How do you use Sitecore performance tuning tools and reports to identify and fix bottlenecks?

1 Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) Performance Testing Tool

One of the first tools you should use to test your Sitecore website performance is the Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) Performance Testing Tool. This is a free tool that simulates user traffic and actions on your website, and measures the response time, throughput, and errors. You can use this tool to benchmark your website performance, identify weak points, and compare different scenarios and configurations. To use this tool, you need to download it from the Sitecore Developer Portal, install it on a separate machine from your Sitecore server, and configure the test settings and scenarios. You can then run the test and view the results in a dashboard or a report.

2 Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) Optimization Reports

Another useful tool to optimize your Sitecore website performance is the Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) Optimization Reports. These are reports that show you how your website performs in terms of SEO, accessibility, mobile-friendliness, and page speed. You can access these reports from the Sitecore Experience Editor or the Content Editor, by selecting a page and clicking on the Optimization tab. You can then view the scores and recommendations for each aspect of your website performance, and follow the suggested actions to improve them. For example, you can optimize your images, reduce your page size, enable caching, or minify your code.

4 Sitecore Database Tuning

A fourth way to improve your Sitecore website performance is to tune your Sitecore databases. Sitecore uses several databases to store and manage your content, configuration, analytics, and other data. These databases can affect your website performance if they are not optimized and maintained properly. Some of the best practices to tune your Sitecore databases are to use the right database server and version, configure the database settings and parameters, index the database tables, update the database statistics, and perform regular backups and restores.

5 Sitecore Caching

A fifth technique to boost your Sitecore website performance is to use caching. Caching is a process that stores frequently used data or content in memory or disk, so that it can be retrieved faster and reduce the load on your server. Sitecore has several types of caching, such as HTML caching, data caching, prefetch caching, and output caching. You can configure and manage these caching options from the Sitecore Control Panel, the Sitecore Configuration files, or the Sitecore API. You can also use external caching solutions, such as Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), reverse proxies, or web servers.

6 Sitecore Performance Counters

A sixth tool to monitor and optimize your Sitecore website performance is to use performance counters. Performance counters are metrics that measure various aspects of your system performance, such as CPU usage, memory usage, disk usage, network usage, and more. You can use performance counters to track and analyze the performance of your Sitecore server, application, and processes. You can view and collect performance counters using the Windows Performance Monitor, the Sitecore Admin pages, or third-party tools. You can also create custom performance counters using the Sitecore API or the Sitecore Configuration files.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?