Core Web Vitals update underway on desktop

Jonathon Roberts

Google released its Page Experience and Core Web Vitals update back in June last year for mobile devices only, then in November announced that the update would also be rolled out for desktop. That change is now taking effect and is expected to be fully implemented within the next few weeks

What are Page Experience and Core Web Vitals?

Google Page Experience and Core Web Vitals (CWV) are metrics that were originally released last June by the search giant to make sure users clicking through to websites from search engines have a good user experience.

Page Experience looks at how quickly and efficiently your website loads. The Page Experience and Core Web Vitals of your website are also used as a ranking factor for Google, so making sure that your users have a good user experience and meet the Core Web Vitals metrics is key to your website performing well in search results.

There are three main metrics you need to know about to make sure your website is passing the Core Web Vitals and User Experience metrics. These are:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
• First Input Delay (FID)

Some secondary factors include:

• HTTPS security – making sure that your website is fully secure and has an SSL certificate, which has been important for ranking on Google since at least August 2014
• Absence of intrusive interstitials – these are popups that cover the main content on your website, creating a poor user experience
• Mobile Friendliness – this is only essential for the Mobile Core Web Vitals check, but a responsive and mobile-friendly website is key for ranking in Google

To find out more about how we can help you to improve your website’s performance in search results, get in touch with our team today.