Google will introduce Interaction to Next Paint (INP) issue reporting as part of its Core Web Vitals report in Search Console.

This development is a proactive step towards Google’s strategic change planned for March 2024, which will see the retirement of the First Input Delay (FID) metric and its replacement by INP.

Until the transition, INP remains a pending metric, but early optimization could be the key to a seamless transition.

Google announced the Search Console update on Twitter.

Dive deep into the upcoming changes

The new INP data will be visible in Search Console reports and will help site owners prepare for next year’s update.

The Core Web Vitals report is a robust tool that provides insights into website performance and reflects the actual user experience on your website.

It classifies URL performance into three broad categories: Good, Needs Improvement, and Poor, providing a simple yet effective way to assess user experience.

Unlike FID, which only measures lag, INP takes a holistic approach to measuring a page’s overall responsiveness.

A poor INP score could indicate that an expected action, such as a close-up image, is taking too long after the user interaction.

A good INP score, on the other hand, means quick visual feedback after an interaction and gives the user confidence that their input is being processed.

Ideal INP values ​​are below 200 ms, while values ​​between 200 and 500 ms indicate room for improvement, and anything above 500 ms is considered bad.

Optimizing for INP is all about reducing delays associated with loading scripts, fetching resources, and parsing HTML/CSS to display a page correctly.

In complex interactions, it is important to provide initial visual feedback.

Sites that are optimized for speed and performance should immediately score good INP scores. However, sites that don’t actively monitor these metrics may experience problems and potentially a drop in ranking once the change is implemented.

looking ahead

Google’s introduction of INP problem reporting in Search Console aims to provide its users with a smooth transition.

By giving website owners the time and tools they need, Google ensures you have everything you need to optimize your web pages before the March 2024 deadline.

With the right approach, INP optimization and a fast and responsive user experience are achievable for any website.

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