How To Fix & Pass Google’s Core Web Vitals
Google has announced that site speed is an official part of their algorithm. This means that if your website takes too long to load, it will be ranked lower in Google’s results. Site speed has been tied to the length of time a user views a search result. The faster your site loads, the better chance you have of being viewed by that user who clicks.
Google has formalized site speed into standardized metrics calling these Google’s Core Web Vitals with a subset called Core Web Vitals, which now form part of their algorithm.
Most people who want to pass Google’s Core Web Vitals want SEO and better rankings, so we’ve created this guide to be as practical as possible using the techniques we’ve developed optimizing 4000+ websites.
While the content is targeted towards WordPress sites, the same concepts apply to all platforms, including Shopify.
The 3 Core Web Vitals Metrics & What They Are
There are several metrics your site needs to pass to get a passing Google’s Core Web Vitals grade from Google. Some are more impactful than others. The most critical ones are:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint). The Largest Contentful Paint metric measures when the page’s main content has loaded. This is an important metric to users because it marks the point in the page load timeline when the user can determine if the page is useful or not.
- FID (First Input Delay). The First Input Delay metric measures the time between when a user interacts with the page and the time they see feedback. This is a significant metric to users because it measures the page’s responsiveness.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – The Cumulative Layout Shift metric measures how users experience unexpected layout shifts. A low CLS helps ensure that the page is stable and ready to interact with.
Other Important Web Vitals Metrics
Other web vitals metrics are significant but not as critical as the three mentioned above. They include:
- TTFB (Time to First Byte). The Time to First Byte metric measures how long it takes for the server to send the first byte of data. This is an important metric solely related to server performance and not directly related to front-end web development.
- FCP (First Contentful Paint). The First Contentful Paint metric measures when the first bit of content (not necessarily the main content) has loaded. This is a significant metric because it marks the page load timeline when some content is available.
We will go over the steps you can take to improve each of the above metrics later in the article. But first, I want to make sure you understand how they work and how to measure them.
Understanding Core Web Vitals
Before you start implementing changes to your website, you must understand how Google’s Core Web Vitals work and how they impact your SEO.
- 28 Day Cycle Time. Any changes you make to your website will take time to be reflected in the search engine results. Google runs on a 28-day cycle, and it will take approximately that long for your changes to impact your Core Web Vital scores.
- The 28-day cycle makes it crucial to focus on the factors that have the greatest impact on your scores, such as LCP, FID, and CLS. You can make small adjustments later once you begin seeing improvements in the metrics.
- All Pages Matter (Not just the homepage). Google isn’t just measuring your website’s home page. They are measuring all the pages on your website. This means that you need to ensure that all your pages and posts are fast, responsive, and stable.
What if I have an online store?
You will also need to make sure any changes you make to your site are implemented on your product pages. This becomes especially important if you have a Shopify or WooCommerce site that sells products or services.
- Real World Speed (RUM vs. Synthetic Monitoring) – While the results from synthetic monitoring tools can be helpful, Google Core Web Vitals are based on real-world user data. This means that you need to make sure your website is fast and responsive for actual users, not just simulated tests.
- Using a real user monitoring tool such as Pingdom or Sematext Experience, you can do this. RUM tools will passively monitor your website and record the behavior of actual users on your site. These tools will also analyze the data and give you insight into the speed and responsiveness of your website to help you understand the areas that need the most improvement.
- All Locations Matter – Searchers from all over the world use Google, not just those in your country. This means that you need to make sure that your website is fast and responsive no matter where the user is located.
- You can use the Pingdom tool to test the speed and responsiveness of your website from all over the world. This will help you understand where you need to make improvements so that no matter where the user is, they will have a positive experience on your website.
Measuring Core Web Vitals
It’s important first to measure your website’s Core Web Vitals to identify areas of improvement.
You can use the following tools to do this:
- CrUX Report, which has been around since 2017, is a public data set of Real User Measurements (RUM). It is updated daily with data from millions of actual Chrome users that have opted into sharing the data associated with the site they visited.
The CrUX Report provides the following Core Web Vital Metrics:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- First Input Delay (FID)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Google Search Console also provides insights into your site’s performance. You can find this under “Core Web Vitals” within the “Experience” tab. The information is based on RUM data (Real User Measurement) from Chrome and shows the results for all valid pages on your website.
Google Search Console provides information on the following:
- Page Experience
- Core Web Vitals
- Mobility Usability
We recommend running several tests from different locations worldwide to get a good idea of your site’s performance. The more data you collect, the more accurate your results will be.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing & Passing Core Web Vitals
Once you have enough data and have identified the areas of improvement, it’s time to start fixing them.
- Overall Broad Improvements
The first thing you should do is check for any overall issues that will help your site load faster. This includes things like hosting and whether you’re using any CDN.
- Upgrade Hosting:
Regardless of your improvements, your site will never reach its potential if you’re using a low-quality hosting provider. If your website is hosted on HostGator, Bluehost, or GoDaddy, it’s time to upgrade. These providers are known for overcrowded servers and poor performance.
Upgrading to a quality hosting provider will have the biggest impact on your Core Web Vitals.
