How to Improve page speed to pass Google core web vitals Assessment

Lokesh Khaitan Seema Kedia Meenu Aggarwal Bhawna Raghav

Introduction 

A fast website provides a more pleasant experience for users and can lead to higher conversion rates. But Google also takes website speed into account as part of the Core Web Vitals and uses it as a ranking factor. Learn how Google’s Core Web Vitals assessment works and what you can do to ensure your website loads quickly and provides a good experience once it’s loaded.

What Are The Core Web Vitals?

Google’s Core Web Vitals (CWV) aim to measure website quality and user experience. To do that, several new metrics were developed which can be collected in the Chrome browser. Three of these metrics form the Core Web Vitals:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures how quickly the main content appears.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Assesses website responsiveness to user input.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Checks for visual stability after content appears.

Google’s Core Web Vitals Assessment

Google utilises the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), collecting real user data to perform the Core Web Vitals assessment. A "Good," "Needs Improvement," or "Poor" rating is assigned based on specific thresholds for each metric.

How To Speed Up Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

To improve your LCP, you need the main content of your website to load faster. Run a free website speed test to understand what is causing the main content of your webpage to lag. Receive and review the insights from the visual filmstrip and high-level performance metrics to uncover what your next steps are. Use those insights to optimise your page load speed.

You can then dive deeper into the specific metric by clicking on the “Largest Contentful Paint” metric title in the test result. This will show you what page element is responsible for the Largest Contentful Paint, image URL, and request priority used by the browsers.

Request waterfalls show what resources were loaded over the network and how long they took to load. Aim to load LCP images directly from the HTML document for optimal performance.

• Improving Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):Conduct a website speed test to identify LCP lag.Analyse insights from visual filmstrips and performance metrics.Optimise page load speed based on the test results.Investigate specific elements causing LCP delays and prioritise loading critical content directly from the HTML document.

How To Improve Interaction To Next Paint (INP)

Only 64% of Mobile websites currently provide a Good INP experience, making it an important metric to optimise. The INP metric can be hard to debug as it depends on a user interaction that can’t be tested as easily. You can manually test out page interactions and measure them using the Chrome DevTools performance profile.

The INP Debugger tool can also be handy as it automatically simulates interactions with different page elements. If your CLS score is hard to replicate, use DebugBear real user monitoring to see what’s causing layout shifts for your real users.

• Enhancing Interaction to Next Paint (INP):Utilise Chrome DevTools performance profiles for manual testing.Employ the INP Debugger tool to simulate interactions.Leverage real user monitoring (RUM) data to identify and optimise slow interactions.Break down RUM data into Input Delay, Processing Time, and Presentation Delay for precise optimizations.

How To Reduce Cumulative Layout Shift

Similar to INP, Cumulative Layout Shift can be hard to fix as it often happens when the user scrolls down the page or when additional content appears after the user clicks on a UI element. Identify the layout shift by running a page speed test and fix the element causing the shift.

To fix layout shifts, ensure that appropriately sized placeholders are in place if some content only appears later on in the page load process. Monitor real user experiences with DebugBear real user monitoring to identify and address layout shifts.

• Reducing Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):Identify layout shifts during the initial page load using page speed tests.Fix elements causing layout shifts by implementing appropriately sized placeholders.Ensure content loads early to prevent layout shifts.Use real user monitoring to analyse individual user experiences and address specific CLS issues.

Monitor Page Speed & Core Web Vitals

If you’re struggling to pass the Core Web Vitals assessment, monitoring can help you identify issues on your website and make sure you get alerts when there’s an issue. Start a free trial and enter your website URLs to see all your page speed metrics at a glance on the dashboard. provides powerful insights into your Core Web Vitals and helps you communicate with the rest of your team and management.

In addition to continuously testing your website in a controlled lab environment, install an analytics snippet on your site to track real user experiences. DebugBear real user monitoring lets you break down user experiences by page speed, country, or web browser.

Monitoring Page Speed & Core Web Vitals:

• Employ DebugBear monitoring to identify and address website issues.
• Utilise a free trial to enter website URLs and view page speed metrics on the dashboard.
• Install an analytics snippet to track real user experiences and gain insights into Core Web Vitals.

Conclusion:

Core Web Vitals optimization is not only essential for providing an excellent user experience but also for achieving higher rankings on Google. By understanding and strategically improving metrics such as LCP, INP, and CLS, your website can outperform competitors and meet the stringent standards set by Google's Core Web Vitals assessment. Stay ahead in the digital race by ensuring your website is fast, responsive, and visually stable.