Your Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)#

So, you've run a PageSpeed Insights test, and your report is a sea of red and orange. Don't worry. This isn't a judgment; it's a to-do list. A poor Core Web Vitals score is simply a sign that your website isn't as polite to your visitors as it could be, and Google is giving you the feedback you need to fix it.

This guide is your practical, step-by-step playbook for turning those red scores green. We'll break down the most common and effective fixes for each Core Web Vital, from easy wins you can do yourself to clear instructions to give your developer.

Start with the Biggest Wins (The 80/20 of Page Speed)#

Before diving deep, know that a few key actions solve a huge percentage of Core Web Vitals problems. If you do nothing else, focus here:

1. Optimize Your Images: Large, heavy images are the #1 killer of page speed. Compressing them is your single biggest win.
2. Use a Caching Plugin (WordPress): A good caching plugin like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache can dramatically improve server response time with just a few clicks.
3. Use a CDN: A Content Delivery Network (like the free plan from Cloudflare) acts like a global network of mini-servers for your site, speeding up load times for visitors everywhere.

The LCP (Loading) Optimization Playbook#

The Goal: Make the most important content on your page appear in under 2.5 seconds.

Your Move: Easy Wins for Site Owners#

• Compress Images Before Uploading: Never upload a giant image straight from your camera or stock photo site. Use a free tool like TinyPNG to shrink the file size before it ever touches your website.
• Choose a Better Web Host: If your site is on a cheap, slow shared hosting plan, you're fighting a losing battle. Investing in quality managed WordPress hosting or a VPS is often the most effective LCP fix you can make.

Plugin Power: WordPress Solutions#

• Image Optimization Plugins: Install a plugin like Smush, ShortPixel, or Imagify. They will automatically compress new images you upload and can even scan and optimize your entire existing media library.
• Caching Plugins: A good caching plugin like WP Rocket (premium) or W3 Total Cache (free) creates static HTML versions of your pages. This means your server doesn't have to rebuild the page from scratch for every single visitor, drastically improving your Time to First Byte (TTFB).

Developer's Task: The Technical Fixes#

• "Please defer render-blocking resources." This means you want them to move non-critical CSS and JavaScript files so they load after the main, visible content of the page is displayed. This stops visitors from staring at a blank white screen.
• "Please prioritize the LCP image." Ask them to add a fetchpriority="high" attribute to your main hero image. This tells the browser to download that specific image before anything else.

The INP (Interactivity) Optimization Playbook#

The Goal: Make your page respond to a user's click, tap, or keypress in under 200 milliseconds.

Your Move: Easy Wins for Site Owners#

• Audit Your Plugins: A slow, clunky plugin is a common cause of poor INP. Deactivate your plugins one by one and re-run a PageSpeed test. If the score dramatically improves after deactivating one, you've found your culprit. Find a more lightweight alternative.
• Remove Unnecessary Third-Party Scripts: Do you really need that social media feed widget or that little-used analytics tool? Every external script adds complexity and can slow down interactivity. Be ruthless and remove what you don't need.

Developer's Task: The Technical Fixes#

• "Please find and break up 'long tasks'." Using the Performance tab in Chrome DevTools, a developer can find specific JavaScript functions that are taking too long to run and are blocking the main thread. Ask them to break these long tasks into smaller chunks so the browser stays responsive.
• "Please check if our theme's JavaScript is causing INP issues." Sometimes, a theme's built-in animations or complex features can be the source of the problem. A developer can help identify and optimize this.

The CLS (Stability) Optimization Playbook#

The Goal: Ensure your page layout is stable and doesn't shift around as it loads. The target score is under 0.1.

Your Move: Easy Wins for Site Owners#

• Set Image Dimensions: This is the #1 cause of CLS. When you upload an image to WordPress, make sure the width and height fields are filled in. This tells the browser to save a space for the image, so the layout doesn't jump when it finally loads.
• Be Careful with Ads and Embeds: If you are manually placing ad code or embeddable widgets, try to wrap them in a container that has a fixed size. This prevents the ad from suddenly appearing and pushing your content down.

Plugin Power: WordPress Solutions#

• Many caching plugins (like WP Rocket) have options to help optimize font loading, which can be a source of CLS. Look for settings related to "font-display: swap" or font preloading.

Developer's Task: The Technical Fixes#

• "Please reserve space for any dynamic content." This applies to ads, related post widgets, or anything else that loads in after the initial page render. A developer can apply CSS to the container to ensure it has a min-height, holding the space open.
• "Please optimize our web font loading to prevent layout shifts." A developer can use modern CSS properties like font-display: swap and preload critical fonts to ensure text doesn't flash or shift as the page loads.

Conclusion: A Faster Site is a Better Site#

Fixing Core Web Vitals can seem daunting, but it's just a process of identifying bottlenecks and systematically removing them. By starting with the easy wins and working your way up, you can make a massive difference in your site's performance.

Remember, a faster, more responsive, and more stable site isn't just good for Google—it's good for your users. And a better user experience almost always leads to better engagement, higher conversions, and a healthier bottom line.