Display QA | Remote load - total load vs polite load

Remote load

For third party tags, Remote Loading the process of retrieving the entire creative and its assets such as images, scripts, or other content, from a remote server or location onto a webpage (except the small initiating script or iframe snippet). 

For hosted creatives these are resources that are referenced by the files you host, for example javascript libraries or fonts.

Monitoring the Remote Load helps evaluate how efficiently an ad is delivered and whether it aligns with performance expectations, as well as providing insights into the overall impact an ad may have on page performance

Remote load is either defined as a sum of all assets loaded regardless of when the load is initiated or divided into an initial load phase and a subload phase. These ways of defining the Remote Load are called Total Load and Polite Load.

Total load

Total Load refers to the complete volume of remote assets and data that is loaded when an ad creative is displayed. It encompasses all elements, including images, scripts, and any additional content associated with the ad. Total Load is a comprehensive metric that provides insights into the overall impact an ad may have on page performance.

Polite load

Polite load refers to the remote loading of assets in two phases called Initial load and Subload. During the Initial load, only primary assets are allowed to load on a page — the rest of the assets will be allowed to load afterwards during the Subload phase.

This approach aims to enhance user experience by ensuring that critical components are loaded promptly, allowing for a smoother and less disruptive display of the ad. 

Total load vs polite load

Although different in their approach, they both measure the same overall Remote Load value — the key difference being that the Total Load mesures the overall value of the Remote Load, while the Polite load divides the Remote Load into an Initial Load phase and Subload phase. Adding together the Initial Load and Subload values gives you the same overall value as the Total Load.

Please see below more info on how you can define the way you measure the Remote Load as part of your Display Ad Specification...

Remote load / Total load settings in Advalidation

In Advalidation you can specify specify values for either:

• Total load (the sum of all assets)
• Polite load (divided into initial load and subload)

Total load, Initial load, and Subload values must be in kb.

Google Enabler.js setting [Polite load only]

Enabler.js uses a slightly different definition of polite load. Activating this setting is usually a good idea, but it also means implicitly trusting Google to determine when subload may start.

Javascript policy settings

For both the Total load and the Polite load, you may chose from one of the below Javascript policies:

• No javascript exclusion (recommended setting) - Javascript assets count towards remote load just like any other asset.
  
• Exclude cacheable Javascript - Javascript assets that are allowed by the hosting server to be cached for at least 24 hours are excluded. The cacheability of an asset is determined by examining the HTTP response headers. Note that browser cache is a voluntary client side optimisation that only helps with the download phase of Javascript execution. Allowing unlimited amounts of Javascript will have a negative impact on the performance of the publishing page.
• Exclude all Javascript - Exclude all Javascript assets, regardless if they're cacheable or not. We strongly advise against using this setting.

Remote load exceptions settings

It is possible to exclude certain common libraries from the creative weight, as long as they're downloaded from the same URL and therefore can be considered cached by most visitors. Please note that the exact URL determines whether or not the browser will have the resource cached or not. For example: 10 different version of jQuery will mean 10 heavy Javascripts loaded. You should advise your advertisers to use one specific version loaded from one specific CDN to accept exemptions from creative weight.

To add a Remote Load exception:

• scroll down to Remote load exception
• select Add
• Enter the URL in the field Remote Load URL
• select Create

Before clicking on Create, you may also select one of both of the settings below:

• Prefix matching setting - with prefix matching enabled Advalidation will exclude all assets where the URL begins with the URL you exclude. This is useful to exclude all assets in a specific directory with a third party vendor.
  
• Must be cacheable setting - only assets that are allowed by the hosting server to be cached for at least 24 hours are excluded. The cacheability of an asset is determined by examining the HTTP response headers. Note that browser cache is a voluntary client side optimisation that only helps with the download phase of Javascript execution.
  

Advalidation's recommendation

We recommend using this setting, either in the Total load or Polite load configuration.

In regards to the Javascript policy, we recommend No Javascript exclusion.

When using Polite load, we recommend selecting the Enabler.js setting.