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Google has a way of creating a wave of panic among both web designers and website owners. When they make a change to their search algorithm, people start scrambling to catch up. It’s easy to understand why. No one wants their SEO rankings to suffer.
So, when the Core Web Vitals metrics were announced, the response was pretty predictable. As these changes are based on site performance, our attention has turned to ensuring load times are lightning-fast.
But it’s not always simple. Websites that run a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress can be especially challenging. There are a lot of factors at play. Therefore, improving performance requires a multi-pronged approach.
Where to start? Check out our guide to boosting the Core Web Vitals score of your WordPress website.
Implement Caching
One of the simplest ways to increase the speed of a WordPress website is to implement caching. In many cases, a previously sluggish site will become significantly faster with this single step. This holds true even on relatively cheap hosting.
By default, WordPress pages and posts must retrieve content and settings from the site’s database. This takes time. Cache, on the other hand, will serve up content as static HTML files – cutting out the need for a database call. With the middleman (i.e., database) out of the way, snappier load times will follow.
Some hosting packages, particularly managed WordPress hosting, will include server-based cache. This is often the best option, as it requires very little from web designers and performs quite well. It may need to be cleared out every so often. Otherwise, it’s a hands-off experience. And it can be effectively combined with a plugin to further enhance speed.
Even if your host doesn’t provide caching on the server level, you can still optimize performance via a plugin. Caching plugins vary in scope, complexity and pricing. But they do provide tangible results when it comes to improving load times. That, in turn, is a positive boost for Core Web Vitals as well.
Defer Loading of Render Blocking Scripts and Styles
When testing your website’s performance in Google PageSpeed Insights, the subject of render-blocking resources seems to come up a lot. These are the scripts and styles that aren’t considered “critical” – meaning they’re not required to render the “above-the-fold” page content.
These resources can get in the way of faster load times. Specifically, they impact the “Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)” score in Core Web Vitals. This is the time it takes for the main content area of a page to load. Reducing LCP is, well, vital.
One way to improve the situation is to delay (or defer) when various content elements (images, videos, block-level text) load. This ensures that only the needed scripts and styles load first, while everything else comes in afterward.
Along with minification, many WordPress caching/optimization plugins also happen to include this type of functionality. It can take a bit of experimentation, however, as deferring the wrong resource can be problematic.
Be sure to test out any changes you’ve made and check the browser console for errors. Once you find the right configuration, the number of render-blocking resources on your page should be significantly reduced.
Optimize Images
The widespread use of large hero images and complex sliders only adds to the challenge of performance optimization. These assets may look nice, but can easily add up to megabytes worth of data. That’s not going to get you a passing grade for Core Web Vitals – particularly on mobile.
Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to lighten the load. First and foremost, get rid of any images you deem unnecessary. The removal of even one large image can make a difference.
The rest of your images can be optimized. This will reduce their file size and lessen the impact they have on load time.
How you go about image optimization is up to you. You could download a copy of your worst offenders and compress them using your favorite image editor, then upload them back onto your website. Or, you can automate the process with a helpful WordPress media plugin.
Responsive Images
For mobile users, WordPress includes the ability to serve up responsive images via srcset. In fact, it will automatically do the dirty work for you on images placed within your content. This is incredibly valuable, as it prevents massive desktop-sized media from slowing down the mobile user experience. For images outside of the main content area, you may need to do some custom work to implement this feature.
Modern Image Formats
It’s also worth looking at the file formats you’re using. For example, Google’s WebP format can often reduce file size while maintaining image quality. Note that some newfangled formats aren’t supported in legacy browsers (ahem, IE), so fallback versions may be necessary. Plugins can help with that as well.
Lazy Load All the Things
Lazy load functionality only loads items once they are in the browser’s viewport. By delaying the loading of images, iframes, and other third-party content (such as social media widgets), you can focus resources on the elements users will see first.
WordPress already implements native, browser-based lazy loading to images. When you add an image to a page or post, the loading="lazy" attribute is placed within the <img> tag. That is, provided the image includes height and width attributes.
This is great – but what about other elements, such as videos or iframes? These items can also weigh down a page when loaded right from the get-go.
Iframes are now lazy-loaded by default – so no worries there. Some more complex elements may require custom code or a plugin to implement this functionality.
Clear Out the Clutter
Over time, even a well-maintained WordPress site can become cluttered. A clogged database, unused plugins that are still active, a bloated theme with features you’re not using – it happens. And it can also drag down your Core Web Vitals.
That’s why it’s important to tidy up now and again. Your site’s database can be optimized manually or set to do so regularly. Unused plugins can be deactivated and trashed. Themes can be made leaner or replaced with something better.
Study up on what’s slowing down your website, find the culprits and deal with them. You might be surprised at how much of a difference this can make.
Improve Your Website’s Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals complicates the already tricky process of optimizing WordPress website performance. Even a website that scores well in other performance metrics may still fall short in this area. This shines through in mobile testing most of all.
The good news is that there are plenty of little things designers can do to catch up. Implementing cache sets a great foundation and provides an immediate boost. From there, it’s a matter of reducing file sizes and loading up styles and scripts in order of importance.
Taking things even further, it also makes sense to adjust your site’s CSS with Core Web Vitals in mind. This can help with the dreaded Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score and cut down on bloat.
In general, the things that are good for performance are also good for Core Web Vitals. Scores can improve rather quickly. Just know that it’s going to take some trial-and-error to sort out some of those individual shortcomings.
The overarching goal is to ensure that only the essentials are loaded when a user visits your website. Doing so will make both visitors and Google quite happy.
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