The Relationship Between Core Web Vitals and Lead Generation Through Your Website

Everyone knows that a company’s website is essentially the front door of the business—and that user experience can drastically impact sales results. However, what many people don’t realize is that it’s not just about having visually attractive pages packed with flashy features. What users need most is a website that’s easy to navigate and provides the information they’re looking for—quickly and intuitively. And to ensure your site meets these needs, it’s crucial to rely on the insights provided by Core Web Vitals.

Core Web Vitals Reflect How Your Audience Perceives Your Site

To understand how Core Web Vitals work, think of them as a mirror. Before heading to work, most people check the mirror to fix their hair, groom themselves, or make sure their clothes are in order. Without the mirror, they might miss small details that affect their professional appearance.

On a website or e-commerce platform, Core Web Vitals serve a similar purpose—but with deeper insights aligned with user expectations, to help build a positive image of your business. These tools function like an x-ray of your site’s performance, using real user behavior as the benchmark. It’s like having a mirror that shows not only how you think you look, but how others actually see and experience you.

Site Load Performance Affects Perceived Quality

When someone searches for a topic online, they expect instant results—after all, Google shows multiple links at once. If your chosen site takes too long to load, the visitor’s focus shifts from the content to the frustration of waiting. Within seconds, they may grow impatient and head to a competitor’s site instead.

That’s why Core Web Vitals provide detailed information on the many stages of your site’s loading process. While users simply perceive a site as “fast” or “slow,” developers must address multiple technical factors to ensure a seamless experience across all devices and conditions.

Core Web Vitals: The 5 Key Metrics That Measure Site Load Performance

As shown in the video above, the PageSpeed Insights report includes Core Web Vitals data and indicates whether your site passes or fails. There are five essential metrics you should understand to know what needs to be improved for optimal performance:

Time to Start Page Load | FCP

Have you ever landed on a site and just seen a blank screen for a while? FCP (First Contentful Paint) measures the time from when a page starts loading to when the first element (text, image, etc.) appears. Ideally, this should be under 1.8 seconds so users don’t feel like the site is frozen.

Time to Load the Main View | LCP

After the blank screen, the page gradually loads its content. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) measures how long it takes for the main visible content on the homepage (before scrolling) to fully render. This should happen in under 2.5 seconds to give users the impression of a fast-loading site—even if some content below the fold is still loading.

Layout Stability During Load | CLS

Ever clicked something on a site, only to have the button suddenly move and you accidentally click somewhere else? That happens when content higher up on the page loads late, pushing everything down. This creates what we call a “jumping button.” The CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) score measures this. It should be below 0.1 to avoid layout shifts that disrupt user interactions.

Response Time to Interactions | INP

If a site responds slowly to clicks—opening pages, forms, carousels, etc.—it can really test a visitor’s patience. The INP (Interaction to Next Paint) metric should be under 100 milliseconds to ensure smooth, immediate reactions to user interactions.

Time to First Byte | TTBF

Even before all the content starts loading, there’s the TTFB (Time to First Byte)—the time it takes for your browser to receive the first byte of data from the server. This depends on your backend, hosting infrastructure, and connection quality. Keeping this time low is key to getting everything else off to a good start.

Core Web Vitals Help Drive Business Success

One of the best things about Core Web Vitals is that they’re based on real user data. If a potential customer struggles to access your site and gives up because of long load times, Google takes note. It also tracks and averages how your site performs across each of these key phases.

That’s why Core Web Vitals are so important—they help you understand how your site behaves for real users and what needs to be improved. These metrics directly impact your business success online. If your website is the first impression your company gives, providing a fast, smooth, and intuitive experience is the foundation of successful sales.

By Joana Kerr