Web Performance Optimization: Improve Your Core Web Vitals in 15 Steps

Web performance is not a nice-to-have. Google uses Core Web Vitals as a direct ranking signal. A one-second delay in page load time reduces conversions by 7%. Users abandon mobile pages that take more than three seconds to load at a rate of 53%. Performance is product quality. The good news: most performance problems are predictable and fixable. This guide covers 15 concrete steps to improve your Core Web Vitals, with code examples for each. TL;DR Core Web Vitals: LCP (loading), CLS (visual stability), INP (interactivity) Good thresholds: LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms Biggest wins: optimize images, reduce JavaScript, eliminate render-blocking resources Measure first with PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse — fix what the data tells you Monitor production with real user metrics (RUM), not just lab tests Core Web Vitals Explained Google's Core Web Vitals are three metrics that measure real user experience: LCP — Largest Contentful Paint LCP measures how long it takes for the