What is Core Web Vitals?
Also called: CWV, Web Vitals
The short answer
Core Web Vitals are Google's three user-experience metrics: Largest Contentful Paint for loading, Interaction to Next Paint for responsiveness and Cumulative Layout Shift for visual stability.
Core Web Vitals, explained
Google's published thresholds for a good experience are LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP within 200 milliseconds and CLS below 0.1, measured at the 75th percentile of real visits.
They are measured from real Chrome users (field data), so a lab score alone does not prove a pass.
Questions people ask about Core Web Vitals
What is Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are Google's three user-experience metrics: Largest Contentful Paint for loading, Interaction to Next Paint for responsiveness and Cumulative Layout Shift for visual stability.
Do Core Web Vitals affect SEO?
Yes, as part of Google's page experience signals, though relevance of content still matters more.
How do I pass Core Web Vitals?
Serve the main content fast, keep JavaScript light so taps respond quickly, and reserve space for images and ads so nothing jumps.
Related terms
Largest Contentful Paint measures how long it takes for the largest visible element, usually the hero image or headline, to appear; good is 2.5 seconds or less.
Interaction to Next PaintInteraction to Next Paint measures how quickly a page visibly responds after a tap, click or key press, across the whole visit; good is 200 milliseconds or less.
Cumulative Layout ShiftCumulative Layout Shift measures how much page content moves unexpectedly while loading; good is below 0.1.
PageSpeed InsightsPageSpeed Insights is Google's free tool that shows a page's real-user Core Web Vitals, where available, alongside a Lighthouse lab audit.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.