What Are Core Web Vitals?
- Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors that Google considers important for user experience.
- They focus on three main metrics: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
- Optimizing these metrics can directly impact your website's ranking and usability.
The Three Core Web Vitals
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds.
- First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity. Should be less than 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability. Target a score less than 0.1.
How to Optimize for Core Web Vitals
- Improve LCP:
- Optimize images with next-gen formats like WebP.
- Use lazy loading for below-the-fold content.
- Minimize render-blocking JavaScript and CSS.
- Reduce FID:
- Break up long tasks and defer non-essential JavaScript.
- Use web workers to run scripts off the main thread.
- Minimize third-party script impact.
- Minimize CLS:
- Include size attributes for all images and video elements.
- Avoid inserting content above existing content unexpectedly.
- Use animations that don’t trigger layout shifts.
Tools to Measure Core Web Vitals
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools
- Web Vitals Chrome Extension
- Google Search Console (Core Web Vitals Report)
Conclusion
- Optimizing Core Web Vitals is crucial not only for SEO but also for delivering a smooth, fast, and stable user experience.
- Regularly audit your website using Google’s tools and address performance issues proactively.
- Fast-loading, interactive, and visually stable websites win both user trust and higher rankings.
