On May 10, 2023, the Google Chrome team made an official announcement to replace one of the old Core Web Vitals metrics, First Input Delay (FID), with the new metric — INP (Interaction to Next Paint). First Input Delay (FID) is a metric used to measure how quickly a web page responds to user input. Specifically, it measures the delay between when a user interacts with the page (e.g., taps, clicks, key presses) and when the browser begins processing that interaction.
But it had many limitations, like
- FID only considers the delay for the first occurrence of specific events such as clicks, keydowns, mousedowns, and pointerdowns. It does not capture delays for subsequent interactions or other types of events.
- FID measures only the delay before the browser starts processing event handlers, excluding the time spent running those handlers and any subsequent work done by the browser to update the screen. This means it provides an incomplete picture of the page’s overall responsiveness.
- FID focuses on individual user interactions and does not consider the holistic experience of interacting with a page. It does not group related events or account for the latency of multiple interactions occurring simultaneously.
That’s why we need to upgrade and get an alternate to FID. According to Google, this new metric will be released in March 2024. But is it beneficial for site owners? Absolutely!
Later this year, you will be able to find INP in the Core Web Vitals report in Google Webmaster (Google Search Console), which will help site owners to better understand and optimize the UX and responsiveness of their web pages and websites. It is important to know that it’s not a direct key ranking factor, but it can be very useful to find areas for improvement.
What Is Interaction to Next Paint (INP)?
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a metric used to measure the amount of time a site visitor waits after acting such as clicking a button, tapping on a touchscreen device, or pressing a key, and the time it takes for the website to provide visual feedback in response to that action.
Most of the delay issues originate from the themes, plugins, and extra added features. That’s why you need to focus on the languages that they commonly use, i.e., JavaScript and CSS.
Tools for optimizing INP involve auditing the code of a webpage to identify and address any elements that may be blocking or delaying the visual feedback from user interactions.
A lower INP score indicates faster response times, which is desirable for providing a smooth and efficient user experience. INP scores should be under 200 milliseconds or less, which signifies good responsiveness.
INP between 200 milliseconds and 500 milliseconds suggests that improvements are needed, and INP exceeding 500 milliseconds indicates poor performance.
How To Measure INP?
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is measured by assessing the time elapsed between when the user initiates the interaction and the subsequent update of the UI. The addition of input delay, processing time, and presentational delay is known as INP.
Calculating formula:
INP = Input Delay + Processing Time + Presentation Delay
It includes three important components:
1. Input Delay: Time spent waiting for background tasks on the page to complete.
2. Processing Time: The time taken to execute the event handlers written in JavaScript code.
3. Presentation Delay: Any additional time needed for handling other queued-up interactions, recalculating the page layout, and painting the updated content onto the screen.
7 Handy INP Tools To Use In 2024
1. DebugBear INP Tool
Pricing: Free
This tool has been specially made to measure and identify issues on web pages via real user monitoring (RUM). It finds out the most interacted element as well as the interaction period. Moreover, it keeps a record of Google CrUX data for better rankings.
2. Web Vitals Chrome Extension
Pricing: Free
This browser extension allows users to measure Core Web Vitals metrics directly in the Chrome browser. At first, it is used to capture FID, but it is also leveling up for INP, which is in its experimental stage. It’s a user-friendly and handy tool that many experts use.
3. TREO Site Speed
Pricing: Free
TREO is generally used to run tests on website speed and performance. It uses CrUX data of Core Web Vitals to offer a detailed report, including INP, to build a better UX.
4. Chrome Web Vitals Library
Pricing: Free
It’s a JavaScript library provided by Chrome developers for measuring and reporting Core Web Vitals metrics within web applications.
5. Google PageSpeed Insights
Pricing: Free
It’s a tool provided by Google that analyzes the speed and performance of web pages and provides suggestions to improve their user experience.
6. Google Search Console
Pricing: Free
GSC is a free web service by Google that allows web admins to monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site’s presence in Google Search results. It provides insights into search performance, indexing status, and more.
7. Google’s Site Kit
Pricing: Free
It is an official and open–source WordPress plugin that integrates various Google services like Search Console, Analytics, Pagespeed insights, AdSense, and Tag Manager in a WordPress dashboard.
Bottom Line
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