Core Web Vitals are a set of specific metrics that measure the user experience of a website.
These metrics were introduced by Google in May 2020 and are considered crucial for determining a website's overall performance. (They are also seen as one of the most important SEO ranking factors.)
In this guide, we will explore what Core Web Vitals are, why they are important, and how you can improve them.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals consist of three main metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and Interaction to Next Paint (INP).
Let's take a closer look at each of these metrics.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint measures a website's loading performance. It tracks the time it takes for the largest element on a webpage to become visible to the user, which could be an image, video, or other type of content.
Google recommends that LCP should occur within 2.5 seconds for optimal user experience.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift measures how much a page's layout shifts during its loading process. A high CLS score indicates elements on the page are moving around and causing a poor user experience.
A good CLS score should be less than 0.1.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
Interaction to Next Paint measures the time it takes for a webpage to respond to user interactions (responsiveness), such as clicks or taps. A low INP score is crucial for providing users a seamless and interactive experience.
Ideally, INP should be less than 200 milliseconds.
Why Are Core Web Vitals Important?
You have two websites:
One that works smoothly and loads quickly.
One takes forever to load and has a confusing layout.
Which one would you prefer to use? Which one do you think your customers prefer to use?
You would most likely choose the first website because it provides a better user experience.
That's why Core Web Vitals are important. They tell us how our website is performing and help us identify areas for improvement.
By optimising these metrics, we can provide a:
- better user experience for our customers
- rank better on search engines
- potentially increase conversions and revenue
- decrease bounce rates
How To Improve Core Web Vitals
Now that we understand the importance of Core Web Vitals let's take a look at some ways to improve them.
The first thing you should do is to use a tool to give you a report. Tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights or Google Search Console can provide a detailed report on your website's Core Web Vitals. This will help you identify specific areas that need improvement.
1. Improving LCP:
- Compress large images.
- Use web-friendly image formats like WebP.
- Enable page caching by leveraging the browser cache.
- Switch to better hosting. (We at Starbright provide high-performance hosting services. Contact us to make the switch!)
2. Improving CLS:
- Add width and height size attributes to images and videos.
- Use system fonts instead of web fonts.
- Avoid using intrusive pop-ups that can cause layout shifts.
- Implement aspect ratio boxes in CSS code.
3. Improving INP:
- Minimise the use of JavaScript code or too much other non-essential code.
- Defer JavaScript loading or move it to the bottom of the page.
- Use asynchronous loading for third-party scripts.
- Optimise server response time by minimising network round trips.
Increase The User Experience Of Your Website Today!
Identifying and improving your Core Web Vitals can greatly benefit your website and business. A better user experience leads to a better reputation, higher search engine rankings, and potentially more conversions and revenue.
Use the tips mentioned above to improve your Core Web Vitals, or call us to do it for you!
Our SEO, web maintenance, and hosting services at Starbright will help your website achieve optimal vitals.