Time to Prep for INP – New Core Web Vitals Metric coming March 12

We need to talk about Core Web Vitals.
While it may not be the biggest ranking factor for a site, CWV still provides important insights into how users experience your pages. It highlights issues like content shifting during load, slow loading times, and long delays between when the page appears and when users can actually interact with it.

All of these factors are crucial if you want users to stay on your site—no one has time for a slow-loading page!

Some time ago, Google announced that it would be replacing one of its Core Web Vitals metrics: FID (First Input Delay). FID measures the time it takes before a user can interact with the page (start scrolling, clicking buttons and links, etc.). The new metric, INP, takes this a step further and provides a more comprehensive measurement of interactivity.

What is INP?

INP stands for Interaction to Next Paint and is closely tied to good UX and user-friendliness. INP measures how responsive content is after everything on the page has loaded. It specifically tracks the response time from when a user clicks—such as on a button—until the site visually responds to that interaction.

We’ve all felt the frustration when we try to expand a dropdown or a collapsible text section and nothing happens for 2–3 seconds. Or when we click a button but get no visual feedback—it takes so long that we end up clicking two or three more times, only for the page to suddenly go haywire.

Check out this video from Google to see exactly what we mean:

What’s included in INP?

INP is a compilation of all interactions that take place on a page—not just the ones that perform the “worst” or “best.” It’s also important to note that INP does not measure interactions that happen just by hovering your mouse over something. It only takes the following events into account:

• When you click with a mouse
• Tap with your finger on a touchscreen
• Use a keyboard (or a digital keyboard)

As a website owner, these are tricky issues to solve on your own — if you’re facing major problems with INP, you’ll likely need help from your web agency or a developer to fix and improve things.

Check your INP data now

If you’ve added your domain as a property in Google Search Console (which you definitely should), you can already view your INP under the “Page Experience” section in the Search Console menu. If you’re seeing INP flagged as an issue, it’s time to address it. Even though it’s not the biggest ranking factor, it’s still important — it shows where you can make your site more user-friendly for your visitors!

The official launch date is March 12, 2024.

Do you have any questions or need help with Core Web Vitals?

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