In this article, we’ll be diving into the world of Core Web Vitals – a set of essential metrics introduced by Google to measure and optimize website performance. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, providing a seamless and enjoyable user experience is more critical than ever. That’s where Core Web Vitals come into play, helping web developers and site owners gauge their website’s performance in terms of loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
By understanding and optimizing these key metrics, you can not only improve user satisfaction but also boost your search engine rankings, giving you a competitive edge in the online arena. Join us as we explore the importance of Core Web Vitals, discuss how to measure them, and share practical tips for optimizing your website to deliver an exceptional user experience.
General Overview: What are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics introduced by Google to measure and evaluate the user experience on a website. These metrics have become a crucial aspect of website design and development, as they are now incorporated into Google’s search ranking algorithm. Focusing on three key aspects – loading, interactivity, and visual stability – Core Web Vitals help website owners optimize their sites to provide a better experience for users, which in turn can lead to improved search rankings and increased traffic.
The first metric, Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), measures the loading performance of a web page. It quantifies the time taken for the largest content element, such as an image or a block of text, to become visible in the user’s viewport. A good LCP score indicates that the site loads quickly, which is essential for keeping users engaged and preventing them from navigating away due to slow load times. To achieve an optimal LCP score, it is crucial to optimize server response times, remove render-blocking resources, and compress images and text.
The second metric, First Input Delay (FID), evaluates a website’s interactivity and responsiveness. FID measures the time between when a user first interacts with a page, such as clicking a link or button, and when the browser is able to respond to that interaction. A low FID score indicates that users can interact with the site without experiencing delays or sluggishness, ensuring a smoother overall user experience. To optimize FID, web developers should minimize JavaScript execution time, break up long tasks, and use browser caching efficiently.
The third and final metric, Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), assesses the visual stability of a webpage. CLS quantifies the amount of unexpected layout shifts that occur as the page loads, which can cause users to click on the wrong element or become disoriented. A low CLS score signifies that the website’s layout remains stable throughout the loading process, providing a more seamless user experience. To reduce CLS, developers should reserve space for ads and images, avoid inserting content above existing content, and use CSS transitions to animate elements smoothly.
Why are Core Web Vitals important?
Core Web Vitals are important for several reasons, primarily because they offer a quantitative way to assess and improve the user experience on a website. By focusing on these metrics, web developers can ensure that their websites are not only visually appealing but also provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for users. Here are some key reasons why Core Web Vitals are important:
- User Experience: A positive user experience is crucial for retaining visitors and converting them into customers or subscribers. Core Web Vitals help developers identify areas that need improvement, ensuring that users can navigate and interact with a site effortlessly.
- Search Engine Rankings: In May 2021, Google incorporated Core Web Vitals into its search ranking algorithm, making them a critical factor in determining a website’s position in search results. Websites that score well on Core Web Vitals metrics are more likely to rank higher in search results, driving increased organic traffic and visibility.
- Bounce Rates and Conversions: Slow-loading, unresponsive, or unstable websites often lead to higher bounce rates, as users tend to leave sites that don’t meet their expectations. By optimizing Core Web Vitals, developers can reduce bounce rates and increase the likelihood of users engaging with the site’s content, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.
- Competitive Advantage: Websites that prioritize Core Web Vitals are more likely to outperform their competitors in terms of user experience and search rankings. By providing a superior user experience, these websites can attract and retain more visitors, ultimately leading to increased conversions and revenue.
- Device Compatibility and Performance: Core Web Vitals focus on creating a seamless experience across various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. As mobile internet usage continues to grow, optimizing a website for multiple devices becomes increasingly important for reaching a broader audience and ensuring consistent performance.
How do I know if my website has good Core Web Vitals?
To assess whether your website has good Core Web Vitals, you can use several tools provided by Google and other third-party platforms. These tools will help you measure your website’s performance in terms of the three key Core Web Vitals metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Here are some popular tools to evaluate your site’s Core Web Vitals:
- Google PageSpeed Insights: This tool provides a comprehensive analysis of your website’s performance on both mobile and desktop devices. It evaluates your Core Web Vitals and offers suggestions for optimization. Simply enter your website URL and click “Analyze” to get started.
- Google Search Console: Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report offers a more detailed view of your website’s performance based on real-world usage data. It highlights URLs that need improvement and groups them by issue type. To access the report, you’ll need to have your website verified in Google Search Console. Once verified, navigate to the “Experience” section and click on “Core Web Vitals.”
- Lighthouse: Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool by Google that assesses your website’s performance, accessibility, and SEO, among other factors. It is integrated into Google Chrome’s Developer Tools and can also be run as a standalone Chrome extension. To use Lighthouse in Chrome Developer Tools, press F12, navigate to the “Lighthouse” tab, and click “Generate report.”
- Web Vitals Chrome Extension: This browser extension allows you to measure the Core Web Vitals of any web page you visit in real-time. It displays LCP, FID, and CLS scores in your browser toolbar, making it easy to monitor your website’s performance during development or testing.
What are considered good Core Web Vital scores?
To achieve good Core Web Vitals, you should aim for the following thresholds:
- LCP: 2.5 seconds or faster
- FID: 100 milliseconds or less
- CLS: 0.1 or lower
By using these tools and striving to meet the recommended thresholds, you can ensure that your website offers a smooth and enjoyable user experience, which may lead to improved search rankings and increased user engagement.
My website is failing Core Web Vitals what can I do about it?
If your website is failing Core Web Vitals, there are several optimization techniques you can implement to improve your scores for Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Here are some suggestions for each metric:
Improving LCP:
- Optimize images: Compress and resize images to reduce their file size, use modern image formats like WebP, and use lazy loading for off-screen images.
- Minify CSS and JavaScript: Remove unnecessary characters and whitespace from your code to reduce file sizes and improve loading times.
- Remove render-blocking resources: Inline critical CSS, defer non-critical CSS, and defer non-critical JavaScript to speed up content rendering.
- Enable browser caching: Use cache-control headers to store static resources in the user’s browser cache, reducing subsequent load times.
- Improve server response times: Optimize your server configuration, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to reduce latency, and consider implementing server-side rendering for dynamic content.
Improving FID:
- Minimize JavaScript execution: Optimize and minimize the amount of JavaScript code that runs during page load, and break up long tasks into smaller, asynchronous tasks.
- Defer non-critical JavaScript: Use the “defer” attribute to ensure non-critical scripts are loaded after the main content, reducing their impact on interactivity.
- Use browser caching: Leverage browser caching to store frequently-used files locally, speeding up JavaScript execution.
- Optimize third-party scripts: Reduce the number of third-party scripts or load them asynchronously to minimize their impact on FID.
Improving CLS:
- Reserve space for images and embedded content: Specify the dimensions of images, videos, and other media elements to prevent layout shifts as they load.
- Avoid inserting content above existing content: Ensure that dynamic content doesn’t push existing content down the page, causing layout shifts.
- Use CSS transitions for animations: Animate elements smoothly using CSS transitions to minimize abrupt layout shifts.
- Keep font loading stable: Use the “font-display” CSS property to control how custom fonts render and prevent layout shifts caused by font swapping.
In addition to these optimizations, regularly monitor your website’s Core Web Vitals using the tools mentioned previously. By doing so, you can identify and address any issues that arise, ensuring that your website continues to provide a high-quality user experience and perform well in search rankings.
My website passed Core Web Vitals last month, but now is failing. What happened?
If your website previously passed Core Web Vitals but is now failing, several factors could be contributing to the change. Here are some possible reasons:
- Content or design changes: If you’ve recently made updates to your website, such as adding new images, videos, or layout elements, these changes may have inadvertently impacted your Core Web Vitals scores. Review any recent changes and ensure they are optimized for performance.
- Third-party scripts: The addition of third-party scripts or updates to existing ones, such as advertising, analytics, or social media plugins, can sometimes cause performance issues. Evaluate the impact of these scripts on your site’s performance and consider alternatives or optimizations.
- Server performance: Changes in server performance, such as increased latency or reduced resources, can affect your website’s load times and responsiveness. Monitor your server’s performance and consider upgrading your hosting plan or implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve load times.
- Increased traffic: A sudden spike in traffic to your website can put stress on your server, potentially impacting the user experience and Core Web Vitals scores. Make sure your server is equipped to handle the increased load or consider using a CDN or load balancers to distribute traffic more evenly.
- Browser or device compatibility: Changes in browser technologies, updates to operating systems, or an increase in traffic from different devices can impact your website’s performance. Regularly test your website on various browsers and devices to identify and resolve any compatibility issues.
- Google’s algorithm updates: Google continuously updates its search algorithm, and some updates might have caused changes in the way Core Web Vitals are measured or weighted. Stay informed about Google’s updates and adjust your website accordingly to maintain good Core Web Vitals scores.
To address these issues, start by re-assessing your website’s performance using tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, or Google Search Console. Identify the specific areas where your Core Web Vitals have degraded and implement optimization strategies to improve your scores. Regular monitoring and maintenance of your website’s performance will help ensure that it continues to meet Core Web Vitals standards and provide a high-quality user experience.
Can I fix these myself, or do I need to hire a developer?
Whether you can fix Core Web Vitals issues yourself or need to hire a developer depends on your technical expertise, the complexity of the issues, and the platform your website is built on. Here are some scenarios to consider:
- Basic knowledge and simple issues: If you have a basic understanding of web development concepts (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and the issues are relatively simple (e.g., image optimization, minifying CSS/JavaScript, or specifying dimensions for media elements), you may be able to address the problems on your own with the help of online resources and tutorials.
- Content management systems (CMS): If your website is built on a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, there might be plugins or extensions available to help you address some Core Web Vitals issues. However, these solutions may have limitations, and you may still need to manually edit your theme or configuration settings to fully optimize your site. In this case, having a basic understanding of the CMS and web development concepts will be beneficial.
- Limited technical expertise and complex issues: If you have limited technical knowledge and the issues are complex (e.g., optimizing server performance, reducing JavaScript execution time, or implementing server-side rendering), it may be more efficient and effective to hire a professional developer. A skilled developer can help you diagnose and address the issues more quickly and ensure that your website meets Core Web Vitals standards.
- Time constraints and ongoing maintenance: Even if you have the technical expertise to address Core Web Vitals issues, you may not have the time to dedicate to optimizing and maintaining your website. Hiring a developer can save you time and ensure that your website’s performance remains optimized over the long term.
Ultimately, the decision to fix Core Web Vitals issues yourself or hire a developer depends on your individual circumstances. If you feel confident in your ability to address the issues and have the time to do so, you may be able to improve your website’s performance on your own. However, if you are unsure about your technical abilities or have limited time, hiring a professional developer like Your Store Wizards can be a worthwhile investment to ensure your website meets Core Web Vitals standards and provides a high-quality user experience.
Should I really be concerned about Core Web Vitals?
Yes, you should be concerned about Core Web Vitals, as they have a direct impact on user experience and search engine rankings. Here are several reasons why Core Web Vitals should be a priority for website owners:
- User experience: Core Web Vitals focus on aspects of your website that directly affect user experience, such as loading times, interactivity, and visual stability. A website that performs well in these areas is more likely to retain visitors, reduce bounce rates, and encourage user engagement.
- Search engine rankings: In May 2021, Google integrated Core Web Vitals into its search ranking algorithm. Websites with good Core Web Vitals scores are more likely to rank higher in search results, leading to increased organic traffic and visibility.
- Conversion rates: A website that provides a positive user experience is more likely to convert visitors into customers or subscribers. By optimizing Core Web Vitals, you can increase the likelihood of users engaging with your site and completing desired actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
- Competitive advantage: Websites that prioritize Core Web Vitals are better positioned to outperform competitors in terms of user experience and search rankings. By offering a superior user experience, you can attract and retain more visitors, leading to increased conversions and revenue.
- Device compatibility: Core Web Vitals help ensure that your website performs well across various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. As mobile internet usage continues to grow, optimizing your website for multiple devices is crucial for reaching a broader audience and maintaining consistent performance.
In conclusion, Core Web Vitals are essential for creating a high-quality user experience, improving search engine rankings, and staying competitive in today’s digital landscape. By prioritizing these metrics, you can build a website that is both engaging and accessible to users, ultimately leading to better overall results.
If your website is failing Core Web Vitals, or you have questions about how important these scores are for your website, feel free to contact us for more information. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive Core Web Vitals review service where we will analyze your website, provide a list of recommendations on how to improve your scores, and proceed with making the changes if you would like us to.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.