Tips to Optimize Core Web Vitals for WordPress

May 17. 2021

If there is one thing you learn when tackling SEO its that it is a constant effort. Google is constantly trying to improve its search engine so that it gives the best results. And people are constantly trying to figure out SEO so that their content comes out on top. This constant race necessitates that website managers carefully follow SEO trends and optimize their websites accordingly. One of the newer trends in SEO is the Core Web Vitals. In this article, we will explore what those are and how to optimize Core Web Vitals for WordPress.

What are Core Web Vitals

Before optimizing Core Web Vitals we first need to elaborate on what they are. Put simply, Core Web Vitals are certain metrics that Google deems important for the overall user experience. In the newer updates to Google’s SEO, user experience is ranked high. So, to carefully evaluate how user-friendly a website is, Google has come up with these Core Web Vitals.

There are many factors that determine how good a website is when it comes to user experience. To take account of all of these factors, Google uses three metrics:

• LCP – Largest Contentful Paint.
• FID – First Input Delay.
• CLS – Cumulative Layout Shift.

These metrics paint a good picture of how satisfied users will be with your website. While they may seem complicated, they are surprisingly easy to understand. Therefore, considering the numerous benefits of having good Core Web Vitals results, we would strongly advise you to optimize them as soon as possible.

How to optimize Core Web Vitals for WordPress

Luckily, optimizing Corve Web Vitals for WordPress is not that complicated. With a couple of tweaks and alterations, you’ll be able to easily pass Google’s test and ensure decent SEO results. Here is what to do.

Improve your WordPress hosting

There are different factors that influence how well your website performs. And one of the most important ones is the hosting company that you are using. It, in essence, is the foundation upon which you build the rest of your website. So, if you are deciding now which host to use for your WordPress website, we suggest that you pick carefully. Different hosts provide better service for different websites. So, carefully outline what you need for your host, and pick the one that gives you the best long-term solutions.

Improve the LCP score

The Largest Contentful Paint is the largest content part within a page. For example, in a blog post, this can either be the featured image, or the article text. Whichever segment takes up the most space, that is your LCP. The quicker that segment loads, the better LCP score you will have. There is an easy way to figure out which is the largest content by Google’s standards. All you need to do is to scroll down the test results and open the “Largest Contentful Paint element” tab. If it is an image, consider using an optimized one. If it is text, consider breaking it up into paragraphs.

Improve the FID score

The First Input Delay score measures the time that it takes for a user to click on something on your website and for their browser to process what they’ve clicked. Here the most important thing to manage is the hosting platform. Besides that, you can consider implementing the WP Rocket plugin and use it to optimize file delivery. Start by deferring JavaScript loading, and then proceed to implement other measures that you see fit. Just make sure to consult with a more experienced web developer before making any drastic changes.

Improve the CLS score

Cumulative Layout Shift is when different elements on one page load slowly, which causes other elements to move. To see which elements on your website can cause this head to the Page Speed Insights in test results and expand on the “Avoid large layout shifts” tab. Doing so will should you which elements have the longest delay. To ensure that there is no movement caused by slower loading, you need to ensure that all the elements are properly anchored for different platforms. One of the ways to do this is with the Inspect Tool. There you can pick the troublesome elements and give them anchored width and height. That way you will ensure that the browser delegates the necessary space for them ahead of not, and not come into the risk of moving them around.

Eliminate render-blocking

Render-blocking happens when certain elements are slower to load and cause other elements to not load first. This, as you might guess, lowers the performance of your website and diminishes the user experience. Here, again, you can use Page Speed Insights to show render-blocking elements. Most commonly these are either CSS or JavaScript files used by WP plugins. Unfortunately, if you have limited programming experience you will have a hard time removing when without disabling your plugin entirely. So, either consider changing the plugin or hiring a professional to help you.

Incorporate properly sized images

One of the most common issues with images on websites is that they are too large. In most cases, smaller images are much more suitable as they take up fewer recourses and make the entire website run smoothly. So, make sure to optimize images before incorporating them into your WP website.

Final thoughts

Unfortunately, it is not enough to optimize Core Web Vitals for WordPress in order to have good SEO results. As we said, SEO is a complex system and it takes months if not years of experience to learn how to manage it. So, if you are just starting out, we suggest that you keep researching and constantly monitor for new updates.