For years, website owners were obsessed with “Speed Scores.” They would look at a GTMetrix grade or a generic speed test and panic if they didn’t see an “A.”
But a speed score is often a vanity metric. It is possible to have a site that scores an “A” on a test server but feels sluggish to a real human user on a 4G mobile connection.
Google realized this. That is why they introduced Core Web Vitals (CWV).
Google no longer just asks: “How fast is this code?” They now ask: “How does it feel to use this page?”
At AgilePress, we don’t optimize for vanity scores. We optimize for these three specific metrics because they directly impact your Google rankings and your user’s wallet.
Here is what they are and how our minimalist approach conquers them.
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
In plain English: How long until I see the main content?
LCP measures the time it takes for the largest element on the screen (usually the main headline or the hero image) to become visible.
- The Problem: Heavy themes and page builders (like Elementor) load huge CSS and JavaScript files before they show any content. The screen stays white for 2-3 seconds while the browser “unpacks” the code.
- The AgilePress Solution: We prioritize the “Critical Rendering Path.” We keep the code so light that the text and main image load almost instantly. No waiting for a spinner to stop spinning.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
In plain English: Does it stick when I click? (Note: INP replaced the old FID metric in 2024)
Have you ever tapped a “Menu” button on your phone, and nothing happened for a second, so you tapped it again in frustration? That is bad INP. It measures the responsiveness of your site.
- The Problem: Bloated websites often have a main thread clogged with JavaScript—tracking scripts, chat widgets, and animation libraries running in the background. The browser is too busy “thinking” to register your click.
- The AgilePress Solution: We ruthlessly eliminate non-essential JavaScript. By using native WordPress blocks, we ensure the browser’s main thread is free to respond to your customer’s input immediately.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
In plain English: Does stuff jump around?
We have all been there: you go to click a link, but suddenly an image loads above it, pushing the text down, and you accidentally click an ad instead. This is visual instability.
- The Problem: This usually happens when images don’t have defined dimensions or when ads/fonts load late and push content around.
- The AgilePress Solution: We code with precision. We define aspect ratios for all media and reserve space for dynamic elements before they load. Your layout is rock-solid from the first millisecond.
Why “Patching” Doesn’t Work
Many agencies try to fix these scores at the end of the project. They install “caching plugins” or “optimization suites” to try and force a heavy site to pass the Core Web Vitals test.
This is like putting a spoiler on a tractor and expecting it to race like a Ferrari.
Performance cannot be an afterthought.
At AgilePress, we don’t need to install heavy optimization plugins to fix our code, because the code was optimized before we even wrote it.
- Low LCP comes from minimalist design.
- Good INP comes from clean JavaScript.
- Zero CLS comes from disciplined CSS.
The Business Impact
Why should you care about these acronyms?
- SEO: Google explicitly uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor. If you fail these tests, you are invisible.
- Conversion: A 0.1-second improvement in mobile site speed can increase conversion rates by 8.4% (source: Deloitte/Google study).
We build high-performance websites not because we are tech geeks, but because we know that friction destroys revenue.