Performance
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are three metrics Google uses to measure real-world page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading speed), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability).
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long the main content takes to appear, and should be under 2.5 seconds. Interaction to Next Paint (INP) measures how quickly the page responds to taps and clicks, and should be under 200 milliseconds. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures how much the layout jumps around while loading, and should stay below 0.1.
Google collects these numbers from real Chrome users and uses them as a ranking signal. They also track closely with whether visitors stay on a page or leave.
Common fixes include optimizing images, reducing JavaScript, reserving space for images and embeds, and choosing hosting that serves pages quickly.