Understanding Core Web Vitals: What They Are and Why They Matter for Your Website
What are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure the user experience of a website. The metrics are based on three key factors: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. The three specific metrics that make up Core Web Vitals are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This metric measures loading speed and evaluates the time it takes for the largest element on a webpage to become visible. First Input Delay (FID): This metric measures interactivity and evaluates the time it takes for a user to interact with a webpage. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This metric measures visual stability and evaluates the amount of unexpected layout shift that occurs during the loading process of a webpage.
Why do Core Web Vitals Matter for Your Website?
Core Web Vitals are becoming increasingly important in determining a website's ranking on SERPs. Google has announced that starting from June 2021, Core Web Vitals will become a ranking factor in their search algorithm. This means that websites that perform poorly on Core Web Vitals may experience a drop in their search engine rankings, which can lead to a decrease in website traffic. Furthermore, Core Web Vitals can also impact user experience. A website that performs well on Core Web Vitals will load quickly, be interactive, and visually stable. This can lead to a positive user experience, which can result in increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and increased customer loyalty..
How to Improve Core Web Vitals
Improving Core Web Vitals requires website owners to focus on three key areas: optimizing website speed, improving website interactivity, and ensuring website visual stability. Here are some tips to improve Core Web Vitals: Optimize images and videos to reduce page load times. Use a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute website content more efficiently. Minimize the use of third-party scripts and plugins, as they can slow down website performance. Implement lazy loading to improve website loading speed. Use browser caching to store website data on users' devices, reducing page loading times.