Site speed & Core Web Vitals
2 min read
A slow site loses rankings AND visitors
Imagine clicking a link and waiting... and waiting. You leave, right? So does everyone. Google knows this, so site speed is a ranking factor. A fast site ranks better and keeps more visitors.
What are Core Web Vitals?
Google measures real user experience with three numbers called Core Web Vitals:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — how fast the main content loads. Aim under 2.5 seconds.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint) — how quickly the page responds when you click or type. Faster is better.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — how much the page jumps around while loading. Less shifting is better. (You know the annoyance when a button moves just as you tap it — that is bad CLS.)
How do I make a site faster?
The biggest, most common wins:
- Compress images — huge images are the number one cause of slow pages. Resize them and use modern formats (WebP).
- Lazy-load images — load them only when the user scrolls to them.
- Minify CSS and JavaScript (remove extra spaces) and load scripts with
defer. - Use a CDN and good caching so files load from nearby servers.
How do I check my speed?
Free and official: Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse (built into Chrome DevTools). They give you your Core Web Vitals scores and a list of exactly what to fix.
Fast sites rank and convert better. Watch your Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS), and start by compressing images — it is the easiest big win.