Web & eCommerce

Core Web Vitals and Speed: What to Optimize Before a Redesign

How to plan Core Web Vitals and speed before a redesign: LCP, INP, CLS, images, fonts, JS, third-party scripts and performance budget.

By Stanislav Yankov2 min read
D+Web & eCommerce
Key points

Key takeaways

  • Core Web Vitals should be planned by page type, not just for the homepage.
  • Design decisions such as hero media, fonts and JS interactions determine a large part of the performance budget.
  • Caching helps once the payload and architecture are already sensible.
In this article

Speed is not "fixed" at the end of the project with a cache plugin. Major performance problems are often the result of design and architecture decisions made much earlier.

Short answer

Before a redesign, define the performance budget, LCP strategy, image/font policy and rules for third-party scripts. Measure LCP, INP and CLS on real page types, not just the Lighthouse score of the homepage.

Start from the page types

The homepage, service page, category, product and article have different bottlenecks. Choose representative URLs and measure each template separately.

LCP: what the largest content above the fold is

The hero image, a large heading or a video often determines LCP. Optimize the real asset dimensions, preload only when it makes sense and do not load a huge desktop image on mobile.

INP: interaction depends on JavaScript

Heavy sliders, trackers and builder scripts can block the main thread. Before adding another animation library, check whether the interaction has real UX value.

CLS: reserve the space

Images, embeds, cookie bars and dynamic content injection can shift the layout. Width/height, aspect-ratio and stable placeholders are basic controls.

DecisionRiskBetter approach
Autoplay video heroLCP / bandwidthA static poster or controlled media
6 font weightsBlocking requestsA limited type system
JS-rendered copyRendering dependencyServer-rendered HTML
No image dimensionsCLSExplicit dimensions / aspect ratio

Performance budget before design

  • maximum hero asset size;
  • number of font files/weights;
  • allowed third-party scripts;
  • JS budget for critical interaction;
  • image formats and responsive source policy.

Do not chase the laboratory score alone

Lighthouse is a diagnostic tool. Field data shows how real users experience the site. Look at CrUX/Search Console data when there is enough traffic, and combine it with RUM in a more mature setup.

Cache is the last layer, not the first

Page cache, CDN and minification help, but they cannot make a huge hero asset small or remove unnecessary interaction logic. Optimize the design and payload before the caching layer.

For the architecture, see building a website with SEO architecture.

The cheapest performance fix is the element you decide not to load back in the design phase.
DigitaL+ practice

How we apply the principle in practice

In the current DigitaL+ rebuild, the core copy of the service and blog templates is server-rendered, and motion is limited and has a prefers-reduced-motion fallback. This reduces dependence on client-side rendering and allows performance optimization to start from the component architecture.

Sources and verification

Official sources

  1. Google Search Central — Core Web VitalsOfficial guide to Core Web Vitals.
  2. web.dev — Core Web VitalsPractical performance resources and metrics.
Real projects

Related examples from the portfolio

JBG auto - a DigitaL+ project

JBG auto

Full-service marketing - strategy, website and advertising

JBG auto approached us when the idea was still in its infancy; we created a strategy for the business, built their online store and carried out the full plan, offering…

View the project →
MIA boutique - a DigitaL+ project

MIA boutique

Online store development and social media business profiles

We built an online store for the brand and set up business profiles on Facebook and Instagram, through which we promote the new collections.

View the project →
blank
Author and expert editor

Stanislav Yankov

Web Performance Engineer

6 years of narrow specialization in PageSpeed, Core Web Vitals and infrastructure speed. Expert in caching strategies (Varnish, Redis), CDN configurations (Cloudflare), optimization of the critical path for…

View expert profile →
Continue on this topic

Related guides

From knowledge to execution

If the topic is part of a real project, we can turn it into a prioritized plan, implementation and measurement.

Get in touch with DigitaL+
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. View more
Cookies settings
Accept
Privacy and Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies policy
Cookies list
Cookie nameActive

Personal Data Protection Policy

This policy aims to protect your personal data. If you have any questions or concerns about the use of your personal data, please contact us and we will help you. By using this site and/or our services, you agree to the processing of your personal data as described in this Personal Data Protection Policy.

Contents

  • Definitions used in this Policy
  • Data protection principles we follow
  • What rights you have regarding your personal data
  • What personal data we collect about you
  • How we use your personal data
  • Who else has access to your personal data
  • How we store your data
  • Information about cookies
  • Supervisory authority

Definitions

Personal data – any information relating to the identification of a natural person. Processing – any operation or set of operations performed on personal data or sets of personal data. Data subject – a natural person whose personal data is being processed. Child – a natural person under 16 years of age. We/us – No.

Personal data protection principles

We promise to follow these personal data protection principles:
  • Principle of lawfulness, fairness and transparency. Our data processing activities are lawful. We always consider your rights before processing your personal data. On request, we will provide you with information about the processing of your data.
  • Principle of purpose limitation. Our personal data processing activities are consistent with the purpose for which we collect the data.
  • Principle of data minimization. We collect and process only the minimum personal data necessary for the relevant purpose.
  • Principle of storage limitation. We will not keep your personal data for longer than necessary.
  • Principle of data accuracy. We will do everything in our power to ensure the accuracy of the data.
  • Principle of data confidentiality. We will do everything in our power to protect your personal data against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Rights of the data subject

The data subject has the following rights:
  1. Right to information – this means you have the right to know whether your personal data is being processed, what data is collected, where it was obtained and why, and who processes it.
  2. Right of access – this means you have the right to obtain the data we have collected from and about you. This includes your right to request and receive a copy of your personal data held by us.
  3. Right to rectification – this means you have the right to request the correction or erasure of personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  4. Right to erasure – this means that in certain circumstances you can request that your personal data be erased from our records.
  5. Right to restriction of processing – this means that under certain conditions you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data.
  6. Right to object – this means that in certain cases you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, for example in the case of direct marketing.
  7. Right not to be subject to solely automated processing – this means you have the right to object to automated processing, including profiling, so that you are not subject to decisions based solely on automated processing. You can exercise this right when profiling produces an outcome with legal effects that concern you or significantly affect you.
  8. Right to data portability – you have the right to obtain your personal data in a machine-readable format or, where feasible, to have it transferred directly from one processor to another.
  9. Right to lodge a complaint – if we refuse your request under your Right of access, we will give you the reasons for the refusal. If you are not satisfied with how your request has been handled, please contact us.
  10. Right to assistance from the relevant supervisory authorities – this means you have the right to obtain assistance from supervisory authorities and the right to other legal remedies, such as claims for damages.
  11. Right to withdraw consent – you have the right to withdraw any consent you have given for the processing of your personal data.

What personal data we collect about you

Information you have provided to us This may be your email address, name, postal or home address, etc. Essentially, this is the information we need in order to provide you with the relevant product/service or to improve your experience with us. We keep the information you provide so that you can carry out various activities on our site, including commenting. This information includes, for example, your name and email address. Information that is automatically collected about you This includes information automatically stored by cookies or other tools for your internet session. For example, this is information about your shopping cart, your IP address, your shopping history (if any), etc. This information is used to improve your customer experience with us. When you use our services or browse the content of our website, your actions may be recorded in a log. Information from our partners We collect information from our trusted partners with confirmation that they have a legal basis to share this information with us. This is information that you have provided to them directly or that they have collected about you on another legal basis. See a list of our partners here. Publicly available information We may collect information about you that is publicly available.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data to:
  • provide you with our services. This includes, for example, registering your account; providing other products and services you have requested; providing promotional products at your request and communicating with you about those products and services; communicating with you; notifying you of changes to services;
  • improve your customer experience;
  • comply with an obligation under law or contract.
We use your personal data on a lawful basis and/or with your consent. In connection with entering into a contract or fulfilling contractual obligations, we process your personal data for the following purposes:
  • to identify you;
  • to provide you with a service or to send/offer you a product;
  • to contact you in order to complete a sale or issue an invoice;
On the basis of legitimate interest, we process your personal data for the following purposes:
  • to send you personalized offers (from us and/or from our carefully selected partners);
  • to administer and analyze our customer database (purchasing behavior and history) in order to improve the quality, variety and availability of the products/services we offer/provide;
  • to conduct customer satisfaction surveys;
Unless you inform us otherwise, we consider it part of our legitimate interest to offer you products/services that are similar or identical to your purchase/visit history. With your consent, we process your personal data for the following purposes:
  • to send you newsletters and campaign offers (from us or from our carefully selected partners);
  • for other purposes for which we have asked for your consent;
We process your personal data to fulfill obligations arising from law and/or use your personal data for options provided by law. We reserve the right to anonymize the personal data we have collected and to use it in that form. We will use data outside the scope of this Policy only when it has been anonymized. We keep payment/billing information and other information collected from you for as long as necessary for accounting purposes or other legal obligations, but no longer than the law provides. We may process your personal data for additional purposes not mentioned here that are compatible with the original purpose for which the data was collected. To do this, we make sure:
  • that the link between the purposes, context and nature of the personal data is suitable for further processing;
  • that the further processing does not harm your interests, and that appropriate safeguards for the processing are in place.
We will inform you of any further processing and its purposes.

Who else has access to your personal data

We do not share your personal data with strangers. In some cases your personal data is provided to our trusted partners in order to deliver the service to you or to improve your experience as our customer. We share your data with: Our processing partners:
  • #
Our business partners:
  • #
Related third parties:
  • #

How we protect your personal data

We make every effort to protect your personal data. We use secure protocols for communication and data transfer (such as HTTPS). We use anonymization and pseudonymization where appropriate. We monitor our systems for possible vulnerabilities and attacks. Although we do our best, we cannot guarantee the security of information. However, we promise to notify the relevant authorities of any data breach. We will also notify you if there is a threat to your rights or interests. We will do everything we reasonably can to prevent security breaches and to assist the authorities should a breach occur. If you have an account with us, please remember to keep your username and password secret.

Children

We do not intend to collect or knowingly collect information from children. Our services are not aimed at children and they are not our target customers.

Cookies and other technologies we use

We use cookies and/or other similar technologies to analyze user behavior, administer the website, track users' movements and collect information about users. This is done in order to personalize and improve your experience with us. A cookie is a small text file stored on your computer. Cookies store information that is used to help the site work. Only we can access the cookies created by our website. You can control cookies from your browser. If you choose to disable cookies, this may prevent some features you may wish to use on our site from working. We use cookies for the following purposes:
  • Necessary cookies – these cookies are required for you to be able to use some important features of our website, such as logging in with a username and password. These cookies do not collect any personal information.
  • Functionality cookies – these cookies provide functionality that makes using our service more convenient and enables more personalized features. For example, they may remember your name and password in the comment fields so that you do not have to re-enter this information every time you post a comment.
  • Analytics cookies – these cookies are used to track the use and performance of our website and services
  • Advertising cookies – these cookies are used to deliver ads that are relevant to you and your interests. In addition, they are used to limit the number of times you see a given ad. They are usually placed on the site by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. These cookies remember that you have visited a site, and this information is shared with other organizations such as advertisers. Targeting or advertising cookies are often linked to site functionality provided by the other organization.
You can remove cookies stored on your computer through your browser settings. You can also control some third-party cookies by using privacy-enhancing platforms such as optout.aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.com. If you would like more information about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org. We use Google Analytics to measure traffic to our website. Google has its own privacy policy, which you can review on their site or here. If you would like to opt out of Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.

Supervisory authority

Commission for Personal Data Protection

Changes to this Personal Data Protection Policy

We reserve the right to make changes to this Personal Data Protection Policy. The Policy was last amended on 21 May 2018.
Save settings
Cookies settings
Back to top
Call Now Button