How to Improve Your Website Speed and Core Web Vitals
Page speed has always mattered for user experience, but since Google made Core Web Vitals official ranking factors, it has become a critical SEO concern as well. In 2026, a slow website does not just frustrate visitors — it actively costs you rankings, traffic, and revenue. Here is everything you need to know about improving your website speed and passing the Core Web Vitals assessment.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are a set of specific performance metrics that Google uses to evaluate the user experience of a web page. There are three key metrics:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How long does the main content of the page take to load? Target: under 2.5 seconds
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): How much does the page shift around while loading? Target: under 0.1
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): How quickly does the page respond to user interactions? Target: under 200ms
You can check your scores in Google Search Console (Performance then Core Web Vitals) or using PageSpeed Insights at pagespeed.web.dev.
1. Optimise Your Images
Images are typically the biggest contributors to slow page loads. Every image on your website should be:
- Converted to WebP format (30–50% smaller than JPEG/PNG with similar quality)
- Compressed using tools like Squoosh, TinyPNG, or a WordPress plugin like ShortPixel
- Sized appropriately — do not load a 2000px image into a 400px container
- Lazy-loaded — images below the fold should only load when the user scrolls to them
- Given explicit width and height attributes to prevent layout shift (CLS)
2. Choose a Fast, Quality Hosting Provider
Your hosting provider has a huge impact on server response time (Time to First Byte, or TTFB). Shared hosting on a crowded server will always be slower than managed WordPress hosting or a VPS. For serious business websites, invest in quality hosting from providers like SiteGround, Kinsta, or WP Engine. Our web development services include hosting recommendations and server configuration optimisation.
3. Implement Browser Caching
Browser caching stores static files (CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts) on a visitor's device after their first visit, so subsequent visits load much faster. Configure your .htaccess file or use a caching plugin (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache) to set appropriate cache expiration headers.
4. Minify and Defer JavaScript and CSS
Large, unoptimised JavaScript and CSS files can block the browser from rendering your page. Minify these files (remove whitespace and comments), combine multiple files into one where possible, and defer or async-load JavaScript that is not needed for initial page render.
5. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN stores copies of your static assets (images, CSS, JS, fonts) on servers distributed around the world. When someone in Mumbai visits your website hosted in Delhi, they load assets from the nearest CDN server, dramatically reducing load times. Cloudflare offers a generous free CDN tier that is suitable for most small to medium businesses.
6. Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources
Resources loaded in the head of your HTML block the browser from rendering the page until they finish loading. Move non-critical CSS and JavaScript to load asynchronously. Google PageSpeed Insights will identify specific render-blocking resources on your site.
7. Optimise Your WordPress or CMS Setup
If your website runs on WordPress, specific optimisations include: using a lightweight theme (Astra, GeneratePress), limiting the number of installed plugins, using a page caching plugin, enabling database optimisation, and avoiding page builders with heavy JavaScript.
8. Fix Cumulative Layout Shift
CLS issues occur when elements on the page move around as it loads — usually because images lack dimensions, fonts cause text to reflow, or ads and embeds load without reserved space. Always specify width and height on images, preload critical fonts, and reserve space for dynamic content.
9. Monitor Performance Continuously
Page speed is not a one-time fix — it requires ongoing monitoring. Set up regular PageSpeed Insights checks, monitor your Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console, and test performance after every significant change to your website.
Is your website failing Core Web Vitals? Contact Chulbul Design web development team for a comprehensive performance audit and optimisation service. We will get your site scoring green across all three metrics.