Largest contentful paint (LCP) plays a significant role in search engine optimization, especially for sites like WordPress. As LCP indicates how long the website will take to load, it's vital to upgrade it so as not to lose viewers.
So, how to improve LCP in WordPress sites for better ranking? Stick to the end to find out five effective hacks for core web vital improvement.
5 Tactics For Improving LCP In WordPress Sites
Improved Largest contentful paint results in reduced loading time, which enhances user experience. Ultimately, LCP paves the path for better search engine rankings, more engagement, and greater visibility.
Adopt these methods for boosting Largest contentful paint for WordPress sites:
- Image Optimization
Large the image, the longer it'll take to load the page, risking the loss of potential customers. Optimize your images by resizing or compressing without hampering their quality for better LCP. You can use third-party servers for caching images even though they can't provide 100% security for your data.
Free image optimization tools like Kraken.io, TinyPNG, Compressor.io, and Optimizilla are available on the net, and utilize them to your advantage.
- Using Content-Driven Network
You can increase the score for WordPress by using a content delivery network (CDN). CDNs are basically third-party servers dispersed through different locations. By utilizing CDN, you can store cached versions of your photos, and when a user requests to see an image, it's loaded from the nearest server.
CDN usage drastically speeds up loading time and decreases the pressure on the host server. The best CDN tools for WordPress are Sucuri, KeyCDN, Stackpath, and bunny.net.
Nevertheless, the major downside of relying on CDN persists; if the serve gets blocked or faces technical issues, there's a high chance you'll use all your data.
- Eliminating Unused Plugins
WordPress sites utilizing heavy or complex software like Java or CSS slow down the page, resulting in lower scores. Such tools make the network laggy and delay data transfer.
So, removing any plugins slowing down your site is highly recommended. You can use PageSpeed Insight stats to track the heavyweight links and inactive tools and eliminate them.
- Cut Down Server Response Time
Time To First Byte (TTFB) is a metric for measuring the time taken to load the first byte of your site's information on the user's browser. It's also known as server response time. Slow TTFB delays data retrieving and worsens the user experience.
The first step to reducing response time is to eliminate inactive plugins. Next, you can opt for shared hosting. It's an inexpensive cloud-sharing platform where you can share your server with other site owners. However, it can slow down or lag if the server picks up high traffic or a massive amount of data.
A better alternative is to get a virtual private server (VPS) package or a dedicated host server, even though these plans can be pretty pricey. But on the brighter side, you'll get valuable resources, a trusted server, and, most importantly, a good LCP score and enhanced response time.
- Eliminate Render-Blocking Files
Unnecessary backlinks and excess HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files are render-blocking resources that prolong data recovery from sites to the user's browser.
By reducing HTTP requests, optimizing database queries and application codes, and utilizing plugins like Wp Rocket and Autoptimize you can get rid of the problem.
FAQs
- What is LCP for websites?
It is one of the three Core Web Vital metrics that indicate the time taken to load the heaviest element on a website. Other items on the page won't load until the LCP is visible, so it's crucial to maintain a good score.
- What's a good LCP score?
The average score is 2 to 3 seconds. Generally, scores under 2.5 seconds are considered to be good LCP scores. If your score is more than 4 seconds, you should take steps to improve it.
- How to test WordPress LCP score?
LCP scores are measured in seconds. You can test your scores with the Lighthouse function of Chrome Development Tools.
Final Words
Amplifying LCP scores is key to good search engine rankings, faster loading time, and a satisfactory user experience. So utilize the techniques of how to improve LCP for WordPress sites for better ranking mentioned in this article to get immediate results.
Want to know more about Core Web Vital metrics and how to improve them? Contact us now!
