# What are Core Web Vitals?

https://smartwebutah.com/what-are-core-web-vitals/

Google's three measures of how a page feels to a visitor, in plain words, plus what makes a site work well on the phones most people use.

December 22, 2023 · Seth Shoultes

 

Google wants to send people to pages that feel good to use. To judge that, it measures three things about how your pages behave for real visitors. Together they are called Core Web Vitals, and they are one of the things Google weighs when it decides where your pages rank.

## The three measures, in plain words

**How fast the main content appears.** When a page opens, how long until the biggest thing at the top, usually the main picture or headline, shows up? Google calls this Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). Good is within 2.5 seconds.

**How fast the page reacts.** When someone taps a button, opens a menu or types in a form, how long until the page responds? Google calls this Interaction to Next Paint (INP). Good is within 200 milliseconds, about a fifth of a second. It replaced an older measure called First Input Delay in 2024, so you may still see that name in older articles.

**How much the page jumps around.** Have you gone to tap a link and had the page shift so you hit an ad instead? That is layout shift. Google scores it as Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Good is 0.1 or less, which in practice means hardly any movement.

Google judges these from real visits, and a page passes when most visits (three out of four) meet the good mark.

## Why they matter to your business

These are not just technical scores. A slow main picture makes people leave before they read anything. A button that does not respond makes them think the site is broken. A jumping page makes them tap the wrong thing. Each one costs you a customer, and Google’s rankings reflect that.

## What usually fixes them

-   **Main content slow:** smaller, compressed pictures and video, and decent hosting.
-   **Slow to react:** less JavaScript (the code behind sliders, pop-ups and tracking scripts) running on each page.
-   **Jumping around:** setting the size of pictures, ads and embeds in advance so the page saves room for them.

For the step-by-step version, see [A faster WordPress site, and why Google cares](https://smartwebutah.com/wordpress-site-speed-seo-the-technical-optimization-masterclass/).

## Most of your visitors are on a phone

Google looks mainly at the phone version of your site when it ranks you, and phones are where these scores are hardest to hit. A site that works well on a phone has:

-   **A layout that fits the screen.** The same site rearranges itself for phone, tablet and computer, so there is no separate mobile site to maintain.
-   **Text you can read without zooming,** with enough space between lines.
-   **Buttons big enough for a thumb,** spaced so people do not tap the wrong one.
-   **A simple menu,** so people find what they need in a tap or two.
-   **Content that is easy to scan,** because people on phones usually want a quick answer.
-   **Pictures and video sized for phones,** so they load quickly on a mobile connection.

Many phone searches are local: people looking for a business nearby, right now. Make sure your name, address and phone number are the same on your site and every listing, and that your Google Business Profile is up to date.

## Check yours

Type your address into Google’s free [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/) and look at the phone results. It shows all three measures and what is holding each one back.

## Want help with this?

Call or email and I'll tell you whether you need it.

[Talk to Seth](https://smartwebutah.com/contact/)

Or read [how I help people get found](https://smartwebutah.com/website-promotion-seo/).