You've probably heard about Core Web Vitals—LCP, CLS, and FID—and know they're important for your website's performance and search rankings. But what do these acronyms actually mean? And more importantly, how can you improve them if you're not a technical person? This guide explains Core Web Vitals in plain English, shows you why they matter, and provides practical, non-technical steps you can take to improve them. You don't need to be a developer to understand and improve these metrics—you just need to know what to look for and what changes to make.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are three specific metrics that Google uses to measure how users experience your website. Think of them as a report card for your website's user experience. Google measures these because they directly impact how visitors feel when they use your site.
Why Google Cares
Google wants to show users websites that provide a good experience. If your website is slow, jumps around while loading, or feels unresponsive, visitors have a bad experience. Google uses Core Web Vitals to identify and rank websites that provide good user experiences higher in search results.
The Three Metrics
There are three Core Web Vitals:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): How fast your main content loads
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How stable your page is while loading
- FID (First Input Delay): How responsive your site feels when users interact with it
Each metric measures a different aspect of user experience, and all three matter for both user satisfaction and search rankings.
LCP: Largest Contentful Paint (Loading Speed)
LCP measures how long it takes for the largest content element on your page to appear. Think of it as measuring how fast your main content loads.
What LCP Actually Measures
LCP measures the time from when someone starts loading your page until the largest content element (usually an image, video, or large text block) becomes visible. This is what users see as "page load time"—they're waiting for the main content to appear.
What's a Good LCP Score?
- Good: 2.5 seconds or less
- Needs Improvement: 2.5 to 4 seconds
- Poor: More than 4 seconds
What Causes Poor LCP?
In simple terms, poor LCP happens when:
- Your server is slow to respond
- Images are too large and take too long to load
- Your hosting is slow
- Too many things are loading at once
- Your website's code is inefficient
How to Improve LCP (Non-Technical Steps)
- Optimize Your Images: Compress images before uploading them to your website. Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file sizes without losing quality. Smaller images load faster.
- Use a Faster Host: If your hosting is slow, your LCP will be slow. Consider upgrading to faster hosting or managed WordPress hosting that's optimized for speed.
- Reduce Image Sizes: Don't upload 4000px wide images if they'll only display at 800px. Resize images to the size they'll actually be displayed.
- Enable Lazy Loading: Most modern websites have lazy loading enabled automatically, but check that images below the fold (that users need to scroll to see) load only when needed.
- Remove Unnecessary Elements: Remove large images, videos, or other elements that aren't essential. Every element adds to load time.
- Use a CDN: A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can help serve your content faster by storing it on servers closer to your visitors.
How to Check Your LCP
Use Google PageSpeed Insights (free tool) to check your LCP score. Enter your website URL and it will show you your LCP score and provide recommendations for improvement.
CLS: Cumulative Layout Shift (Visual Stability)
CLS measures how much your page content shifts or moves around while the page is loading. Think of it as measuring how "jumpy" or unstable your page is.
What CLS Actually Measures
Have you ever been reading a webpage when suddenly everything jumps down because an image loads? That's layout shift. CLS measures how much content moves around during page load. A high CLS score means your page is unstable and jumps around a lot.
What's a Good CLS Score?
- Good: 0.1 or less
- Needs Improvement: 0.1 to 0.25
- Poor: More than 0.25
What Causes Poor CLS?
Layout shift happens when:
- Images load without defined dimensions (the browser doesn't know how much space to reserve)
- Ads or embeds load and push content around
- Fonts load and change text size
- Content is added dynamically after the page starts loading
- Pop-ups or banners appear and push content down
How to Improve CLS (Non-Technical Steps)
- Add Dimensions to Images: When uploading images, make sure they have width and height attributes set. This tells the browser how much space to reserve, preventing content from jumping when images load.
- Reserve Space for Ads: If you have ads on your site, reserve space for them so they don't push content around when they load.
- Use Web Fonts Properly: If you use custom fonts, ensure they're loaded properly to prevent text from changing size after the page loads.
- Avoid Pop-ups on Load: Don't show pop-ups immediately when the page loads—they push content around. If you must use pop-ups, delay them or make them less intrusive.
- Test Your Site: Load your site and watch for content that jumps around. Identify what's causing the shift and fix it.
- Keep Design Consistent: Avoid adding content dynamically that changes the page layout after it starts loading.
How to Check Your CLS
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check your CLS score. You can also simply load your website and watch for content that jumps around—if you see it, you have a CLS problem.
FID: First Input Delay (Interactivity)
FID measures how long it takes for your website to respond when a user first tries to interact with it—clicking a link, tapping a button, or typing in a form. Think of it as measuring how "responsive" your site feels.
What FID Actually Measures
FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with your page (clicks, taps, types) until the browser can respond to that interaction. If your site feels "frozen" or unresponsive when users try to interact with it, you have a poor FID score.
What's a Good FID Score?
- Good: 100 milliseconds or less
- Needs Improvement: 100 to 300 milliseconds
- Poor: More than 300 milliseconds
What Causes Poor FID?
Poor FID happens when:
- Too much JavaScript is running when the page loads
- JavaScript is blocking the browser from responding
- Your website has too many plugins or scripts
- Heavy scripts are loading and processing
- Your hosting is slow to process requests
How to Improve FID (Non-Technical Steps)
- Reduce Plugins: Remove unnecessary plugins. Each plugin adds JavaScript that can slow down your site's responsiveness.
- Update Plugins and Themes: Keep all plugins and themes updated. Updates often include performance improvements.
- Use a Faster Host: Slow hosting can cause poor FID. Consider upgrading to faster hosting.
- Remove Unused Scripts: If you have analytics, chat widgets, or other scripts you're not using, remove them. Every script adds overhead.
- Optimize Your Theme: Heavy themes with lots of features can slow down responsiveness. Consider using a lighter, performance-focused theme.
- Limit Third-Party Scripts: Every external script (analytics, social media widgets, etc.) adds to load time and can affect responsiveness. Only use what you need.
How to Check Your FID
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check your FID score. You can also test your site yourself—if buttons don't respond immediately when clicked, or if the site feels "frozen" when you try to interact with it, you likely have a FID problem.
Why Core Web Vitals Matter
Understanding why these metrics matter helps motivate improvement:
1. Search Rankings
Google uses Core Web Vitals as ranking factors. Websites with good Core Web Vitals scores rank higher in search results than websites with poor scores. This directly impacts how many people find your website.
2. User Experience
Core Web Vitals measure real user experience. Good scores mean visitors have a good experience—fast loading, stable pages, responsive interactions. Poor scores mean visitors have a frustrating experience.
3. Conversion Rates
Websites with good Core Web Vitals convert better. Fast, stable, responsive websites keep visitors engaged and make them more likely to take action. Slow, jumpy, unresponsive websites drive visitors away.
4. Mobile Experience
Core Web Vitals are especially important for mobile users, who often have slower connections and less powerful devices. Good Core Web Vitals ensure your site works well on mobile.
5. Competitive Advantage
If your competitors have poor Core Web Vitals and you have good ones, you'll rank higher and provide a better experience. This gives you a competitive advantage.
How to Check Your Core Web Vitals
You don't need technical knowledge to check your Core Web Vitals. Here are easy ways to do it:
Google PageSpeed Insights
The easiest way to check your Core Web Vitals is using Google PageSpeed Insights:
- Go to pagespeed.web.dev
- Enter your website URL
- Click "Analyze"
- View your Core Web Vitals scores and recommendations
PageSpeed Insights will show you:
- Your LCP, CLS, and FID scores
- Whether each score is Good, Needs Improvement, or Poor
- Specific recommendations for improvement
- Opportunities to optimize
Google Search Console
If you have Google Search Console set up, you can see Core Web Vitals data there:
- Go to Google Search Console
- Click on "Core Web Vitals" in the left menu
- View your scores and see which pages need improvement
Manual Testing
You can also test your site manually:
- LCP: Load your site and time how long it takes for the main content to appear
- CLS: Load your site and watch for content that jumps around
- FID: Try clicking buttons or links immediately after the page loads—do they respond quickly?
Quick Wins: Easy Improvements You Can Make Today
Here are quick, non-technical improvements you can make today to improve your Core Web Vitals:
For LCP (Loading Speed)
- Compress all images before uploading (use TinyPNG or similar)
- Remove large, unnecessary images
- Resize images to the size they'll actually display
- Remove unused plugins
- Consider upgrading to faster hosting
For CLS (Visual Stability)
- Ensure images have width and height set (most modern CMSs do this automatically)
- Remove or delay pop-ups that appear on page load
- Avoid adding content that changes layout after the page loads
- Test your site and fix any content that jumps around
For FID (Interactivity)
- Remove unnecessary plugins
- Update all plugins and themes
- Remove unused scripts and widgets
- Consider using a lighter theme
- Limit third-party scripts (analytics, chat widgets, etc.)
Common Mistakes That Hurt Core Web Vitals
Avoid these common mistakes that hurt your Core Web Vitals scores:
1. Uploading Large, Uncompressed Images
Many people upload images directly from their camera or stock photo sites without compressing them. Large images kill LCP scores.
2. Using Too Many Plugins
Every plugin adds overhead. Too many plugins slow down your site and hurt FID scores.
3. Not Testing on Mobile
Core Web Vitals are especially important on mobile. Test your site on actual mobile devices, not just desktop.
4. Ignoring Recommendations
PageSpeed Insights provides specific recommendations. Many people ignore these, but they're usually easy to implement and have big impact.
5. Using Slow Hosting
Slow hosting hurts all Core Web Vitals. Many people try to save money on hosting, but slow hosting costs more in lost traffic and conversions.
6. Not Monitoring Scores
Core Web Vitals can change over time. Regularly check your scores to catch problems early.
When You Need Professional Help
While many Core Web Vitals improvements can be made without technical knowledge, some situations require professional help:
- Your scores are very poor and you don't know where to start
- You've tried the non-technical fixes but scores haven't improved
- You need technical changes (code optimization, server configuration, etc.)
- You don't have time to implement improvements yourself
- You want to ensure improvements are done correctly
- You need ongoing monitoring and optimization
At Webclinic, we specialize in improving Core Web Vitals and website performance. We help businesses understand their Core Web Vitals scores, identify what's causing problems, and implement improvements that actually work.
Our Core Web Vitals optimization service includes comprehensive analysis, strategic improvements, testing, and ongoing monitoring. We make technical improvements accessible and ensure your website meets Google's Core Web Vitals standards.
Ready to improve your Core Web Vitals? Book a free website health check with us. We'll analyze your Core Web Vitals scores, identify the biggest opportunities for improvement, and outline a clear plan to bring your scores up to Google's standards.