GoDaddy’s “RUM” JavaScript Could Be Slowing Down User Websites

Listen up, webmasters!

GoDaddy is adding unwanted JavaScript that has been found to slow down or even break websites using their hosting service.

The problematic code was injected into websites to enable a technology they call Real User Interface, or RUM, which supposedly is used to “identify potential bottlenecks and optimization opportunities,” according to GoDaddy.

The code allows the hosting platform to “measure and track the performance of your website.”

Unfortunately, this clearly come with its costs.

The Downside of RUM JavaScript

According to Search Engine Journal, all U.S. GoDaddy customers are unwittingly opted in to using RUM, with little information provided to them regarding its purpose or the potential impact it will have on websites.

While on the surface this sounds benign, there have been many reports of the JavaScript code snippets negatively impacting website performance.

On their help page, GoDaddy even references these concerns, stating “the JavaScript may cause issues including slower site speed, or a broken/inoperable site.”

….Yes, you read that right.

In 2019, your website is your primary sales tool. A broken website can cost companies huge amounts of lost revenue, even in a short period of time.

It’s no secret that slow site speed can also have negative consequences.

Adding even a few seconds onto your website load time can negatively impact your ranking on search engines (especially Google), reducing the chances of prospects finding you.

If users do find and visit your site, you’ll likely see a higher bounce rate as impatient visitors exit rather than wait for pages to load.

Ok, You Got My Attention. How Do I Opt Out?

The main complaint that most GoDaddy users have with regard to this issue is that the company opted all users in to RUM automatically.

GoDaddy recommends users opt-out of the RUM if their website has the following factors:

• Optimized for Google’s AMP

• Have pages ending with multiple ending tags

• Your site’s performance is slower

Even if your website doesn’t fall into one of these categories, I highly recommend opting out anyway.

RUM's main purpose is to benefit GoDaddy’s own analytics - it has no real benefit to the companies that host their sites on the platform, and the potential consequences are so severe.

To opt out, use the following steps:

1. Access your cPanel hosting account by logging in and selecting the account you’d like to opt-out of RUM

2. Click the “....” button that triggers a dropdown, and then “Help Us”

3. From there, click opt-out