In a digital world where website speed and performance directly affect user experience, Google introduced Core Web Vitals, which includes three key metrics to measure website performance. But why are these indicators so important?
Introducing Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals consists of three main metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These metrics are direct user experience metrics that show how fast a page loads, how quickly it responds to user interactions, and how stable the page structure is during loading.
Why are Core Web Vitals important to Google?
THE Google has always placed great emphasis on user experience. This year, as mentioned by forbes.com, companies should work with expert web developers, performance optimization experts or web development agencies to improve their websites' LCP performance and user experience.
In addition, according to a searchenginejournal.com article, the most popular content management systems in 2023, such as WordPress, Wix and Shopify also showed significant improvement in Core Web Vitals metrics. This shows that website performance optimization is not just a trend, but an expectation in today's digital world.
The Core Web Vitals indicators not only affect the ranking of websites, but also directly affect the user experience. In order for your website to be successful in 2023, it is essential that you pay attention to these indicators and optimize your site for the best results. But don't worry, this article will show you step by step how you can do it!
Introducing Core Web Vitals metrics
To measure website performance, Google has introduced three key metrics that directly target user experience. These metrics are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). But let's take a closer look at what these terms mean!
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): What is it and why is it important?
LCP measures how long it takes for the largest content element on a page, such as an image or a block of text, to load. This indicator directly affects the user experience, as people do not like to wait a long time for a page to load. According to an HTTP Archive report, in 2023, the most popular content management systems, such as WordPress, showed a significant improvement in this area.
How can we measure LCP?
LCP can be measured using several tools, such as Google PageSpeed Insights or Chrome DevTools. These tools provide detailed information about page load times and which elements slow down LCP.
Tips for improving LCP
- Optimize images: Use image compression tools and modern image formats like WebP.
- Use fast hosting: Server response time directly affects LCP.
- Minimize third-party codes: Some plugins or scripts can slow down your site.
First Input Delay (FID): What is it and why is it important?
FID measures how much time elapses between the first interaction (such as clicking a button) and the browser's response. A high FID value means that the site is not responding quickly to user interactions, which can be frustrating for visitors.
How can we measure FID?
FID can be measured using the Chrome User Experience Report or Google PageSpeed Insights.
Tips for improving FID
- Minimize or delay running JavaScript: Too much JavaScript can slow down the page.
- Use browser storage: This helps the page load faster on repeated visits.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): What is it and why is it important?
CLS measures how stable the structure of a page is during loading. If items move while loading, it can be confusing for users and increase bounce rates.
How can we measure CLS?
CLS can be measured using Google PageSpeed Insights or Chrome DevTools.
Tips for improving CLS
- Specify a fixed size for media content: For example, images and videos.
- Minimize or avoid animations and dynamic content that can move page elements.
Understanding and optimizing these metrics is essential to providing a great user experience and improving Google rankings. In the following sections, we will give you more tips and tricks to improve the performance of your website!
How do Core Web Vitals affect rankings?
Website performance and user experience have always been key factors for Google. In recent years, Google has made several changes to its ranking algorithm to better reflect the real user experience. The introduction of Core Web Vitals indicators was one of the most important steps of these changes.
Changes to Google's ranking algorithm
Among the latest changes to Google's ranking algorithm is the introduction of Core Web Vitals metrics. According to an HTTP Archive report, in 2023, the most popular content management systems, such as WordPress, showed a significant improvement in these indicators. This shows that website performance optimization is not just a trend, but an expectation in today's digital world.
The role of user experience in ranking
Google has always focused on user experience. With the introduction of Core Web Vitals metrics, the company has made it clear that website performance has a direct impact on rankings. User experience is not only about how fast a page loads, but also about how stable and reactive the page is. According to the searchenginejournal.com article, the most popular content management systems, such as WordPress, Wix and Shopify, also showed significant improvement in Core Web Vitals indicators.
The Core Web Vitals indicators not only affect the ranking of websites, but also directly affect the user experience. Websites must be excellent not only in terms of content, but also technically in order to rank high in the eyes of Google. In the following sections, we will give you more tips and tricks to improve the performance of your website!
Tools and Techniques for Measuring and Optimizing Core Web Vitals
There are many tools and techniques available to measure and optimize website performance. These tools help web developers and website owners better understand how their pages are performing and where there are opportunities for improvement.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool that allows you to measure the speed of web pages and make recommendations for improving performance. The tool provides detailed information about page load time and also shows which elements are slowing down the page.
Chrome DevTools
Chrome DevTools is a built-in tool in the Chrome browser that offers many features for web developers. Within this, under the Performance tab, it is possible to measure and analyze the Core Web Vitals indicators.
Web Vitals JavaScript library
The Web Vitals JavaScript library allows developers to measure Core Web Vitals directly on their web pages. The library offers a simple API for querying pointers, making it easy to integrate into any web page.
Additional tools and resources
The web.dev page has a detailed collection of best practices and recommendations from the Chrome DevRel team for 2023 to improve Core Web Vitals performance. The site contains a number of techniques and strategies to help optimize the performance of web pages.
There are many tools and techniques available to measure and optimize Core Web Vitals. These tools and techniques help web developers and website owners better understand how their pages are performing and where there are opportunities for improvement. In the following sections, we will give you more tips and tricks to improve the performance of your website!
Common problems and solutions
When optimizing the performance of websites, we can encounter many challenges. Let's look at the most common problems and their possible solutions!
Slow server response times
Slow server response times significantly affect the loading time of the website, which negatively affects the user experience and ranking indicators.
Solutions:
- Change hosting: Choose a faster and more reliable hosting provider.
- Using a Content Server Network (CDN): CDNs help a content faster service from servers closer to users.
- Dynamic Content Optimization: Use caching and database optimization to serve dynamic content faster.
Unoptimized images and media files
Large and unoptimized images can significantly slow down page load times.
Solutions:
- Image compression: Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce the size of images without losing quality.
- Modern Image Formats: Switch to WebP or AVIF instead of traditional JPEG and PNG.
- Lazy loading: Use the "lazy loading" technique to delay the loading of images and videos until the user scrolls there.
Inefficient JavaScript and CSS
Redundant or poorly optimized code can slow down the site and degrade the user experience.
Solutions:
- Code minification: Use tools to minify JS and CSS files, such as UglifyJS or CSSNano.
- Deferring code: Defer the loading of non-essential JavaScripts using the “async” or “defer” attributes.
- CSS Critical Path Optimization: Use tools to extract and embed critical CSS in HTML headers.
Layout changes and animations
Unexpected layout changes and excessive animations can be confusing for users and increase the value of Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Solutions:
- Set fixed sizes: Set fixed sizes for images, videos and other media elements to avoid unexpected page layout changes.
- Limit animations: Avoid excessive and unnecessary animations, especially those that move the content of the page.
- Use CSS transitions: Use CSS transitions for animations, as they are often more efficient and less confusing for users.
We can encounter many challenges when optimizing the performance of websites, but with the right tools and techniques, we can deal with these problems effectively. In the following sections, we will give you more tips and tricks to improve the performance of your website!
Summary and next steps
As the digital space is constantly developing and changing, the performance indicators of websites are becoming more and more important. The Core Web Vitals metrics introduced by Google play a critical role in this development and have a direct impact on website ranking and user experience.
Summary of the importance of Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals - LCP, FID and CLS - are metrics that directly measure user experience. These metrics not only show how fast a page loads, but also how stable and responsive the page is. According to an HTTP Archive report, in 2023 optimizing the performance of websites is not just a trend, but an expectation in today's digital world.
The importance of continuous monitoring and optimization
Continuous monitoring and optimization of website performance is essential to ensure excellent user experience and improve Google ranking. With technology and internet habits changing so quickly, it's important to keep up with the latest trends and developments.
In addition, competitors are constantly developing their websites, so if you don't pay attention, you can easily fall behind. There are many tools available to measure and optimize Core Web Vitals indicators, so there's no excuse: get started today and ensure your website's success in the future!
Core Web Vitals are not just another technical term among many. These metrics shape the future of websites and have a direct impact on user experience and rankings. The next step? Measure, optimize and repeat!
Recommended resources and further reading
There are a number of excellent resources available for a deeper understanding of Core Web Vitals and how to optimize them. These resources will help you better understand how metrics work and how to best optimize them.
Our top Core Web Vitals recommendations for 2023 – web.dev
Source: web.dev
Description: On this page, the Chrome DevRel team has collected the best practices that are considered most effective for improving Core Web Vitals performance in 2023. The article provides a detailed introduction to the LCP, CLS and FID indicators, as well as tips and tricks to optimize them.
Top Core Web Vitals Recommendations for 2023 - GitNation
Source: GitNation
Description: In this article, Barry introduces Core Web Vitals and their importance. The article addresses the problem of slow websites, the importance of improving web performance, and presents the latest metrics and recommendations that Google is proposing for 2023.
In addition to these resources, you should regularly follow the official Google blogs, forums, and web development communities where they share the latest information and guides on Core Web Vitals and other web performance metrics. Follow us on social channels!