls are keyboard focusable

○Interactive elements indicate their purpose and state

○The page has a logical tab order

○Visual order on the page follows DOM order

○User focus is not accidentally trapped in a region

○The user's focus is directed to new content added to the page

○HTML5 landmark elements are used to improve navigation

○Offscreen content is hidden from assistive technology

○Custom controls have associated labels

○Custom controls have ARIA roles

●`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`

●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes

●Elements with an ARIA `[role]` that require children to contain a specific `[role]` have all required children.

●`[role]`s are contained by their required parent element

●`[role]` values are valid

●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values

●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled

●Buttons have an accessible name

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●`[user-scalable="no"]` is not used in the `<meta name="viewport">` element and the `[maximum-scale]` attribute is not less than 5.

●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role

●Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` have accessible names.

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents

●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes

●Background and foreground colors have a sufficient contrast ratio

●Document has a `<title>` element

●`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute

●`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).

●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements

●No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●ARIA IDs are unique

●Identical links have the same purpose.

●Elements with visible text labels have matching accessible names.

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names

○ARIA input fields have accessible names

○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names

○Elements with the `role=text` attribute do not have focusable descendents.

○ARIA toggle fields have accessible names

○ARIA `tooltip` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `treeitem` elements have accessible names

○The page contains a heading, skip link, or landmark region

○`<dl>`'s contain only properly-ordered `<dt>` and `<dd>` groups, `<script>`, `<template>` or `<div>` elements.

○Definition list items are wrapped in `<dl>` elements

○No form fields have multiple labels

○`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title

○`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.

○Input buttons have discernible text.

○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text

○Form elements have associated labels

○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`

○`<object>` elements have alternate text

○Select elements have associated label elements.

○Skip links are focusable.

○Cells in a `<table>` element that use the `[headers]` attribute refer to table cells within the same table.

○`<th>` elements and elements with `[role="columnheader"/"rowheader"]` have data cells they describe.

○`[lang]` attributes have a valid value

○`<video>` elements contain a `<track>` element with `[kind="captions"]`

○Tables have different content in the summary attribute and `<caption>`.

○All heading elements contain content.

○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.

○Tables use `<caption>` instead of cells with the `[colspan]` attribute to indicate a caption.

○`<td>` elements in a large `<table>` have one or more table headers.

100

Best Practices

●Uses HTTPS

●Avoids deprecated APIs

●Avoids third-party cookies

●Allows users to paste into input fields

●Avoids requesting the geolocation permission on page load

●Avoids requesting the notification permission on page load

●Displays images with correct aspect ratio

●Serves images with appropriate resolution

●Page has the HTML doctype

●Properly defines charset

●No browser errors logged to the console

●No issues in the `Issues` panel in Chrome Devtools

●Ensure CSP is effective against XSS attacks

●Use a strong HSTS policy

●Ensure proper origin isolation with COOP

●Mitigate DOM-based XSS with Trusted Types

●Detected JavaScript libraries

●Page has valid source maps

○Redirects HTTP traffic to HTTPS

○Mitigate clickjacking with XFO or CSP

100

SEO

○Structured data is valid

●Page isn’t blocked from indexing

●Document has a `<title>` element

●Document has a meta description

●Page has successful HTTP status code

●Links have descriptive text

●Links are crawlable

●robots.txt is valid

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●Document has a valid `hreflang`

●Document has a valid `rel=canonical`

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Detailed Report

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Insights

Diagnostics

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Best Practices

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Lighthouse Scores

Core Web Vitals

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