Performance fix guide
Missing Preconnect for Critical Origins
Critical third-party origins lack preconnect hints. Establishing early connections saves DNS, TCP, and TLS round-trip time.
Issue ID: CWV-PRECONNECT-001
Severity: minor
Impact: Low
Effort: S
Use this article when
- You need deeper remediation guidance than the issue card can show.
- You want CMS-specific steps before handing the fix to a developer.
- You want a repeatable re-check path after shipping the change.
What this issue is
Critical third-party origins lack preconnect hints. Establishing early connections saves DNS, TCP, and TLS round-trip time.
Why it matters
Critical third-party origins lack preconnect hints. Establishing early connections saves DNS, TCP, and TLS round-trip time. This affects load speed, Core Web Vitals, and how many visitors stay long enough to convert.
How we detect it
- FreeSiteAudit flags this issue when the rule for CWV-PRECONNECT-001 fails and the page evidence points to Performance tool.
- You can usually confirm this by checking the page source or the relevant page settings inside your CMS.
Evidence examples
Check the affected page source, rendered output, or relevant CMS setting to confirm the missing or incorrect element.
How to fix it
- 1Add <link rel="preconnect" href="https://..."> for critical origins
- 2Also add <link rel="dns-prefetch"> as a fallback
- 3Focus on origins that serve the LCP resource or critical assets
How to re-check it
- Confirm preconnect tags exist for key third-party origins
Related tools
This issue is best verified with the full FreeSiteAudit crawl rather than a single-point mini tool.