How to Fix Core Web Vitals Scores

Your website's performance is critical to the success of your business. Slow loading times, poor responsiveness, and unexpected layout shifts can all impact user engagement and lead to lost sales. 

With Google's new focus on Core Web Vitals, optimizing your website's performance is more important than ever before. In this article, we'll take a deep dive into how to fix Core Web Vitals on your Shopify website, and how these optimizations can improve site performance and increase sales. 

From identifying common issues to implementing the most effective fixes and improvements, we'll provide you with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure your website meets Google's benchmarks. 

Whether you're new to Core Web Vitals or an experienced Shopify store owner looking to improve your website's performance, this article is for you. So let's get started and learn how to improve your site’s page speed and fix any issues that may be impacting your website's performance.

‍

{{contents}}

‍

What are Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that have been developed by Google to help website owners and developers understand how well their websites are performing in terms of user experience. 

These metrics are crucial in providing a positive user experience and are designed to measure three key areas of website performance: speed, responsiveness, and visual stability.

The three Core Web Vitals are:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures loading performance and refers to the time it takes for the largest content element on a page to become visible to the user. This element is usually an image or a block of text, and a good LCP score means that the page loads quickly and is visually stable.
   
   
2. First Input Delay (FID): FID measures interactivity and refers to the time it takes for a website to respond to user input, such as clicks or taps. A good FID score means that the website responds quickly to user interactions, making it easier for users to navigate and interact with the site.
   
   
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS measures visual stability and refers to the amount of unexpected layout shift that occurs on a page. A good CLS score means that the page layout remains stable, and users are not confused or frustrated by unexpected changes.

These metrics are important because they directly impact the user experience. A website that loads slowly, responds slowly to user input, or has a layout that constantly shifts can be frustrating for users, leading to increased bounce rates and lower engagement. 

By optimizing these metrics, website owners can improve the user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately, boost conversions.

Why Are Core Web Vitals Essential for Your Business?

With recent updates in Google's algorithm, Core Web Vitals have become a critical ranking factor for websites. As a result, it has become increasingly vital for businesses to ensure that their website meets Google's benchmarks. 

However, many businesses may not know how to fix Core Web Vitals or improve their website's performance. This is where we come in at Fix My Site Speed, providing expert guidance on how to improve core web vitals and optimize your website for maximum performance. 

If you want to improve your website's performance, optimizing your Core Web Vitals is key. Here's why website performance matters for your business:

1. Increased conversion rates. For eCommerce sites, even a small drop in conversions can mean lost sales. For example, a page that is slow to load can lead to a drop in conversions and loss of revenue.
   
   
2. Better website performance improves brand awareness. Slow page load times can cause users to hit the back button and go back to search results, which can negatively affect your brand's reputation. This can be attributed to poor keyword relevance by Google, resulting in a drop in rankings.
   
   
3. Faster performing websites gain a competitive edge. To stand out from your competitors, you need to make sure your website is fast to load. By improving your Core Web Vitals and website performance, you can increase conversions, improve brand awareness, and gain a competitive edge.

With our expertise, Fix My Site Speed can help you significantly improve your website's loading speed, user experience, and search engine rankings.

By optimizing your site, we can enhance your site's user engagement, increase conversions, and ultimately improve your business’s bottom line. Ask us how today. 

Common Issues with Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Here are some common issues with LCP and the most common fixes or improvements we can provide:

• Large images: One common issue with LCP is having large images on the webpage that take a long time to load. We’ll optimize your images to reduce their file size without sacrificing quality. This can be done by compressing images, removing unnecessary metadata, and resizing images to fit the display size.
  
  
• Render-blocking resources: Render-blocking resources such as JavaScript and CSS files can delay the loading of the LCP. We can help by optimizing the order of the resources to ensure that the LCP is loaded first. This can be done by deferring non-essential resources or loading them asynchronously.
  
  
• Slow server response time: A slow server response time can also cause delays in loading the LCP. We’ll speed up your server response times by leveraging caching, minifying files, and enabling compression.
  
  
• Third-party scripts: Third-party scripts such as analytics or advertising code can also cause delays in loading the LCP. We’ll analyze these third-party scripts and identify which ones are causing delays. These scripts can then be deferred or loaded asynchronously to minimize their impact on LCP.
  
  
• Slow network speed: Slow network speed can cause delays in loading the LCP. We optimize the delivery of content by leveraging CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) and using compression techniques.

By expertly addressing common LCP issues and implementing the most effective fixes and improvements, we can significantly enhance your website's performance, increase user engagement, and drive better business outcomes

So, if you're looking to attract more visitors, retain them longer, and generate more revenue, optimizing your site for LCP is an absolute must. Let us help you at Fix My Site Speed.

How We Can Optimize First Input Delay (FID)

First Input Delay (FID) is another one of the Core Web Vitals identified by Google that measures the time it takes for a webpage to respond to the first user interaction.

Here are some common issues with FID and how we can fix them:

• Large JavaScript files: One common issue with FID is having large JavaScript files that take a long time to load and execute. We look at optimizing the size of JavaScript files by minifying them or breaking them down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
  
  
• Heavy page elements: Heavy page elements such as images or videos can also cause delays in FID. We’ll optimize the size of these elements by compressing images and videos.
  
  
• Third-party scripts: Third-party scripts such as social media widgets, analytics, and advertising code can also cause delays in FID. We’ll help by identifying which third-party scripts are causing delays and either removing them or deferring them until after the user interaction has been processed.
  
  
• Slow server response time: A slow server response time can also cause delays in FID. We’ll get your server response times up to speed by leveraging caching, minifying files, and enabling compression.
  
  
• Render-blocking resources: Render-blocking resources such as CSS and JavaScript can delay the loading and processing of the FID. We optimize the order of the resources to ensure that the FID is processed first.

By addressing these common issues with FID and implementing the most effective fixes and improvements, our team can help improve your website performance, increase user engagement, and ultimately lead to a better user experience for consumers and improved sales and results.

Common Issues with Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is the third Core Web Vital. CLS measures your webpage’s visual stability by tracking the amount of unexpected layout shifts that occur while the page loads.

Here are some common issues with CLS and the most common fixes or improvements that Fix My Site Speed can provide:

• Ads, pop-ups, and other dynamic content that load asynchronously can cause unexpected layout shifts, resulting in a poor CLS score. We’ll optimize the placement and loading of these elements to prevent any unwanted layout shifts.
  
  
• Images and videos without fixed dimensions specified in the HTML can cause unexpected layout shifts as the browser tries to determine the proper size and placement of the element. We’ll help by specifying the dimensions of images and videos to ensure they load in a consistent manner and prevent any layout shifts.
  
  
• Web fonts that load asynchronously can also cause unexpected layout shifts. We’ll optimize the loading of web fonts to ensure that they don't interfere with the layout of the page.
  
  
• Slow-loading resources, such as large images or videos, can cause unexpected layout shifts as the browser tries to load and position them on the page. We’ll optimize the size of these resources to ensure that they load quickly and don't cause any layout shifts.
  
  
• Third-party content such as iframes or embedded widgets can also cause unexpected layout shifts. We’ll optimize the placement and loading of these elements to prevent any unwanted layout shifts.

Fix My Site Speed can help improve the visual stability of a website and provide better user experiences, leading to improved business outcomes, by addressing common CLS issues and implementing effective fixes and improvements.

Contact Us to Fix Core Web Vitals Now

At Fix My Site Speed, we specialize in improving website performance and fixing Core Web Vitals for businesses just like yours. Our experts provide effective solutions to improve your website's performance and user experience.

Don't let Core Web Vitals issues hold your business back. Contact us today to improve your website's performance and take your online presence to the next level.