The Definitive Guide to Fixing Core Web Vitals on WordPress Sites in 2024

Does your WordPress site seem to be underperforming in search rankings? Have you noticed competitors outranking you despite having lower-quality content? The issue could come down to a single factor: Core Web Vitals.

As an online sales and marketing consultant who‘s worked with hundreds of WordPress sites, I‘ve seen firsthand the massive impact that Core Web Vitals have on organic search performance and user engagement. Sites that nail their Core Web Vitals enjoy prime SERP real estate, while those that fall short get banished to page two or beyond.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll demystify Core Web Vitals, show you exactly how to measure them on your WordPress site, and provide proven, step-by-step optimizations to supercharge your scores and overtake your competitors in 2024.

What Are Google‘s Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors that Google considers important in a webpage‘s overall user experience. Google has actually been evaluating site experience for a long time, but up until recently, the criteria and weightings have been opaque.

With the Core Web Vitals initiative, Google has clearly defined three key metrics that they deem essential to providing a good user experience:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures loading performance. To provide a good user experience, LCP should occur within 2.5 seconds of when the page first starts loading.

2. First Input Delay (FID): This measures interactivity. To provide a good user experience, pages should have a FID of 100 milliseconds or less.

3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This measures visual stability. To provide a good user experience, pages should maintain a CLS of 0.1. or less.

Let‘s unpack each of these a bit more.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP measures the time from when the page starts loading to when the largest image or text block is rendered on the screen. In other words, it‘s the moment when your page‘s main content has likely loaded and your user can start consuming it.

Based on extensive research, Google has determined that:

• An LCP of 2.5 seconds or less provides a good user experience
• An LCP between 2.5 and 4 seconds needs improvement
• An LCP of 4 seconds or more provides a poor user experience

Common causes of poor LCP on WordPress sites include:

• Slow server response times
• Render-blocking JavaScript and CSS
• Slow-loading images and videos
• Excessive DOM size

We‘ll dive into specific optimizations for each of these issues later on.

First Input Delay (FID)

FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with your page (i.e. when they click a link, tap on a button, or use a custom JavaScript control) to the time when the browser is actually able to respond to that interaction.

In practical terms, FID measures how long it takes your browser to start processing event handlers in response to a user interaction while the page is still loading. The longer this takes, the more "laggy" or unresponsive your page will feel.

Based on research, Google has determined that:

• An FID of 100 milliseconds or less provides a good user experience
• An FID between 100 and 300 milliseconds needs improvement
• An FID of over 300 milliseconds provides a poor user experience

The most common causes of poor FID are:

• Heavy JavaScript execution
• Long-running main thread tasks
• Insufficient lazy-loading

Again, we‘ll cover optimizations for each of these shortly.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Finally, CLS measures the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that occurs during the entire lifespan of the page. A layout shift occurs any time a visible element changes its position from one rendered frame to the next.

Some common causes of layout shifts on WordPress sites include:

• Images without dimensions
• Dynamically injected ads
• Embeds and iframes without dimensions
• Dynamically rendered content
• Web fonts causing FOIT/FOUT
• Actions waiting for a network response before updating DOM

To provide a good user experience, sites should strive to have a CLS score of 0.1 or less.

Why Core Web Vitals Matter for WordPress SEO

So why should WordPress site owners care about Core Web Vitals? Two words: search rankings.

Google has stated unequivocally that Core Web Vitals are now a key ranking factor in their search algorithms. Sites that score well on the Core Web Vitals metrics are more likely to appear higher in search results, while those with poor scores may find their rankings demoted.

Just how much do Core Web Vitals impact search rankings? While Google doesn‘t share specifics, real-world data paints a compelling picture:

• Searchmetrics found a high correlation between top-ranking sites and Core Web Vitals performance. On average, the top 3 search results had 22-34% faster LCP and 20-30% better CLS compared to results on page 2.

• Ahrefs analyzed over 2 million pages and found that pages with good Core Web Vitals had significantly higher organic traffic compared to pages with poor scores:

(Image Source: Ahrefs)

The data is clear: Core Web Vitals are a major factor in WordPress SEO success in 2024 and beyond. Sites that prioritize passing the Core Web Vitals assessment enjoy more search visibility, traffic, and conversions.

How to Measure Core Web Vitals on WordPress

The first step to improving your WordPress site‘s Core Web Vitals is obtaining a clear measurement of where you stand currently. Fortunately, there are a number of powerful tools to help.

Google Search Console

The Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console is the best place to start. This report uses actual field data from the Chrome User Experience Report to evaluate the real-world performance of your site.

To access your Core Web Vitals data in Search Console:

1. Go to Search Console and select your site property
2. Click on "Core Web Vitals" in the left sidebar, under "Experience"

Here, you‘ll see what percentage of your site‘s URLs provide a good page experience based on the Core Web Vitals metrics. You can toggle between mobile and desktop views, and drill down into specific issues.

PageSpeed Insights

To get more granular data on how individual pages perform, use Google‘s PageSpeed Insights tool. Simply enter a URL, and you‘ll receive a detailed Core Web Vitals assessment along with optimization suggestions.

PageSpeed Insights uses both lab data (from Lighthouse simulations) and field data (from the Chrome UX Report) to provide the most comprehensive view. Focus on the field data scores, as these most closely reflect what Google uses in search rankings.

Web Vitals Extension

For quick Core Web Vitals checks while browsing your site, install the official Web Vitals Extension for Chrome. This handy tool displays real-time Core Web Vitals scores in the browser toolbar and helps visualize layout shifts.

The Web Vitals Extension is great for spot-checking key landing pages or testing optimizations on a staging site before pushing to production.

7 Proven Ways to Optimize Core Web Vitals on WordPress

Once you have a baseline measurement of your WordPress site‘s Core Web Vitals, it‘s time to start implementing optimizations. Here are seven proven strategies to boost your scores:

1. Upgrade to Premium WordPress Hosting

One of the fastest ways to improve WordPress Core Web Vitals across the board is to upgrade from cheap, shared hosting to a premium managed WordPress host.

Best-in-class managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine, Kinsta and Flywheel provide cutting-edge server infrastructure, built-in CDNs, and performance optimizations specifically tailored for WordPress.

For example, Kinsta‘s hosting platform is powered by the Google Cloud Platform and includes:

• Server-level caching with Nginx FastCGI cache
• PHP 8.0 support (faster than PHP 7.4 by 18.47%)
• Automated MariaDB database optimizations
• Free Cloudflare integration with HTTP/3 support

By upgrading to a premium managed host, you can see significant improvements to all three Core Web Vitals metrics without any other optimizations.

2. Use an Optimized WordPress Theme

Your WordPress theme has a huge impact on your site‘s Core Web Vitals. Bloated, poorly-coded themes are a common cause of cumulative layout shifts and render-blocking resources.

When selecting or building a WordPress theme in 2024, prioritize performance over fancy effects. Look for themes that:

• Are built with clean, semantic HTML and CSS
• Minimize or eliminate render-blocking JavaScript
• Lazy-load images and other media by default
• Provide granular control over which features/scripts load on each page

Some of the best WordPress themes for Core Web Vitals include:

• GeneratePress
• Astra
• Neve
• Blocksy
• Kadence

If you need to use a page builder, opt for a well-optimized one like Oxygen or Bricks. Avoid Elementor, WPBakery, and other notorious "code-bloaters".

3. Optimize Your Images

Oversized, unoptimized images are the arch-nemesis of good Largest Contentful Paint scores. According to HTTP Archive, images account for over 50% of the average web page‘s total bytes.

(Image Source: HTTP Archive)

To ensure your WordPress site‘s images aren‘t sabotaging your Core Web Vitals:

• Compress images before uploading them (aim for <100KB per image)
• Serve images in next-generation formats like WebP
• Specify width and height attributes for images and videos
• Lazy-load images and videos that are below-the-fold
• Use an image CDN to serve images from a global network of edge servers

Some of the best WordPress image optimization plugins include:

• ShortPixel
• Imagify
• EWWW Image Optimizer
• WebP Express

4. Minimize Render-Blocking Resources

Render-blocking resources are external scripts, stylesheets, and other assets that must be downloaded and parsed before the browser can paint your page‘s main content. Too many render-blocking resources will negatively impact both your LCP and FID scores.

To identify and fix render-blocking resources on your WordPress site:

1. Run your key pages through PageSpeed Insights and look for opportunities like "Eliminate render-blocking resources" and "Avoid chaining critical requests".

2. Use the free "Remove Unused CSS" plugin to automatically identify and trim unutilized CSS from your pages.

3. Defer non-critical JavaScript using the free "Async JavaScript" plugin.

4. Inline critical CSS and defer the rest using a premium optimization plugin like WP Rocket.

5. Implement Caching and a CDN

Caching and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are two of the most impactful optimizations you can make for WordPress Core Web Vitals.

Caching stores static copies of your pages and serves them to visitors without needing to dynamically generate the HTML for each request. This can massively speed up your server response times.

(Image Source: WP Rocket)

Meanwhile, a CDN serves your static assets (images, CSS, JS) from a network of edge servers around the globe, ensuring blazing fast load times for visitors regardless of their location.

You can implement basic caching and a CDN for free with plugins like W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache. For the best results, use a premium plugin like WP Rocket along with a premium CDN service like KeyCDN or Cloudflare APO.

6. Enable Lazy-Loading Sitewide

Lazy-loading defers the loading of non-critical resources until they are needed, rather than downloading everything upfront. This technique can significantly improve LCP and FID scores while reducing data usage for mobile visitors.

As of version 5.5, WordPress has native lazy-loading support for images. To take this further, use a plugin like BJ Lazy Load or a3 Lazy Load to enable lazy-loading for:

• iFrames (embedded videos, maps, etc.)
• Background images
• Post content images (in older WordPress versions)
• Widgets

Just be sure to exclude key above-the-fold images from lazy-loading so your LCP times don‘t suffer.

7. Monitor and Control Plugin Bloat

Finally, one of the biggest Core Web Vitals killers on WordPress sites is plugin bloat. Each additional plugin you install can inject render-blocking scripts, slow down server response times, and cause layout shifts.

To control plugin bloat and minimize the impact on Core Web Vitals:

• Regularly audit your plugins and remove any that are unused or unnecessary
• Replace plugins with lightweight alternatives or manual implementations where possible
• Use Query Monitor to identify plugins and themes that are generating slow database queries
• Selectively disable plugins on a per-page or per-post basis using a plugin like Plugin Load Filter or Disable Plugin Per Page

As a general rule, aim to keep your total number of active plugins under 20, and always thoroughly test new plugins on a staging site before deploying to production.

Prioritize Core Web Vitals to Dominate Rankings in 2024

Core Web Vitals are a key ranking factor that will only become more important as Google doubles-down on page experience as a way to determine search visibility. WordPress sites that prioritize passing the Core Web Vitals assessment will have a significant competitive advantage in the hyper-competitive search landscape of 2024 and beyond.

By following the measurement and optimization workflow outlined in this guide, you can ensure your WordPress site delivers the fast, seamless experiences users and search engines expect.

Remember, improving your Core Web Vitals won‘t just boost your rankings, it will also lead to better engagement, conversions, and revenue. There‘s never been a better time to invest in your WordPress site‘s performance.

Use the proven strategies and expert insights I‘ve shared here to make optimizing Core Web Vitals your number one WordPress SEO priority for 2024. Your users and your bottom line will thank you.