Google Measures Your Website's Speed
Since 2021, Google has used three metrics called Core Web Vitals to measure how fast and responsive your website is. Good scores help your search rankings. Bad scores hurt them.
Let's break down what they mean and how to fix them.
The Three Core Web Vitals
1. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
What it measures: How long until the main content appears
Good: Under 2.5 seconds Needs improvement: 2.5–4 seconds Poor: Over 4 seconds
For business owners: This is how long visitors wait for your page to show something useful. Every second of delay increases the chance they'll leave.
2. INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
What it measures: How quickly your site responds to clicks, taps, and key presses
Good: Under 200 milliseconds Needs improvement: 200–500 milliseconds Poor: Over 500 milliseconds
For business owners: This measures how "snappy" your site feels. Sluggish sites frustrate users and lose sales.
3. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
What it measures: How much content moves around unexpectedly
Good: Under 0.1 Needs improvement: 0.1–0.25 Poor: Over 0.25
For business owners: You know when you try to click a button and it jumps away? That's layout shift. It's annoying and makes your site feel unpolished.
Why This Matters for Rankings
Google has said Core Web Vitals are a ranking factor. Two sites with similar content? The faster one wins.
More importantly, faster sites convert better:
- 1-second improvement = 2% more conversions
- Users trust faster sites more
- Mobile users are especially impatient
How to Check Your Scores
- Google PageSpeed Insights – Free, detailed report
- Google Search Console – Shows issues across your whole site
- Chrome DevTools – For technical deep-dives
Common Problems and Solutions
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Large images | Compress and use WebP format |
| Slow server | Better hosting, closer to Australia |
| Too much JavaScript | Remove unused scripts |
| No image dimensions | Specify width/height attributes |
| Render-blocking resources | Defer non-critical CSS/JS |
The Custom Website Advantage
Template websites and builders often fail Core Web Vitals because they:
- Load massive theme files
- Include dozens of unused scripts
- Can't be properly optimized
Custom websites are built lean from the start. Our sites consistently score 90+ on PageSpeed.
Want Better Scores?
Check out our packages – every site is built with performance as a priority.