Load time: why speed matters for your website.
Anyone who waits too long leaves. Here is what Google measures with the Core Web Vitals, which values are good and what makes a page slow.
By Patryk Awierianow ·
Load time tells how quickly a page is visible and usable. Google measures it with three values, the Core Web Vitals: when the main content appears (LCP), how quickly the page responds to input (INP) and whether anything shifts while loading (CLS). LCP up to 2.5 seconds, INP up to 200 milliseconds and CLS up to 0.1 count as good.
The three measures
Largest Contentful Paint: when the largest element, usually an image or the headline, is visible. Good: up to 2.5 seconds.
Interaction to Next Paint: how quickly the page responds to a tap or click. Good: up to 200 milliseconds.
Cumulative Layout Shift: whether content jumps around while loading. Good: up to 0.1.
Why speed matters
Visitors do not like to wait, especially on a phone with a weak connection. When a page stalls or jumps, customers lose patience. Google also uses the Core Web Vitals as one of many signals for page quality. They do not replace good content, but all else being equal they can make the difference.
What makes websites slow
- Images that are too large and not resized or compressed.
- Many scripts, plugins and fonts that load before anything is shown.
- Code built into every page, so it cannot be cached.
- Builder bloat: features nobody needs, but every visitor loads.
- A weak or distant server.
How to check
With Google’s free PageSpeed Insights you enter your address and see the measures for phone and computer, with tips. It is best to check after larger changes to the site and, for example, once a quarter.
- 01Build lean
Only the code and features the page really needs.
- 02Optimise images
The right size, modern formats and delayed loading below the first screen.
- 03Cache files
Design and scripts live in separate files that the browser reuses.
- 04Check
Control the measures and improve.
Our fonts also sit on our own domain, which saves extra connections to other servers. More on the technology behind a good site is in the articles custom websites and maintenance.
Honestly: a perfect score does not guarantee first place on Google, and a weak score does not automatically mean poor results. Speed is a foundation that customers feel and Google also rates.
Terms in this article
Explained simply, without jargon.
- Core Web Vitals
- Three Google measures for the user experience of a page: LCP, INP and CLS.
- Load time
- The time until a page is visible and usable. Anyone who waits too long leaves. More
- Cache
- The browser remembers a page’s files and does not load them again on the next visit. That makes repeat visits faster.
Frequently asked questions
Which values are good?
LCP up to 2.5 seconds, INP up to 200 milliseconds and CLS up to 0.1. Google rates these values based on data from real visitors.
Is a fast server enough?
No. Images and scripts are often the bigger problem. A fast server only helps if the page itself is lean.
How often should I check?
After larger changes and, for example, once a quarter.
More on this: matching pages and projects
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