Core Web Vitals via page experience is now officially a ranking factor in Google Search. And from what is known, it will gradually play a big part in SERP because user experience matters.
Core Web Vitals is meant to care for user experience. And Google gives a big priority to user experience. If you also care about user experience, you should not just optimize your site for Google but do it to offer a better experience to your users.
The important Core Web Vitals metrics
Let’s have a look at the 3 metrics that make up the core web vitals.
First Input Delay (FID): FID measures how long it takes for a site to respond to user interaction. For example, a user types in your website on a browser, or a user clicks a button on your site. That is an interaction. We can all agree that as a user, we want faster interaction with web pages.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures how long it takes the largest image or text block on the above-the-fold of a web page to load. Please note that it measures just one element, either an image or text block, depending on which is larger. We can all agree that no one likes it when images take forever to load.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS measures changes in layout on the screen. For example, if you are reading an article then suddenly something appears and there is a shift in the layout, and you have to scroll down or up to find where you were reading. We can all agree that it is a terrible user experience
3 key factors that affect Core Web Vitals
Here are some well-known factors that affect Core Web Vitals
Ads: Ads are good for making money but they can have a thing or two to say about core web vitals. Most ads from ad networks add third-party assets like images and js to your website that you cannot control. Most times, these assets are not optimized. And they can affect LCP, FID, and CLS.
Server response time: The faster your server responds, the better. If your server response is slow, there is no way you are passing FID, and it can affect every other metric.
Unoptimized JS and CSS: JS and CSS help in making websites attractive to the eyes. JS helps in adding important functions to websites such as search box, subscription box, scroll to the top, and many key features implemented in WordPress. CSS helps in styling, making everything look good, from fonts to colors and more. But when they are unoptimized, they can affect all core web vital metrics.
