Are you ready for Google's next update?
Neil Kinnerly • Mar 28, 2021

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Google's Core Web Vitals

One of the biggest SEO changes that Google is planning will target site performance and site user experience and it is called Google Core Web Vitals. Google are planning to use three different metrics to measure the users experience when browsing a website and are going to make it a rating factor as part of their search algorithm, starting from May 2021.

In this article you will learn

  • What does a good experience mean?
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Google's experience metrics
  • State of Web Vitals on the web
  • How Web Professionals should treat Web Vitals

What is a good experience? How do you measure it?

This is obviously an objective question because the experience of one user can be very different to another so Google have identified what they believe to be the key metrics:


  • Speed at which I first see something happening
  • How long am I waiting?
  • When I interact with it, does it respond?
  • How stable or consistent does it seem?
  • It is slow or laggy when scrolling?


There are other subjective measures that deliver a good web experience, like the content of the website or the text on a button, but these can't be measured so Google have chosen to measure what they can including load speed, interactivity and visual stability.

What makes a website seem fast?

As a general rule of thumb, we lose interest after a few seconds of waiting and best practice for website load speeds follow these guidelines:


  • ~0.1 seconds
    No special feedback is necessary except to display the result
     
  • ~1.0 seconds
    Normally, no special feedback is necessary, but the user does not lose the feeling of operating directly on the data

  • ~10 seconds
    For longer delays, they should be given feedback indicating when the computer expects to be finished


Most of the web today is slower than we will wait for and this is Google's focus.

There are three types of metrics for Core Web Vitals

  1. Website Load Speed
    Google are looking for 3-4 seconds as best practice and anything less than 2.5 seconds is considered good. How long does it take for the biggest thing on the page to load?

  2. Interactivity
    Touch and Scroll, how long do you need to wait for something to happen e.g. buttons to become active, videos to play. How long do I have to wait for something to happen? If it goes over 0.1 seconds users will notice.

  3. Visual Stability
    Visual Stability on the site is a measure that Google have invented. How much do content areas move? We have all been on websites when an advert appears and the content all moves down! Google's target is less than 0.1.

These are the Core Web Vitals that Google will be measuring and they will be adding to their existing search algorithms for Mobile Friendly, Safe Browsing, HTTPS and Intrusive Interstitials, from May 2021.


Read our blog posts on Safe Browsing & HTTPS here and Mobile Friendly here.

Google's Core Web Vitals

Potential Icon/Indicator from Google

Google have suggested and are testing indicators they may add to their search results. This is not confirmed by Google but it is highly likely that they will implement this change!


The icon will tell users whether the website in the search result is a good experience, a five star experience and passes Google's Web Vitals metrics. Any sensible site owner will want this next to their site in the search results.


Website Sorted are SEO experts and if you need help contact us today!

Google's Core Web Vitals

Current State of Web Vitals on the Web

According to Google's research only 15% of Websites Meet the "Good" Criteria across all Three Metrics as of August 2020.  And these Metrics are just a starting point:


  • Of the listed experience metrics, this is what Google has prioritised and what they can measure
  • Google will refine these every year (usually in May)

What your Webmaster or Host Provider should be doing for you

All websites need to be optimised for Core Web Vitals or CWV.


  • Hosts and service providers need to make the website experience core to their service
  • Experience needs to be a core competency of any website building service and this not a job that can be passed to the business owner
  • This cannot be a one time effort from your Webmaster or Host Provider as it will evolve, and needs to be optimised at every layer of the website


If you are unsure about your next steps and would like to learn more, please contact us today. We are here to help!

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Making your website inclusive | a keyboard with a wheelchair ear and blind person buttons

Making Your Website Inclusive and Why ADA Compliance Matters

by Jack Kinnerly • 15 May, 2024
In the digital age, it is essential to ensure that your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This goes beyond mere compliance with regulations; it is about promoting equality and ensuring a seamless user experience for all. Let's delve into the significance of this issue and explore how our accessibility app can be of assistance. Why Accessibility Is Important Imagine attempting to access a website while facing difficulty seeing, listening to audio, or using a mouse. This is the everyday reality for numerous individuals with disabilities. Ensuring your website is accessible involves enhancing navigation, comprehension, and interaction for these users. It is crucial to provide equal opportunities for all individuals to engage with your content. Why It's Good for Business By ensuring the accessibility of your website, you're not only demonstrating ethical responsibility but also expanding your reach to a broader audience. Individuals with disabilities have purchasing power, similar to everyone else. Additionally, by optimising your site for ease of use by all, you enhance the experience for every visitor, leading to increased engagement, satisfied customers, and ultimately, greater business opportunities for you. Introducing UserWay: The Easy Way to Improve Accessibility UserWay is a versatile tool that enhances website usability for all users. Its functions include providing alternative text for images to ensure screen readers can interpret them accurately, simplifying navigation with keyboard-only access, and enabling users to personalise text size and colors. Additionally, it boasts functionalities designed to mitigate the risk of seizures for individuals with epilepsy. See our Accessibility App in Action Check out the video below to see how the UserWay App works and how it can improve the accessibility of your website. It's simple, easy to use, and can make a big difference for your visitors.
Google Core Webs Vitals | a blue background with a website performance icon on it .

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What to Consider When Creating Your New Website

What to Consider When Creating Your New Website

by Jack Kinnerly • 06 Mar, 2024
When investing in a new website, or a redesign, there are several things you need to make sure your web developer includes to give your site the best chance of being found on the internet and for your visitors to engage with it in the desired way. This might be to purchase a product, make an enquiry or pick up the phone and call you. 1. Visually appealing and user-friendly design This is crucial for engaging visitors and encouraging them to explore your site further. You want your site to represent your business and your brand and give a great first impression to build on your reputation. 2. Seamless navigation for easy exploration You want to make sure you make it as simple as possible for your site visitors to find the information they are looking for, whilst enhancing their overall experience. 3. Efficient functionality and mobile friendly design Making sure your site has fast loading times and works on mobiles, tablets and desktops is key for retaining interest and maximising accessibility. It is especially important at a time when over 60% of users view websites on their phones so they want access to things quickly and efficiently. If your user has to work to make sense of the information, they will leave. If your site is slow, it will also affect its ranking on Google and the amount of enquiries that you receive. 4. Compelling and well-presented content Once your visitors are on your site, you want them to stay there because your content is informative and relevant and presented in a clear and engaging way to maintain their attention. A great design, a clean and appealing layout and the use of professional images/videos to the overall viewing experience is crucial to retain visitors. 5. Integration with social media platforms This is something that gets overlooked but is important as many businesses get traffic through their socials. Driving the traffic back to the site is key to for them to get even more information and getting in touch. 6. Implementation of search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies Launching a lovely new site online isn’t enough to get your site seen by your key audience. You need to make sure there is SEO work being done in the background so your site reaches the people you want to see it and your Google ranking high on the search engines. To learn more about SEO and what it means visit our previous blog here https://www.websitesorted.com/our-top-10-seo-tips-and-best-practice-for-2021 7. Ongoing support Making updates or changes to a new website can be overwhelming for some and can lead to mistakes. Ensuring you have an expert web partner to manage these changes or help you along the way can be the difference between your site being broken and unresponsive in the future. We hope you found this information useful but if you would like to find out more about our services or getting a quote for a new website, please get in touch with us to speak to a member of our team.
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