What are Core Web Vitals & How to Improve CWT Performance?

Core Web Vitals is a set of specific metrics that Google has identified as critical to providing a good user experience on websites. These metrics are related to page speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. Google uses Core Web Vitals as one of many factors in its search ranking algorithm, so it's important for website owners and developers to pay attention to them.

Why are Core Web Vitals Important for a Website?

Core Web Vitals are important for a website for several reasons:

1. User experience: Core Web Vitals directly affect the user experience of a website. A slow-loading website or one with a layout that constantly shifts as it loads can be frustrating for users and lead to a high bounce rate. By improving Core Web Vitals, website owners can provide a better user experience and improve engagement and conversion rates.

2. SEO : Google has indicated that Core Web Vitals is a key factor in its ranking algorithm. Websites that score well on Core Web Vitals are more likely to rank higher in search results, leading to increased organic traffic.

3. Competitiveness: With more businesses moving online, website owners need to focus on providing a superior user experience. By improving Core Web Vitals, website owners can differentiate themselves from their competitors and gain an edge in their industry.

4. Accessibility: Websites that prioritize Core Web Vitals are more accessible to users with disabilities, as they ensure that pages are fast and responsive, and do not shift unexpectedly.

In summary, Core Web Vitals are important for a website as they improve the user experience, boost search engine rankings, increase competitiveness, and enhance accessibility. By focusing on improving Core Web Vitals, website owners can create a better overall experience for their users and achieve their business goals.

How Do Core Web Vitals Work?

Core Web Vitals is a set of metrics that measure key aspects of a website's performance and user experience. They are calculated using real-world user data collected by Google's Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), which tracks millions of website visits worldwide.

The three Core Web Vitals metrics are:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Measures the loading speed of the largest element on the webpage, such as an image or a block of text. This metric helps assess the loading performance of the webpage.

First Input Delay (FID)

Measures the time taken by the webpage to respond to a user's first interaction, such as clicking a button or typing in a form. This metric helps assess the responsiveness of the webpage.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):

Measures the unexpected shifts in layout and content on the webpage during its loading phase. This metric helps assess the visual stability of the webpage.

FCP (First Contentful Paint)

Measures the time taken by a website to load the first piece of content, such as text or an image, on the user's screen. It is one of the web performance metrics that indicate the perceived speed of a website.

Google recommends specific targets for each Core Web Vital metric, which website owners should aim to achieve for a good user experience. These targets are currently:

LCP: less than 2.5 seconds

FID: less than 100 milliseconds

CLS: less than 0.1

By optimizing their website to meet these targets, website owners can improve their website's performance, user experience, and search engine rankings. This can be achieved through various techniques such as optimizing images and other media, reducing the size of code and scripts, using responsive design, and implementing lazy loading techniques.

How Do You Measure Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals are measured using various tools and techniques, such as:

Google Search Console: Website owners can use the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console to track their website's performance on each Core Web Vital metric.

PageSpeed Insights: Google's PageSpeed Insights tool provides a report on a web page's Core Web Vitals, along with suggestions for improvement.

Lighthouse: Lighthouse is an open-source tool that audits the performance of a webpage, including Core Web Vitals.

Web Vitals extension: The Web Vitals browser extension provides real-time data on a web page's Core Web Vitals, as well as other performance metrics.

Google Analytics: Website owners can use Google Analytics to track the performance of their website on each Core Web Vital metric, by setting up custom reports.

Website owners should regularly monitor their website's performance on Core Web Vitals using these tools and techniques will also help to improve SEO. Take necessary steps to optimize their website's performance for a better user experience and improved search engine rankings.

How to Improve Core Web Vital?

Improving Core Web Vitals requires optimizing different aspects of a website's performance and user experience. Here are some general tips to improve each of the three Core Web Vitals metrics:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

• Optimize images and videos to reduce their size and improve loading speed.
• Use a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute content and reduce server response time.
• Prioritize loading of above-the-fold content to ensure users see the most important content first.
• Use lazy loading to defer the loading of non-critical images and videos until they are needed.

First Input Delay (FID)

• Minimize the amount of JavaScript code and ensure that the code is well-optimized.
• Defer non-critical JavaScript code and ensure that it is loaded asynchronously.
• Use a fast and responsive web hosting service to reduce server response time.
• Reduce the number of HTTP requests and prioritize critical resources.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

• Reserve space for dynamic content such as ads or pop-ups to prevent unexpected layout shifts.
• Optimize font sizes to prevent text from shifting during page load.
• Ensure that images and other media have fixed dimensions and aspect ratios.
• Use CSS animations sparingly and ensure that they are optimized.

First Contentful Paint (FCP)

Large images and media files can significantly increase the FCP. By optimizing images and media files, website owners can reduce the size of these elements and improve FCP.

Render-blocking resources such as CSS and JavaScript can delay the loading of the first content element. By minimizing the number of render-blocking resources, website owners can improve FCP.

A CDN can help improve FCP by delivering content from a server that is closer to the user, reducing the time taken for the content to load.

Loading JavaScript asynchronously can help improve FCP, as it allows the page to continue loading while the JavaScript is being fetched and executed.

Enabling caching can help improve FCP by allowing the browser to store certain resources locally, reducing the time taken to fetch them on subsequent visits.

In addition to these general tips, website owners can use various tools to analyze and improve their Core Web Vitals, such as Google's PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and Web.dev. These tools provide detailed reports on a website's performance and suggest specific optimizations to improve Core Web Vitals.