Performance metrics are a must-have to know the user’s page experience. Google has brought them to every website owner, web developer, and SEO manager. Also, to obtain better search rankings, page experience factors are essential to affect it. After four old elements, Google has added a fifth factor to enhance the existing performance metrics. Also, it is known as Core Web Vitals.
Core Web Vitals are entirely disparate from old performance metrics; it comprises three main website metrics: load times, Interactivity, and visual stability. One needs a high core web vital score and better website usability to perform exceptionally well in Google’s search game.
Basically, there are three core web vitals – largest contentful paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative layout shift need to show a ‘good’ score to roll out in the core web vitals test.
See also: Google’s Broad Core Algorithm Update – Are You Ready for it?
Essentially, there are two types of core web vitals cores – The field data and the lab data.
- The field data: In the real world, actual visitors who visit the website help in recording the scores based on their user experience.
- The lab data: This type of data is generated by Google’s Lighthouse tool and based on a simulated visit by a bot. An algorithm will simulate if the visit was using a phone or an internet connection and generate artificial core web vitals scores using the same page loading information. Lighthouse is a tool to help web pages improve their quality. It performs performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, SEO, and more audits.
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Changing Core Web Vitals scores:
Core Web vitals scores keep changing without the data changing on the website, and several random factors govern them. Equally the developer would notice a fluctuation in the CWV scores if users accessed the page at different locations, devices, and times.
Variation in Internet Speed and Server response time:
Optimizations on the website and compressing images may not help your server perform better and increase the response time. Basically, a fast server is one crucial factor in getting a high CWV score and can be set by SEO or site publisher only, and it can lead to consistent performance results.
See also: Google Fred Update: What You Need to Know
Timing:
Basically, it is another factor as the traffic on the site may differ at different times, resulting in server load rising and lag. Similarly, the scores and results of core web vitals will change. In addition, if a website is experiencing high traffic, it indicates a much slower response time and speed.
To assess the website results, one will have to monitor the traffic, calculate the average, and note the time. But again, not just these; if the user is using the site on an old mobile, has poor cellular data, or has network congestion, they all will affect a fast website’s Core Web Vital score.
Thus, when one tests their site, be it for lab date or field date, the core web vitals scores will probably fluctuate and not bring a consistent score every time they calculate it.