Data Aggregation

DebugHawk aggregates your WordPress site's performance data using three different methods. Each method tells a different story about your users' experience and helps you make informed optimization decisions.

Aggregation Methods

Average (AVG)

The average calculates the mathematical mean of all performance measurements. While useful for general trends, averages mislead when outliers are present. A single extremely slow page load can significantly skew your average upward.

75th Percentile (P75)

The 75th percentile shows the performance threshold that 75% of your users experience or better. This metric aligns with Core Web Vitals standards and provides a realistic view of typical user experience while filtering out extreme outliers.

95th Percentile (P95)

The 95th percentile captures performance for 95% of your users, including those on slower connections or devices. This metric is ideal when you need to ensure excellent performance for nearly all visitors or when monitoring critical user journeys.

Choosing Your Aggregation Method

P75 is the default and recommended for most WordPress sites. It aligns with Google's Core Web Vitals methodology and provides actionable performance targets without being overly influenced by outliers.

Geographic distance from your server can significantly affect performance metrics. A WordPress site hosted in London serving UK customers might see fast loads (500ms) from UK visitors but slower loads (1+ seconds) from global visitors.

This geographic distribution makes averages particularly misleading for regionally-focused sites. Non-target traffic inflates the numbers while P75 filters out these outliers and captures your target audience's experience.

Consider using P95 if you:

  • Serve critical e-commerce or membership sites
  • Have strict SLA requirements
  • Need to monitor worst-case scenarios

Example Comparison

Consider a site with these load times:

  • 90% of page loads: 1 second
  • 10% of page loads: 10 seconds (slow connections)

The metrics would show:

  • Average: ~1.9 seconds (skewed by the slow loads)
  • P75: ~1 second (typical user experience)
  • P95: ~10 seconds (includes slow connection users)

Configuration

You can set your default aggregation method in your team settings. Since aggregates are calculated on the fly, changes instantly affect all data across your entire history.