Check Your Core Web Vitals: Metrics That Matter for Website Performance
Published by Spinutech on January 2, 2025

When was the last time you checked your Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are critical metrics that measure the quality of user experience on your website. By evaluating speed, interactivity, and visual stability, these metrics provide valuable insights into how your website performs for visitors.
Not only do Core Web Vitals directly impact user satisfaction, but the quality of your UX also impacts your conversion rates, whether you’re a lead generation or eCommerce brand. By ensuring fast load times, seamless interactions, and stable visuals, you can remove barriers to conversion and maximize the ROI of your website. Plus, with Core Web Vitals being a ranking factor in Google’s search algorithm, they’re essential for SEO success.
So what can you do to optimize your Core Web Vitals for better results? Let’s dive in.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals consist of three key metrics:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- What LCP Measures: Loading performance, or how long it takes for the largest visible content element (e.g., images or text) to load.
- Good Score: Less than 2.5 seconds.
- Why It Matters: A fast LCP ensures that users can quickly view the most important content on a page, reducing bounce rates and frustration.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
- What INP Measures: Interactivity, or the time between a user’s interaction (e.g., a click) and the next visible change.
- Good Score: 200 milliseconds or less.
- Why It Matters: Smooth interactivity keeps users engaged and prevents frustration caused by laggy or unresponsive pages.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- What CLS Measures: Visual stability, or how much the content layout shifts unexpectedly as it loads.
- Good Score: Less than 0.11.
- Why It Matters: Stable layouts prevent users from accidentally clicking the wrong element and ensure a seamless browsing experience.
Why Core Web Vitals Matter
Core Web Vitals impact both user experience and search engine performance, making them critical for any website. Google has incorporated these metrics into its ranking algorithm, meaning websites optimized for Core Web Vitals are more likely to rank higher in search results.
The stakes are even higher for eCommerce websites and lead-generation efforts. Poor Core Web Vitals scores often signal a subpar user experience, leading to higher bounce rates, lower engagement, and reduced conversions. By improving these metrics, you can create a smoother experience that keeps visitors engaged, drives more purchases, and increases lead capture — ultimately boosting your bottom line.
How to Improve Core Web Vitals
To pass Google’s Core Web Vitals assessment, at least 75% of user experiences must receive a “Good” rating across all three metrics. Failing this assessment signals that there are significant issues affecting your website’s performance.
By focusing on each metric individually, you can identify key areas of improvement and take actionable steps to enhance your website’s performance.
Here are practical recommendations to optimize each Core Web Vitals metric:
Optimizing Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Optimize Server Response Time: Reduce delays by improving your server’s performance and leveraging faster hosting solutions.
- Improve Image and Video Loading: Use next-gen formats like WebP, enable lazy loading, and compress images and videos to reduce file sizes.
- Defer Non-Critical Resources: Minimize the impact of third-party scripts and defer JavaScript execution for non-essential elements.
Enhancing Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
- Optimize JavaScript Execution: Reduce and simplify JavaScript to improve responsiveness.
- Minimize Main Thread Work: Break up long tasks and prioritize user-critical functions.
- Reduce Third-Party Code: Limit the use of external scripts that could slow down interactivity.
Improving Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- Set Size Attributes for Images and Videos: Specify dimensions for media elements to prevent layout shifts during loading.
- Reserve Space for Dynamic Content: Allocate space for elements like ads or embedded widgets to avoid unexpected shifts.
- Avoid Inserting Content Above Existing Content: Ensure that new content loads below visible elements to maintain layout stability.
Core Web Vitals Are More Than Just Metrics
By understanding and optimizing LCP, INP, and CLS, you can ensure your website meets Google’s standards and exceeds your users’ expectations. Prioritize these optimizations to build a site that performs well, ranks high, and drives meaningful results for your business.
If you want to better understand your website’s Core Web Vitals, let’s chat.