Definition
Google Lighthouse is an auditing tool that evaluates web pages for performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO, and provides actionable recommendations.
Key Takeaways
- Lighthouse is a fast way to spot technical issues that hurt conversions.
- For treatment sites, performance and accessibility improvements often lift calls and form completions.
- Use Lighthouse as a guide, then validate changes with real user data.
Why It Matters for Treatment and Behavioral Health
People in crisis often browse on mobile. Slow pages and poor usability reduce trust and lead to drop-offs. Lighthouse helps identify fixable issues.
Treatment Lens: What to Prioritize
Mobile performance, page speed on key landing pages, accessibility basics for forms and navigation, and avoiding intrusive interstitials.
How to Use Lighthouse
Run audits on top traffic pages, prioritize high-impact fixes, then confirm improvements using analytics and conversion tracking.
Common Mistakes
- Chasing a perfect score while ignoring conversion pathways and messaging clarity.
- Testing only the homepage and ignoring key program and location pages.
- Applying fixes without validating that tracking still works.
Related Terms
Page Speed, Accessibility Basics, Google Search Console, Conversion Tracking
FAQ
Is Lighthouse the same as PageSpeed Insights?
They share the Lighthouse engine. PageSpeed Insights is a hosted tool, while Lighthouse can run in the browser and other contexts.
Do Lighthouse scores affect rankings directly?
Not directly. Some underlying factors like speed and usability can influence outcomes, but focus on real improvements.
How often should we audit?
After major site updates and monthly for key templates.
If your site feels slow or conversions are slipping, we can run Lighthouse-driven fixes on your highest value pages and protect tracking.