www.principal.com speed test — 20 Oct 2026

Measured from the wfix.shop server on 20 October 2026 at 13:57 UTC. Grade A (96/100), with the screenshots, the timings and the fixes that matter.

https://www.principal.com/

20 October 2026 at 13:57 UTC · Free test · report pt_b1445cc14659
Grade
A
96/100
Performance100/100
Structure89/100

14 audit(s) passed, 2 need work

First byte (TTFB)201 msmeasured from this server
Fully loaded1.30 sfirst byte + slowest asset
Requests26document + assets
Page weight451.0 KBcompressed transfer
HTML document23.5 KBgzip
ProtocolHTTP/3server not sent
Third-party186.3 KBother hosts

Where the first byte went

  • DNS lookup 55 ms 27%
  • TCP connect 35 ms 17%
  • Server wait 112 ms 56%

Measured on the connection that fetched the HTML. Every other request on the page waits for the end of this bar before it can start.

How this page compares

First bytefaster than 92% of 4,999 pages tested here201 ms against a median of 449 ms
Page weightlighter than 62% of 4,999 pages tested here451.0 KB against a median of 650.5 KB
Fully loadedfaster than 83% of 4,999 pages tested here1.30 s against a median of 1.84 s
Requestssends more requests than 100% of 4,999 pages tested here26 against a median of 26

Every report published here is in this comparison, so it is a reference population of pages tested from one server - not a benchmark of the whole web.

What these numbers mean

  • The first byte arrived in 201 ms. That is workable, and the cheapest win left is caching or a warmer connection.
  • The page transfers 451.0 KB over 26 request(s). Images files are 52% of it, so resize and recompress the largest images before anything else.
  • The HTML itself arrives gzip-compressed.
  • It runs over HTTP/3, so the assets share a connection instead of opening one each.
  • 41% of the weight comes from other hosts (analytics, fonts, embeds), which also means their slow day becomes your slow day.
  • The largest element painted at 840 ms, inside the 2.5 s Google calls good.
  • Layout stayed still (CLS 0.061), so nothing jumps under the reader's cursor.
  • The main thread was blocked for 171 ms in total, which is not enough to feel.

Fix first: Render-blocking resources - Add defer or async to scripts that do not change the first paint, inline the critical CSS, and load the rest with media="print" plus an onload swap.

Read on one shared server, not a visitor's phone: use it to compare pages against each other, not as a promise about every connection. We fix what these tests find.

Screenshot

What the page looks like

Loaded in headless Chromium on this server. Click an image to open it full size.

Mobile screenshot of www.principal.com
Mobile 390 × 844 · 165.8 KB · page is 6000 px tall

Browser render

The same URL loaded in a real browser, so these are the readings curl cannot produce. The grade above is still built from the server measurements.

Largest contentful paint840 msgood is under 2.5 s
Cumulative layout shift0.061under 0.1 is stable
Total blocking time171 mslong tasks during load
First contentful paint504 msfirst content on screen
Browser page weight2.36 MB275 request(s), scripts included
Failed requests9blocked or unreachable
Largest contentful paint840 ms
Goodgood under 2.5 s, poor over 4 s
Cumulative layout shift0.061
Goodgood under 0.1, poor over 0.25
Total blocking time171 ms
Goodgood under 200 ms, poor over 600 ms

Page weight by type

What the page is made of

Images 5 requests
236.4 KB 52%
Javascript 20 requests
191.1 KB 42%

Transfer size, compressed as sent. 26 request(s) in total, 451.0 KB across all of them.

Top issues

Render-blocking resources

high impact

38 render-blocking resource(s) in the document head (36 script(s), 2 stylesheet(s)). The page cannot paint until each one arrives.

Fix: Add defer or async to scripts that do not change the first paint, inline the critical CSS, and load the rest with media="print" plus an onload swap.

Avoid extra redirects

medium impact

1 redirect hop(s) before the page load started, each one a full round trip before the first byte.

Fix: Link to the canonical URL (and make sure http, the apex domain and www all point at it) so no visitor pays a redirect first.

Waterfall

Slowest requests

JAVASCRIPTcdn.evgnet.com/beacon/principallifeinsco/pcom_prod/sc…
1.10 s
JAVASCRIPTwww.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_p…
979 ms
JAVASCRIPTwww.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_p…
979 ms
IMAGESwww.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_are…
977 ms
JAVASCRIPTwww.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_p…
974 ms
IMAGESwww.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https…
973 ms
IMAGESwww.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https…
970 ms
JAVASCRIPTwww.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_p…
967 ms
IMAGESwww.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https…
965 ms
JAVASCRIPTwww.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_p…
960 ms

Each bar is one request's own response time, scaled to the slowest. Assets were fetched in parallel, so the bars overlap in real time rather than stacking. first party third party

RequestTypeStatusTimeSize
https://cdn.evgnet.com/beacon/principallifeinsco/pcom_prod/scripts/evergage.min.js 3rd partyjavascript2001.10 s46.9 KB
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/global-header-dropdown-link.jsjavascript200979 ms139 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/footer.jsjavascript200979 ms110 B
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_area/public/2025-04/6730ca76279ffe9713f73f9d3e299e50.jpeg.webp?itok=2YrH48V7images200977 ms52.1 KB
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/clickable-card.jsjavascript200974 ms1.9 KB
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https/brandassets.principal.com/transform/69d61b95-89ab-445f-8f14-7ac73bbe2bfe/GettyImages-1366624112_PFG-Home-Invest-when-you-re-ready-v2.webp?itok=9cPMhjSximages200973 ms28.9 KB
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https/brandassets.principal.com/transform/4cc7a9f2-2abb-4447-b859-18225aab23f0/GettyImages-1365562800_PFG-Home-Retire-on-your-terms.webp?itok=6eGqbJWBimages200970 ms41.1 KB
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/text-input.jsjavascript200967 ms116 B
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/https/brandassets.principal.com/transform/cf134d2f-b65b-4fc9-8f01-a0fef9a900e9/GettyImages-1435656509_PFG-Home-Insure-what-matters.webp?itok=cpoGrxyMimages200965 ms34.9 KB
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/band.jsjavascript200960 ms108 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/global-header.jsjavascript200958 ms120 B
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_area/public/2026-10/748994ce459624b1b435576c1b752267.jpeg.webp?itok=LOXGgDRWimages200955 ms79.4 KB
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/grid.jsjavascript200955 ms108 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/text-passage.jsjavascript200953 ms117 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/global-header-utility-menu.jsjavascript200952 ms138 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/footer-nav.jsjavascript200951 ms116 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/global-header-dropdown-trigger.jsjavascript200949 ms140 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/global-header-dropdown-item.jsjavascript200948 ms138 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/feature-block.jsjavascript200948 ms118 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/icons/6.15.0/esm/search.jsjavascript200947 ms781 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/decorator.jsjavascript200947 ms113 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/card.jsjavascript200946 ms108 B
https://www.principal.com/profiles/contrib/houston/modules/pfg_pds_core_integration/assets/nonbundled/components/6.15.0/esm/button.jsjavascript200941 ms110 B
https://www.principal.com/sites/default/files/js/js_W3M84BYErlEQc0GoqB0GvWfXjas2tdWZUdHj0wZPFto.js?scope=header&delta=0&language=en&theme=principalcom&include=eJyllcFy4zAIhl8osl9iDz301t49WCYKExk0GKfN2xcrzUwvu5a7Nwt__CAMuESZh5RlhDxcECbU_nF6qYdTmZbBLjhjnzFBfsNoJHwq5zREuaH0iwFPkIWxGpPN_QQGr3BH7fCGbO8K8Uqc6vtNL4riQGyYFDa13o3B8yguwtaNLtjMrmbC3WYAfibW4BdBm2PETPEKY8ZwxGtCB8BEWx3OCLYqhjFLvDY7iRi2h6h0YLi1ejx6IVy-m-EXTmFSKZN8cCDD-T8lMnFzaf4iYUop_fYuq1Emu4cZeW1WUGpumi3MgUnJcJfV3MAGxO2XOlLGTIsdYQ995oUmHGEnb_L7daAqH8G_3WUnm0pHyHHN-9P3hNFXWBO6P5uVw0-fM_a-2a905c8QcRRpQYl947p1p8aV3aKjN1QDOkMJpYlcCug149KAfjYwWwevI_6DVIm4LB3yY2spRipY2aKYBab-x_OpKLED3gAy977pKFWZP7q67fkr-gIt3b3Xjavascript200929 ms420 B
https://js-cdn.dynatrace.com/jstag/16ab023090d/bf02182chf/78437cd60e78e39d_complete.js 3rd partyjavascript200909 ms139.4 KB
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