Core Web Vitals in plain English
Core Web Vitals are three measurements of how a page feels to a real visitor: how fast the main content appears, how quickly it reacts, and how stable the layout is.
| Metric | What it measures | Good |
|---|---|---|
| LCP, Largest Contentful Paint | How long the biggest visible element (often a hero image or headline) takes to appear | 2.5 seconds or less |
| INP, Interaction to Next Paint | How quickly the page responds to taps, clicks and key presses | 200 milliseconds or less |
| CLS, Cumulative Layout Shift | How much the layout jumps around while loading | 0.1 or less |
Google assesses these at the 75th percentile of real visits, separately for phones and computers. INP replaced the older First Input Delay measure in 2024. Good scores are one signal among many; they will not make thin content rank, but poor scores make a site frustrating to use.
Where to measure
- Search Console → Core Web Vitals shows real-user data grouped by page type, when your site has enough traffic.
- PageSpeed Insights shows real-user data for one address when available, plus a lab test that points to specific fixes.
- Test on a mid-range phone over a mobile connection, not only on a fast computer.
The fixes that usually help most
Slow LCP
- Serve the main image at the size it is displayed, in a modern format such as WebP or AVIF, and do not lazy-load the image at the top of the page.
- Use page caching and a CDN so the first byte arrives quickly.
- Remove render-blocking CSS and scripts you do not need on that page.
Poor INP
- Cut third-party scripts (chat widgets, extra trackers, sliders) that run long tasks in the browser.
- Defer scripts that are not needed for the first screen.
High CLS
- Set width and height on images and video so the browser reserves space.
- Reserve a fixed space for banners and ad slots, so content does not move when they load.
- Load web fonts with a fallback that has similar dimensions.
A sensible order of work
Fix the worst template first, such as the article page that most visitors land on, then re-test. Measure again after each change, and give Search Console a few weeks to reflect real-user improvements.
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