Improve search results with "WebVitals"

After the major “mobile-first” update of the Google search (websites optimized for mobile devices are ranked better), the next big challenge is coming up, in order to score further with the organic search results: the “Web Vitals”. 

But what are these Web Vitals and what are they good for? 

In a few words, the concept of Web Vitals is a system that evaluates the usability of the website. What Google is paying special attention to this year are fast loading times. This not only means that the website should be visible after 3 seconds (Largest Contentful Paint), but also that an eye should be kept on the values for the “First Input Delay” and “Cumulative Layout Shift”. In short, the “First Input Delay” measures interactivity and the “Cumulative Layout Shift” measures visual stability. 

But how do I know my site is affected? 

Google's tools like "Lighthouse¹" or "PageSpeed Insights²" break down the page's problems and visualize them in an understandable way.

Common problems are unused data being downloaded unnecessarily, outdated software and libraries like jQuery or Bootstrap that should be updated or no active "LazyLoading" (delayed loading) of images and other resources.

Acting quickly pays off ... Literally! If you start early to make your website more user-friendly by analyzing it with the "Web Vitals", you will benefit on the one hand from a better ranking in Google search and on the other hand from the fact that prospective customers will find their way around faster and thus are more likely to become customers.

¹ Lighthouse: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse#devtools
² PageSpeed Insights: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/