What is First Input Delay (FID) and How to Improve it?

The Web Core Vitals are a set of metrics that measure the performance and user experience of a website. They were introduced by Google to help website owners understand the key aspects of website performance that affect user experience.

The Web Core Vitals include three main metrics:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): measures the visual load speed of a website
2. First Input Delay (FID): measures the time it takes for a website to respond to a user’s first interaction
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): measures the visual stability of a website

Each of these metrics are important for website owners to monitor and improve, as they directly impact the user experience and can have an impact on website’s SEO and search engine visibility. Google provides tools such as the PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to help website owners monitor and optimize these metrics.

In this article, we will explore:

• What is FID
• Importance of FID
• Ways to improve FID
• Tips on how to optimize and monitor FID

Improving your Web Core Vitals, including FID, will help you deliver a better user experience, which in turn will result in better search engine rankings and visibility.

This metric is important because it directly impacts the user experience. A poor FID score can lead to a poor user experience, resulting in increased bounce rates and decreased engagement, which is why it’s crucial for website owners to monitor and improve FID.

Why is First Input Delay Important?

First Input Delay (FID) is important because it measures the responsiveness of a website or web application, and directly impacts the user experience. A poor FID score can lead to a poor user experience, resulting in increased bounce rates and decreased engagement. This can have a negative impact on a website’s performance, including lower conversion rates, reduced sales, and decreased visibility in search engine results. A good FID score, on the other hand, can improve user satisfaction and engagement with a website, leading to better performance, higher conversion rates, and increased visibility in search engine results.

Additionally, FID is a ranking factor for Google’s page experience algorithm, which takes into account several metrics such as FID, loading speed, mobile-friendliness, etc. A good FID score can improve website rankings and visibility in search results, which is why it’s important for website owners to monitor and improve FID.

In summary, FID is an important metric as it measures the responsiveness of a website, which is a key factor in user experience and directly impacts the website’s performance and visibility in search engine results.

How to Improve First Input Delay?

Here are ways to improve First Input Delay (FID) on a website or web application:

Reduce JavaScript Execution Time

One of the biggest contributors to high FID is slow JavaScript execution. JavaScript is a powerful programming language that allows for interactive and dynamic elements on a webpage. However, it can also slow down the page if not optimized properly and that is a reason many prefer to go for Javascript alternatives for programming needs.

Here are a few ways to reduce JavaScript execution time and improve FID:

• Minimize the amount of JavaScript code on the page: The more JavaScript code on the page, the longer it will take to execute.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can help to reduce the time it takes for JavaScript files to load by caching them on servers closer to the user.
• Use a JavaScript minifier: A minifier will reduce the size of your JavaScript files, making them load faster.
• Optimize images: Large images can slow down the page and increase FID. Optimizing images can help to reduce their size and improve FID.
• Remove unnecessary plugins: Many plugins and extensions can slow down the page and increase FID. Removing unnecessary plugins can help to improve FID.

Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests

Another way to improve FID is to reduce the number of HTTP requests. Each time a user loads a webpage, the browser makes several requests to retrieve different elements of the page. These requests can add up and slow down the page, leading to high FID.

Here are a few ways to reduce the number of HTTP requests and improve FID:

• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can help to reduce the number of requests by caching elements of the page on servers closer to the user.
• Minimize the number of images: Images are one of the biggest contributors to the number of requests. Minimizing the number of images on the page can help to reduce the number of requests and improve FID.
• Use CSS sprites: CSS sprites are a technique that combines multiple images into one file. This can help to reduce the number of requests and improve FID.
• Use a caching plugin: A caching plugin can help to reduce the number of requests by caching elements of the page on the user’s browser.

By reducing JavaScript execution time, reducing the number of HTTP requests, and optimizing images, you can improve FID and provide a better user experience for your visitors.

Impact of First Input Delay on SEO Rankings

The impact of First Input Delay (FID) on SEO rankings is significant because it is a ranking factor for Google’s page experience algorithm. Google’s page experience algorithm takes into account several metrics such as FID, loading speed, mobile-friendliness, etc. to determine the overall user experience of a website. A good FID score can improve website rankings and visibility in search results, while a poor FID score can negatively impact website rankings and visibility.

A website with a low FID score will take longer to respond to a user’s first interaction, which can lead to a poor user experience, high bounce rate and reduced engagement. This will lead to lower conversion rates, reduced sales and decreased visibility in search engine results. Google’s algorithm takes into account these user experience signals, which impacts website’s ranking in search results.

On the other hand, a website with a good FID score will respond quickly to a user’s first interaction, leading to a better user experience, increased engagement, and improved conversion rates. This can lead to higher visibility in search engine results.