Google has announced that its new Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric will officially replace First Input Delay (FID) as Core Web Vital on March 12th.
INP measures when a user interacts with a page (for example, by clicking a button) until when the browser can display the changed pixels on the screen. It aims to capture aspects of interactivity that FID did not.
Evolving web metrics
FID, which measured the time to first paint after a user’s first interaction, was introduced in 2018 as part of Google’s Web Vitals initiative. Web Vitals provides metrics to help web developers optimize critical aspects of the user experience.
Over time, Google realized the limitations of FID when evaluating interactivity, leading to the introduction of INP as an experimental metric in May 2022. After a transition period as a “pending metric”, Google has confirmed that INP will officially replace FID in March.
Preparing for change
As the INP transition approaches, developers should verify that their website’s INP meets the “good” threshold, which reflects performance at the 75th percentile of page loads.
For sites that don’t currently meet the “good” CPI threshold, Google recommends following these steps to optimize the transition:
Evaluate current INP performance using tools like PageSpeed Insights and the Chrome User Experience Report.
Diagnose issues that slow down INP, such as long JavaScript tasks, too much main thread activity, or a large DOM.
Optimize problem areas by following Google’s optimization guidelines. This may involve streamlining JavaScript, reducing input lag, simplifying the DOM structure, or refining CSS selectors.
Broader implications for web development
Google’s implementation of INP as Core Web Vital could affect web development and user experience in several ways:
INP scores can influence a website’s search engine ranking and user engagement, as Google uses Core Web Vitals in its ranking algorithm. Web development practices may evolve to focus more on optimizing readiness for interaction, which could require changes to application architecture and code. Performance monitoring tools and strategies may need to be updated to track and analyze the new INP metric.
To sum up
As Google moves to the INP metric in March, web developers should evaluate their site’s performance and take steps to optimize areas that affect interactivity.
With interactivity becoming a bigger factor in search rankings and user engagement, developers should prepare now to ensure a smooth transition.
Featured image: salarko/Shutterstock
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