This document serves as a guide to help you make the most out of Site Lens and ensure your sites are consistently optimized. Enjoy exploring the new features and insights!
Overview
Site Lens is a powerful new feature within the ITS Web Hosting Services Portal that provides automated and on-demand scanning of managed websites. With Site Lens, users gain valuable insights into their sites' Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices, and SEO metrics, helping to ensure an optimal experience for end users and compliance with industry standards.
By integrating with Lighthouse, Site Lens offers a comprehensive evaluation of each website, providing clear, actionable scores and reporting to help site managers track and maintain site health over time.
Who Has Access to Site Lens?
Site Lens is automatically available to all managed sites once the live Pantheon environment is initialized. By default, each site will scan its root path ("/") in both mobile and desktop modes, giving an initial snapshot of core metrics. Users have the flexibility to expand this coverage by adding additional paths, choosing to scan in either mobile or desktop mode, or both.
Key Features and Benefits
- Automated Scanning: Each site is automatically scanned weekly, ensuring a regular and up-to-date evaluation of site health.
- Customizable Path Monitoring: Users can add specific paths (e.g.,
/articles,/contact) to be scanned, allowing for targeted insights into key sections of the site. - Aggregated and Individual Scores: View both an aggregate score that represents all scanned paths and individual scores for each path.
- Ad Hoc Scanning: Users can run on-demand scans if they want an immediate update on site metrics.
- Detailed Reporting and History: Track scores over time and access detailed reports on past scans for historical analysis.
- Exportable Reports: Downloadable reports for easy sharing and offline analysis.
How to Use Site Lens
Accessing Site Lens
Site Lens is easily accessible from the dashboard for each managed site. To open Site Lens, you can either:
- Click the Site Lens button on the site’s detail page.
- Click directly on the Accessibility score in the website management home page.
Either option will take you to the Site Lens section, where you can view the main scan results, configure monitored paths, and initiate scans as needed.
Viewing Your Site’s Overall Health
On the main Site Lens page, you’ll find a high-level overview of your site’s health:
- Aggregate Score: Shows the most recent overall score, calculated from the latest scores of all scanned paths. This score gives a quick snapshot of your site’s health across Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices, and SEO.
- Score History: Below the main score, the previous scores are displayed in smaller text with arrows indicating changes in score (up or down), allowing you to track recent trends at a glance.
Monitoring Individual Paths
The Monitored Paths section provides a detailed breakdown of scores for each path being scanned. For each path, you’ll see:
- Path: The URL suffix being scanned (e.g.,
/articles). - Platform: Indicates whether the path is scanned in mobile or desktop mode.
- Scores: The latest scores for Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices, and SEO for that path.
- Actions: Options to edit or delete the path, or to perform an ad hoc scan if desired.
Running Ad Hoc Scans
While Site Lens automatically scans all paths weekly, you can initiate a manual scan when needed:
- Full Site Scan: On the main Site Lens page, click Scan All to run an immediate scan for all monitored paths.
- Single Path Scan: From the path details page, click Scan Now for an on-demand scan of that specific path.
Viewing Detailed Reports
Click on a path details button to view its details page, which includes:
- Accessibility Score History: A graph displaying up to the 10 most recent accessibility scores, allowing you to track progress or identify any areas needing attention.
- Lighthouse Report: A detailed Lighthouse report, with individual scores for Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO.
To view a specific past report, click on any data point in the score history graph. To export the report, use the three-dot menu in the Lighthouse Report section.
Configuring Monitored Paths
Adding a New Path
To add a new path for scanning:
- Click Add New Configuration in the Monitored Paths section.
- Enter the path suffix (e.g.,
/articlesrather than the full URLhttps://mysite.org/articles). - Select Platform(s) to scan (mobile, desktop, or both).
- Optionally, provide a description for the path. If left blank, the page title will be used by default.
Editing or Deleting a Path
You can edit or delete any path by clicking the Edit or Delete buttons next to the path in the Monitored Paths section. The default paths cannot be modified or deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Can I monitor additional paths beyond the site root?
Yes, you can add as many paths as you like. For each path, choose whether to scan in mobile, desktop, or both modes. - How often are scans performed?
Scans are performed automatically once per week, though you can initiate an ad hoc scan at any time. - What should I enter for a path when adding a new configuration?
Enter the suffix of the path that follows the domain, such as/contact. Avoid including the full URL. - Can I download the reports?
Yes, reports can be exported from the Lighthouse Report section by clicking the three-dot menu. - Who should use Site Lens?
Site Lens is designed for site managers who need a high-level view of site health. Developers should use manual scanning tools in their own environments before publishing updates to production. - Why is Site Lens unavailable for my site?
To use Site Lens, your site must have an initialized Live environment in Pantheon. Initializing is part of the development process. To initialize, a developer must visit your site’s dashboard in Pantheon, navigate to the Live tab, and click Initialize Live Environment. There is no need for this to be done until your site is naturally ready for this step.
Get Started with Site Lens
To start using Site Lens, navigate to the "Site Lens" section in your site’s dashboard. From there, you can view overall scores, monitor specific paths, and ensure that your site meets accessibility and performance standards.
Contact Us: If you have any questions or need support with Site Lens, please reach out to our support team.