How can one accurately measure the performance improvements of gzip compression in PHP by comparing loading times and file sizes before and after implementation?

To accurately measure the performance improvements of gzip compression in PHP, one can compare loading times and file sizes before and after implementation. This can be done by using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze the website's performance metrics. By enabling gzip compression in PHP, the size of files sent from the server to the client will be reduced, leading to faster loading times and improved overall performance.

// Enable gzip compression in PHP
if (substr_count($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING'], 'gzip')) {
    ob_start("ob_gzhandler");
} else {
    ob_start();
}