Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors that Google considers important for the overall user experience of a web page. Core Web Vitals consist of three specific page speed and user interaction metrics: Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift.
In short, Core Web Vitals are subsets of Google’s “page experience” scores (basically, how Google measures the overall UX of your pages). You can find your site’s Core Web Vitals data in the “Enhancements” section of Google Search Console.
Why Are Core Web Vitals Important?
Google plans to make page experience an official ranking factor.
Page experience will be a combination of factors that Google considers important for user experience, including:
HTTPS
Mobile-friendliness
Absence of intrusive interstitial ads
Safe browsing (basically, no malware on your page)
Core Web Vitals will be a very important part of this score.
In fact, judging by the announcement and the name, it’s safe to say Core Web Vitals metrics will make up the largest portion of your page experience score.
It’s important to note that having a great page experience score won’t magically push you to #1 on Google. Google has emphasized that page experience is just one of around 200 factors used in search ranking.
No need to panic though — there is still time. Google has said you have until next year to improve your Core Web Vitals scores.
But if you want to boost your Core Web Vitals score before then, great!
Because in this guide, we’ll take a look at the three Core Web Vitals.
1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint is a Core Web Vitals metric that site owners can use to evaluate user experience and determine whether a user finds the page useful based on how long it takes to render the largest visible blocks.
2. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift measures unexpected layout shifts that occur after a web page loads, reflecting how difficult it might be for users to interact with elements like links or buttons that move around unexpectedly.
3. First Input Delay (FID)
First Input Delay measures input delay (the time it takes for a page element to respond to a user’s interaction) to identify pages that might cause frustration for your audience.