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Contact ›Core Web Vitals are the three metrics Google uses to measure the real-world experience of your website: loading speed (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and visual stability (CLS). They are not a technical detail. They affect your rankings and, above all, how many visitors stay on your site and buy.
The thresholds Google expects in 2026: LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1. Here is what each one means and how to improve it.
What each metric measures (in plain English)
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): how long it takes for the main element of the page to appear, usually the hero image or headline. It is the moment a visitor feels the page has “loaded”.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): how long the site takes to respond when a user taps a button or opens a menu. It replaced FID because it measures every interaction, not just the first one.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): how much the content “jumps around” while loading. The button that moves just as you are about to tap it: that is a high CLS.
Google measures them using real Chrome user data (the CrUX report), not lab tests. You can check yours on PageSpeed Insights.
How to improve each one: what has the biggest impact
- For LCP: serve images in WebP or AVIF at the right size, preload the hero image, use server caching and a CDN, and remove scripts that block rendering.
- For INP: ship less JavaScript. Every plugin and every third-party script adds up. Defer whatever is not visible and break up long tasks.
- For CLS: reserve space for images and ads (always set width and height), preload fonts and never inject banners that push content down.
On the Real Novo Sancti Petri website, we cut mobile LCP from over 15 seconds to 3 using these techniques: image compression, aggressive caching, local fonts and lazy loading of videos. The results show in search rankings and in bookings.
Our web design service delivers every project with all three metrics in the green. We consider it part of the job, not an extra.
WordPress and Core Web Vitals: where the problem usually lies
On WordPress, the pattern repeats: multipurpose themes that load everything, ten plugins adding JavaScript to every page, and original camera images uploaded uncompressed. The fix is rarely switching platforms. It is technical discipline: a lightweight theme, well-configured page caching, WebP images served at the right size and fonts hosted on your own server.
This is the order we follow when auditing a slow website: first the server (TTFB and caching), then page weight (images and videos), then JavaScript (what loads and when) and finally the finer points of visual stability. Working in that order delivers 80% of the improvement in the first two days of work, and you see the effect in rankings and sales from the first month.
Frequently asked questions about Core Web Vitals
Do Core Web Vitals affect SEO?
Yes. They have been a ranking signal since 2021 and still are in 2026. They won’t make up for weak content, but when results are close, they tip the balance. Their effect on conversion is even greater than on rankings.
What are good values?
LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1, measured at the 75th percentile of real users. Between those values and double them, the rating is “needs improvement”; above that, “poor”.
Where can I measure my website’s Core Web Vitals?
In PageSpeed Insights (real-world and lab data), in Search Console (page experience report) and with the Web Vitals Chrome extension for quick checks.
How much does it cost to optimise them?
It depends on the state of the site: sometimes a day of optimisation is enough (caching, images, fonts); other times templates need rebuilding. An initial audit shows exactly where the problem is and what it will cost to fix.
Is your website in the red? We will run a performance audit and tell you what is holding it back, with a fixed quote to fix it: get in touch.