WebXPRT FAQ

We rely on the Internet every day to check movie times, figure out where to eat, and communicate with our friends and family. We want tech that has strong, reliable Web browsing capabilities. But there are thousands of Web-enabled devices, all claiming that they can give you a great Internet experience. How can you tell how good a device really is?

WebXPRT is the answer: a free online tool that gives you objective information about how well a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or any other Web-enabled device handles common Web tasks. By running a simple test on your device at WebXPRT.com, you can get a score that makes it easy to compare your device against others on the WebXPRT website. Or just check out results from a variety of laptops, tablets, and phones at WebXPRT.com.

WebXPRT is one of the BenchmarkXPRT benchmarks, a set of tools that help you learn how all kinds of devices perform.

A benchmark, in this case, is a tool designed to test a wide range of devices on a level playing field. When you look at results from BenchmarkXPRT benchmarks, you get unbiased, fair product comparisons.

It tells you how well a device handles web browsing. To do this, WebXPRT runs four online tests that simulate the kinds of things you do on the Internet every day. It measures how long (in milliseconds) your device takes to complete each of those tasks. Then it uses those times to calculate a single-number overall score, which you can use to compare your device against others at WebXPRT.com.

Technology manufacturers, developers, and sellers; tech-review websites like AnandTech and Hardware.info; and consumers like you. WebXPRT is a great resource for anyone who wants to compare devices against each other on the battlefield of web browsing.

It’s easy – no download required!

1. You don’t want the device to shut down during the tests, so go to Settings and set the sleep time to at least half an hour. This should cover the time it takes to run all the tests.
2. Close all of your other apps and windows. (An easy way to do this is to restart your device.) Other activity on your device might lower your score.
3. Go to WebXPRT.com and click “Run WebXPRT 2013.” Click “continue” in the popup box.
4. Check which of the four simulations you want to run. (We recommend leaving all of them checked – that way, you can get an Overall score, which is the easiest way to compare your device with others.) Ignore the “Optional Description” box.
5. Click “Start”, and WebXPRT will begin!

WebXPRT will run each of its four tests five times. While it’s running, try not to touch or click the screen; this won’t hurt your device, but it might affect the results. When the center top of the screen says “Results,” you’ll know you’re done. There, check out the score under the Overall column. That number is all you need to compare your device against others at WebXPRT.com. If you’re interested, however, you can also scroll down to see how fast your device completed each individual task.

It runs these four tests seven times each:

1. Photo Effects: Measures the time to apply three effects (Sharpen, Emboss, and Glow) to two photos each, a set of six photos total.
2. Face Detect: Measures the time it takes to check for human faces in a photo.
3. Stocks Dashboard: Measures the time to calculate financial indicators of a stock based on historical data and display the result in a dashboard.
4. Offline Notes: Measures the time to store notes securely in the browser's local storage and display recent entries.

Each test uses different combinations of HTML5 Canvas 2D and Javascript, common elements in many Web pages, to gauge how well your device and browser work together in everyday Web browsing situations.

Don’t worry – it might be boring, but it’s not broken. Like any good scientist, WebXPRT isn’t content to run its tests just once. It runs each of the four tests five times to ensure consistent scores.

We’re working on simplifying this page, but until then, here’s the breakdown:

Overall Score:

• This is all you need to check your results against the results of other devices on WebXPRT.com. Here, a higher number is better.
• The +/- following the overall score is the confidence interval.

Test Information:

• WebXPRT generates this tag each time the program runs. This information is useful if you choose to share your results with others on the WebXPRT page.

Individual Test Results:

• Each test lists its time in milliseconds (ms). Here, a lower number is better.
• The +/- following the (ms) time is the confidence interval.
• The % is the confidence interval reflected as a percentage of the score. So, for example, if your score was 10 and your confidence interval was 1, you would see 10% here. A smaller percentage is better, because it means that next time you run the test, it’s more likely that you’ll get the same score.

</> HTML5 Capabilities:

• This checklist highlights which HTML5 functions your device and browser can handle. A green checkmark means the device/browser combination is capable of that function; a red X means it is not. Not all devices perform all functions, so red Xs are not necessarily a bad thing. This is a capabilities assessment, not a reflection of testing.

Yes. WebXPRT tests the capabilities of your device/browser combination. We recommend you run the test on the browser you use most often. That said, WebXPRT is also a great way to test the speed of several different browsers and see which browser is fastest on your device.

No. It may cause the test to take longer to complete, but WebXPRT doesn’t need a perfect Internet connection.

On the Results page, click “Submit results for publishing.” (To leave the Submit box, simply click outside the box.)

1. Fill in your email and the name of your computer, tablet, phone, or other device.
2. Fill in the model number. This is in a different place for each device, but you should be able to find it by searching “Model number for [device name].” If your device does not have a model number, put N/A.
3. Fill in the operating system. This should be easy to find in the “About” section of the Settings area on any device.
4. Fill in your browser and version. You can find these in the Test Information section of the results page.
5. Leave the box for additional information blank.
6. Click “Submit”, and you’re done!

We vet all submissions before we publish them on the website, so check back in a few days to see your results in the device rankings.

Go to WebXPRT.com, and click View Results. All you really need is the score under the Overall column, but for more detailed information on any set of scores, click the link under the Source column.

The BenchmarkXPRT Development Community is a forum where registered members can contribute to the process of creating and improving benchmarks, including WebXPRT. If you are not currently a community member, we encourage you to join! (And yes, that means you – our community is open to everyone, from software developers to interested consumers.) Not only will you get early releases of future versions of WebXPRT, but you’ll also be able to download the source code (available to members only) and influence the future of the app. Register now, or for more information, see the BenchmarkXPRT FAQ.

Go to WebXPRT.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We announce breaking news on the BenchmarkXPRT blog (available to everyone) and the BenchmarkXPRT forums (available to members only). If you can't find the answer to your question, or you need help with WebXPRT, send an email to our team at BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com.