Your website opens, but the main image appears late, the response lags when you click a button, or the text you are reading suddenly shifts? This article is for website owners and people who work in marketing. Below, based on materials from web.dev and Google Search Central, we explain what the Core Web Vitals metrics are, which result counts as "good" and how they relate to Google Search.
What are Core Web Vitals?
As web.dev explains, Core Web Vitals are the core Web Vitals metrics that apply to all web pages. They measure three areas:
- LCP — loading speed;
- INP — interactivity, i.e. how quickly the page responds;
- CLS — visual stability.
LCP, INP and CLS: what counts as a good result?
| Metric | What it measures | Good result |
|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | When the largest image, text block or video visible on the screen is displayed | 2.5 seconds or less |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | Overall responsiveness to clicks, taps and keyboard interactions | 200 milliseconds or less |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | Unexpected layout shifts, i.e. visual stability | 0.1 or less |
LCP: when does the main content appear?
LCP measures when the largest image, text block or video visible on the screen is displayed. For a good user experience, this metric should be 2.5 seconds or less.
INP: how quickly does the site respond to clicks?
INP assesses a page's overall responsiveness to user interactions — clicks, taps and keyboard input. When INP is 200 milliseconds or less, the page's responsiveness is considered good. For example, if nothing changes on the screen after you press the "Add to cart" button, the user may think the page has frozen.
CLS: is the page "shifting"?
CLS measures unexpected layout shifts on a page, i.e. elements suddenly moving. For example, when the button you want to press moves at the last moment, that is exactly this kind of unexpected layout shift. For a good result, CLS should be 0.1 or less.
How Core Web Vitals are measured: the 75th percentile
To check whether you meet the thresholds, web.dev recommends measuring the 75th percentile of page loads, separately for mobile and desktop devices.
In plain terms: you look not at a one-off result but at many page loads. The goal is for the metric to be within the good threshold in at least 75% of loads.
Why is the mobile version so important?
According to Google Search Central, Google uses the mobile version of a site — that is, the content crawled by the smartphone crawler — for indexing and ranking. This is called mobile-first indexing.
Google gives two practical recommendations in the same guide:
- The mobile site should have the same content as the desktop version.
- Google recommends responsive web design (which adapts to the screen), because it is the easiest to implement and maintain.
Core Web Vitals and Google Search: what should you know?
According to Google's page experience guide, there is no single ranking signal for "page experience", and good Core Web Vitals scores do not guarantee that a site will appear at the very top. Even if the page experience is poor, Google tries to show the most relevant content.
Google suggests questions like these for checking page experience yourself:
- Are the Core Web Vitals scores good?
- Are the pages served securely?
- Does the content display well on mobile devices?
- Is there an excessive amount of ads on the page?
- Are intrusive pop-ups (interstitials) avoided?
In other words, speed matters, but it does not replace helpful, relevant content.
Summary
- Core Web Vitals consist of three metrics: LCP (loading), INP (responsiveness) and CLS (visual stability).
- Good thresholds: LCP 2.5 seconds or less, INP 200 milliseconds or less, CLS 0.1 or less.
- Check results at the 75th percentile, separately for mobile and desktop.
- Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking; responsive design is recommended.
- Good Core Web Vitals do not guarantee a top position; Google tries to show the most relevant content.
If you have questions about your website's speed, how it looks on mobile or a redesign, message Estavor Web on WhatsApp: +994 77 768 10 12.
📚 Sources
🌐 The original article is in Azerbaijani; the official sources are available in Azerbaijani.
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