Glossary
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are three measurements Google uses to judge how a page feels to use: how fast the main content appears, how quickly it responds, and how much it moves about while loading.
The one that matters most for small sites is Largest Contentful Paint, the moment the biggest thing on screen appears. Google treats under 2.5 seconds as good. The other two cover responsiveness and unexpected layout shifts.
Why it matters to you
They are a ranking factor, but the stronger argument is commercial: a visitor who waits four seconds on a phone often does not wait at all.
An example
Across 300 local sites we measured, the median took 1.4 seconds to load and 13% took more than three. Under one second puts you ahead of roughly three quarters of your competitors.
Where this comes up: website design & development .