What follows is a YSlow based performance survey of 200 top web sites. The list was seeded seeded by the the Compete Attention 200, a list based on the amount of time people spend at certain sites- as opposed to page views, etc. It’s a little out of date, but it’s as good a list as any to choose from, so I went with it (especially since sites like many of these where people spend a lot of time and that serve a lot of big media would benefit from far futures expires headers, CDNs, etc.)
For the most part I just dropped the URL in and went to the home page once, recording the YSlow score I saw there. With sites that had country specific home pages and "choose your country" gatekeeper screens, I clicked through to the US home page.
Sites marked with an asterisk were bought/merged, etc. and no longer pointed to the original Compete Attention 200 URL. Blank YSlow grades mean I couldn’t get the report to actually run. All three sites simply hung up when the performance button was pressed.
Other than that? Read it and weep:
| Attention Rank | Site | YSLOW grade | date visited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | myspace.com | F (47) | 1/28/2008 |
| 2 | yahoo.com | B (86) | 1/28/2008 |
| 3 | msn.com | F (57) | 1/28/2008 |
| 4 | ebay.com | D (69) | 1/29/2008 |
| 5 | google.com | A (99) | 1/28/2008 |
| 6 | aol.com | D (61) | 1/29/2008 |
| 7 | pogo.com | F (32) | 1/29/2008 |
| 8 | facebook.com | C (73) | 1/28/2008 |
| 9 | amazon.com | F (47) | 1/28/2008 |
| 10 | craigslist.com | A (96) | 1/28/2008 |
| 11 | go.com | F (47) | 1/29/2008 |
| 12 | youtube.com | D (61) | 1/29/2008 |
| 13 | live.com | B (89) | 1/28/2008 |
| 14 | bankofamerica.com | F (48) | 1/28/2008 |
| 15 | wikipedia.org | D (64) | 1/28/2008 |
| 16 | walmart.com | F (48) | 1/28/2008 |
| 17 | mapquest.com | F (41) | 1/28/2008 |
| 18 | neopets.com | D (60) | 1/28/2008 |
| 19 | adultfriendfinder.com | F(59) |
1/29/2008 |
| 20 | aim.com | F (34) | 1/29/2008 |
| 21 | runescape.com | F (56) | 1/28/2008 |
| 22 | comcast.net | F (37) | 1/29/2008 |
| 23 | microsoft.com | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 24 | photobucket.com | F (45) | 1/29/2008 |
| 25 | sportsline.com | F (42) | 1/29/2008 |
| 26 | paypal.com | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 27 | cnn.com | F (24) | 1/29/2008 |
| 28 | target.com | F (39) | 1/29/2008 |
| 29 | gaiaonline.com | C (78) | 1/29/2008 |
| 30 | apple.com | F (53) | 1/29/2008 |
| 31 | match.com | F (42) | 1/29/2008 |
| 32 | wellsfargo.com | C (74) | 1/29/2008 |
| 33 | chase.com | F (40) | 1/29/2008 |
| 34 | fanfiction.net | F (52) | 1/29/2008 |
| 35 | bestbuy.com | F (31) | 1/29/2008 |
| 36 | bebo.com | F (54) | 1/29/2008 |
| 37 | nfl.com | F (28) | 1/29/2008 |
| 38 | wildtangent.com | B (80) | 1/29/2008 |
| 39 | iwon.com | F (39) | 1/29/2008 |
| 40 | overstock.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 41 | ask.com | C (75) | 1/29/2008 |
| 42 | netflix.com | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 43 | careerbuilder.com | F (41) | 1/29/2008 |
| 44 | about.com | D (60) | 1/29/2008 |
| 45 | dell.com | D (62) | 1/29/2008 |
| 46 | monster.com | F (28) | 1/29/2008 |
| 47 | jcpenney.com | F (55) | 1/29/2008 |
| 48 | literotica.com | D (67) | 1/29/2008 |
| 49 | imdb.com | D (62) | 1/29/2008 |
| 50 | usatoday.com | F (37) | 1/29/2008 |
| 51 | weather.com | C (76) | 1/29/2008 |
| 52 | foodnetwork.com | F (26) | 1/29/2008 |
| 53 | circuitcity.com | F (42) | 1/29/2008 |
| 54 | toysrus.com | F (49) | 1/29/2008 |
| 55 | blackplanet.com | F (52) | 1/29/2008 |
| 56 | cingular.com | D (61) | 1/29/2008 |
| 57 | foxsports.com | F (38) | 1/29/2008 |
| 58 | cartoonnetwork.com | F (50) | 1/29/2008 |
| 59 | qvc.com | F (25) | 1/29/2008 |
| 60 | blogger.com | C (70) | 1/29/2008 |
| 61 | excite.com | F (29) | 1/29/2008 |
| 62 | citibank.com | F (34) | 1/29/2008 |
| 63 | millsberry.com | F (53) | 1/29/2008 |
| 64 | xanga.com | F (53) | 1/29/2008 |
| 65 | autotrader.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 66 | realtor.com | C (73) | 1/29/2008 |
| 67 | singlesnet.com | C (70) | 1/29/2008 |
| 68 | verizonwireless.com | F (29) | 1/29/2008 |
| 69 | smashits.com | F (40) | 1/29/2008 |
| 70 | sears.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 71 | capitalone.com | F (34) | 1/29/2008 |
| 72 | expedia.com | F (32) | 1/29/2008 |
| 73 | plentyoffish.com | D (66) | 1/29/2008 |
| 74 | eprize.net | F (52) | 1/29/2008 |
| 75 | bellsouth.net | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 76 | americangreetings.com | F (52) | 1/29/2008 |
| 77 | earthlink.net | F (48) | 1/29/2008 |
| 78 | fidelity.com | C (70) | 1/29/2008 |
| 79 | livejournal.com | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 80 | ancestry.com | ||
| 81 | universalnightlife.com | F (29) | 1/29/2008 |
| 82 | wachovia.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 83 | nytimes.com | F (27) | 1/29/2008 |
| 84 | everythinggirl.com | F (53) | 1/29/2008 |
| 85 | worldwinner.com | F (47) | 1/29/2008 |
| 86 | meandmytravel.com | ||
| 87 | windowsmedia.com | F (58) | 1/29/2008 |
| 88 | eharmony.com | F (40) | 1/29/2008 |
| 89 | nick.com | F (33) | 1/29/2008 |
| 90 | wamu.com | C (78) | 1/29/2008 |
| 91 | pbskids.org | D (62) | 1/29/2008 |
| 92 | nextag.com | D (66) | 1/29/2008 |
| 93 | victoriassecret.com | F (55) | 1/29/2008 |
| 94 | myway.com | F (55) | 1/29/2008 |
| 95 | hi5.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 96 | starware.com | A (96) | 1/29/2008 |
| 97 | univision.com | F (56) | 1/29/2008 |
| 98 | adobe.com | F (30) | 1/29/2008 |
| 99 | gamehouse.com | F (56) | 1/29/2008 |
| 100 | youravon.com | D (65) | 1/29/2008 |
| 101 | tagged.com | F (47) | 1/29/2008 |
| 102 | hsn.com | F (48) | 1/29/2008 |
| 103 | travelocity.com | F (54) | 1/29/2008 |
| 104 | usps.com | C (72) | 1/29/2008 |
| 105 | miniclip.com | F (36) | 1/29/2008 |
| 106 | ups.com | D (62) | 1/29/2008 |
| 107 | reference.com | F (46) | 1/29/2008 |
| 108 | wwe.com | F (41) | 1/29/2008 |
| 109 | usbank.com | F (46) | 1/29/2008 |
| 110 | lycos.com | F (45) | 1/29/2008 |
| 111 | bbc.co.uk | F (45) | 1/29/2008 |
| 112 | southwest.com | F (31) | 1/29/2008 |
| 113 | kohls.com | D (61) | 1/29/2008 |
| 114 | nickjr.com | F (31) | 1/29/2008 |
| 115 | classmates.com | F (46) | 1/29/2008 |
| 116 | gamefaqs.com | F (34) | 1/29/2008 |
| 117 | mcafee.com | ||
| 118 | addictinggames.com | F (26) | 1/29/2008 |
| 119 | webmd.com | F (50) | 1/29/2008 |
| 120 | mywebsearch.com | A (94) | 1/29/2008 |
| 121 | t-mobile.com | F (33) | 1/29/2008 |
| 122 | foxnews.com | F (29) | 1/29/2008 |
| 123 | hp.com | F (47) | 1/29/2008 |
| 124 | whitepages.com | F (45) | 1/29/2008 |
| 125 | hotfreelayouts.com | F (44) | 1/29/2008 |
| 126 | true.com | F (45) | 1/29/2008 |
| 127 | bigfishgames.com | F (55) | 1/29/2008 |
| 128 | macys.com | F (49) | 1/29/2008 |
| 129 | blockbuster.com | F (44) | 1/29/2008 |
| 130 | ticketmaster.com | F (48) | 1/29/2008 |
| 131 | manhunt.net | D (68) | 1/29/2008 |
| 132 | mlb.com | F (43) | 1/29/2008 |
| 133 | overture.com | B (89)* | 1/29/2008 |
| 134 | pch.com | F (34) | 1/29/2008 |
| 135 | marketwatch.com | F (40) | 1/29/2008 |
| 136 | deviantart.com | D (66) | 1/29/2008 |
| 137 | nba.com | F (30) | 1/29/2008 |
| 138 | popcap.com | F (37) | 1/29/2008 |
| 139 | clubpenguin.com | F (58) | 1/29/2008 |
| 140 | orbitz.com | F (40) | 1/29/2008 |
| 141 | oldnavy.com | F (35) | 1/29/2008 |
| 142 | att.net | F (57) | 1/29/2008 |
| 143 | cox.net | F (46) | 1/29/2008 |
| 144 | ign.com | F (22) | 1/29/2008 |
| 145 | kodakgallery.com | F (29) | 1/29/2008 |
| 146 | userplane.com | D (63) | 1/29/2008 |
| 147 | scout.com | F (50) | 1/29/2008 |
| 148 | stardoll.com | F (52) | 1/29/2008 |
| 149 | mypoints.com | F (31) | 1/29/2008 |
| 150 | shoplocal.com | F (56) | 1/29/2008 |
| 151 | cabelas.com | D (61) | 1/29/2008 |
| 152 | nbc.com | F (23) | 1/29/2008 |
| 153 | sprintpcs.com | F (49) | 1/29/2008 |
| 154 | rivals.com | F (35) | 1/29/2008 |
| 155 | americanexpress.com | F (40) | 1/30/2008 |
| 156 | weatherbug.com | F (41) | 1/30/2008 |
| 157 | netteller.com | F (58)* | 1/30/2008 |
| 158 | voyeurweb.com | D (66) | 1/30/2008 |
| 159 | adam4adam.com | F (56) | 1/0/2008 |
| 160 | flickr.com | C (76) | 1/30/2008 |
| 161 | funbrain.com | D (64) | 1/30/2008 |
| 162 | phoenix.edu | F (46) | 1/30/2008 |
| 163 | hornymatches.com | D (62) | 1/30/2008 |
| 164 | rr.com | F (48) | 1/30/2008 |
| 165 | real.com | D (63) | 1/30/2008 |
| 166 | allrecipes.com | F (54) | 1/30/2008 |
| 167 | ezboard.com | C (77)* | 1/30/2008 |
| 168 | xnxx.com | D (66) | 1/30/2008 |
| 169 | kbb.com | F (46) | 1/30/2008 |
| 170 | webshots.com | F (35) | 1/30/2008 |
| 171 | discovercard.com | F (52) | 1/30/2008 |
| 172 | download.com | F (29) | 1/30/2008 |
| 173 | alt.com | D (61) | 1/30/2008 |
| 174 | hallmark.com | F (56) | 1/30/2008 |
| 175 | ca.gov | D (60) | 1/30/2008 |
| 176 | blackpeoplemeet.com | D (63) | 1/30/2008 |
| 177 | aa.com | F (42) | 1/30/2008 |
| 178 | icoke.com | B (81) | 1/30/2008 |
| 179 | barnesandnoble.com | F (42) | 1/30/2008 |
| 180 | llbean.com | F (36) | 1/30/2008 |
| 181 | verizon.net | F (32) | 1/30/2008 |
| 182 | invisionfree.com | A (92) | 1/30/2008 |
| 183 | scottrade.com | F (56) | 1/30/2008 |
| 184 | walgreens.com | D (63) | 1/30/2008 |
| 185 | lowes.com | F (48) | 1/30/2008 |
| 186 | directv.com | F (44) | 1/30/2008 |
| 187 | liveperson.net | D (63) | 1/30/2008 |
| 188 | asiantown.net | F (35) | 1/30/2008 |
| 189 | friendster.com | D (66) | 1/30/2008 |
| 190 | geocities.com | C (77) | 1/30/2008 |
| 191 | macromedia.com | F (30)* | 1/30/2008 |
| 192 | babycenter.com | F (33) | 1/30/2008 |
| 193 | cars.com | F (51) | 1/30/2008 |
| 194 | verizon.com | F (34) | 1/30/2008 |
| 195 | ameritrade.com | F (41) | 1/30/2008 |
| 196 | gamespot.com | F (21) | 1/30/2008 |
| 197 | legacy.com | F (59) | 1/30/2008 |
| 198 | gottahavetickets.com | B (80) | 1/30/2008 |
| 199 | bmgmusic.com | F (57) | 1/30/2008 |
| 200 | fedex.com | F (51) | 1/30/2008 |
As a note, while compling this list, the funniest combination was going from alt.com directly to hallmark.com. "I love when a man begs for mercy" straight to "release your inner cupid." Talk about balancing extremes.
As for the breakdown- the vast majority fail with the average score being 51.12.
There are only 5 As, 6 Bs, 14 Cs and 31 Ds. The rest are all Fs, including 16 sites that scored in the 20s.
The big winner, is of course, Google.com which scored 99. The biggest loser? Other than the user, gamespot.com managed to score a 21. Check out the reports:
So as to not end on a negative, congrats go out to all the As and Bs…
- google.com
- craigslist.com
- starware.com
- mywebsearch.com
- invisionfree.com
- overture.com
- live.com
- yahoo.com
- icoke.com
- wildtangent.com
- gottahavetickets.com