In 2020, Google introduced core web vitals as part of their method for ranking and assessing pages. It’s important to understand what core web vitals are and why they are important for your website. Similarly, how DropInBlog and core web vitals work.
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What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core web vitals are the metrics Google uses to understand how your pages perform for users. It factors in three aspects of your technical SEO: page loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
When assessing your website, Google will look at both the desktop and mobile versions. These days, with so many people using mobile devices to search the web, if your website isn’t mobile-responsive, you can say goodbye to a good position in SERPs.
Loading Speed, a.k.a. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest contentful paint measures user experience based on the time it takes for the content to load. Pages that load fast keep users better engaged, so it’s no wonder Google ranks this highly.
Images, text blocks, and video all have the potential to slow down any site, and ideally, you want your site to load fully within 2.5 seconds or less.
Improve Your LCP Score
The most common and easiest ways to improve your LCP score include the following:
- Optimize and compress images.
- Switch to a faster, more reliable web server.
- Use a CDN if you have a really large site with a lot of content.
- Remove any render-blocking code.
Interactivity, a.k.a. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
The cumulative layout shift looks at engagement opportunities and the ease at which users can navigate your site. Any buttons or links should all be visible and work correctly, but more importantly, they shouldn’t shift around the page.
Interactivity is particularly important for your mobile site. Often the site design doesn’t translate into the mobile version perfectly, and it becomes awkward and difficult to use. Buttons may change placement, and text may not be visible, which is bad for your CLS score.
Improve Your CLS Score
There are a range of easy things you can do to improve your CLS score, including:
- Define your image dimensions to help browsers calculate the space required.
- Define the width and height of any banners or embed blocks.
- Review how dynamic content behaves on both desktop and mobile.
Visual Stability, a.k.a. First Input Delay (FID)
The first input delay measures the responsiveness of your page after a user’s input. For example, if the user clicks on a button, how much delay is there in the site response?
This is similar to page loading speed in many ways, but you want the rate of response to be much faster. The optimal FID time should be less than 100 milliseconds. If the response to a given input is slow, the user will quickly become frustrated and leave the page.
Improve Your FID Score
Improving your FID score is not particularly beginner-friendly. Improvements can be made by altering the Javascript code to smaller tasks to make processing faster, switching to static HTML content, or reviewing the third-party scripts active on your site. All of these solutions will, unfortunately, require some web developer skills.
Why Are Core Web Vitals Important?
Core web vitals are important not only for users but also for your Google rankings. Users want a fast, smooth, hassle-free experience on your site. A site that meets Google’s core web vitals standards will provide a smooth experience for users.
Google itself has a reputation as a search engine to provide a selection of the very best search results each time. Those results presented need to correctly match search intent but also be a quality website that runs effectively. By developing these core web vitals metrics, Google can ensure the user experience on top-ranking sites is high-quality.
Of course, nothing stays the same forever, and Google is constantly updating the metrics, so it’s worth staying up-to-date on any relevant changes.
How DropInBlog Makes the Grade, Every Time
DropInBlog recognizes the need for speed – literally. Page loading speed is prioritized, and the app uses minified code files to avoid adding any unnecessary bulk that might otherwise slow down your blog pages.
There are no additional plugins that are notorious for slowing down WordPress sites, and it runs on your domain – not a subdomain. DropInBlog is a star all around when it comes to blogging. It includes a built-in SEO Analyzer that assesses your content as you type and prompts you to make improvements.
FAQs
How can DropInBlog help improve my website's core web vitals scores?
DropInBlog is designed to be lightweight. It uses minified code files, no additional bulky plugins, and it sits within your domain. It’s light as a feather, and it will help your core web vitals scores.
Can my website's core web vitals scores affect my search engine rankings?
Yes, Google considers your core web vitals scores alongside other SEO-related metrics. So, it’s a good idea to analyze your core web vitals and identify ways to improve them if need be.
Can I optimize my website's core web vital scores without the help of a developer or technical expert?
There are many things even a beginner could do to improve their websites’ core web vitals scores. For example, compressing images, minifying and cleaning your code, and removing any unnecessary items from your site are all helpful methods to improve your core web vitals. We have lots of tips on how to optimize your blog for SEO
However, if these simple steps don’t work, you might need a developer or technical expert to revamp your site to meet the grade.
Final Thoughts
Core web vitals might be slightly mind-boggling for the beginner bloggers and e-commerce entrepreneurs out there, but it is an important factor in Google rankings. In some cases, you can boost your website’s core web vitals yourself by making some minor changes. But in other cases – like with the FID score – you will likely need the help of a developer.
DropInBlog and core web vitals is not a concern you need to worry about. This convenient blogging app ensures you get a neat, lightweight blog that won’t negatively affect your core web vitals score. You have nothing to lose – you can try it for free.
