The following excerpt is taken from Optimizing WordPress for Web Core Vitals. You can read the introduction to the guide here.
We’ve all done it — you click a link, the page stalls for a few seconds, and you click away before even reading a word. In the age of mobile devices and extremely short attention spans, making your site as snappy as possible is critical to engaging your users and providing the best possible experience with your brand.
In 2020, Google made it even more important — they announced that their Core Web Vitals measurements, which approximate how quickly a page loads on a mobile device, will become an essential feature of their ranking algorithm.
That means that slower sites will not only drive away users — they will also rank worse than their competitors on Google search. When Google rolls out this update in May 2021, a slow site will lose traffic from a drop in search rankings, and from users abandoning the site while they’re waiting for it to load. (And by the way, if you’re buying social media ads, you’re targeting the exact people who are most likely to abandon a slow-loading site.)
If your site generates any meaningful amount of revenue from search, mobile or social traffic, Google is essentially forcing you to make it lightning-fast, as soon as possible.
The good news — achieving top-notch Core Web Vitals scores is possible, and it’s possible using WordPress, the web’s most popular content management platform. In this guide, I’ll share our proven approach to achieving the highest possible Core Web Vitals scores — even on sites using out-of-the-box themes, and without a huge financial investment.
When your site is running lightning-fast, you’ll reap the SEO benefits, and your visitors will enjoy a cleaner, snappier experience and spend more time engaging more deeply with you and your brand.
