Google recently changed how they measure website speed and responsiveness
If you own an established business you probably heard about Core Web Vitals a few years ago
The goalposts just moved with a new metric called Interaction to Next Paint or INP
This change officially took effect in March 2024 and replaced the old First Input Delay or FID
If your site feels laggy to users it could be hurting your search rankings right now

What exactly is INP

INP is a metric that tracks how long it takes for your website to respond visually after a user interacts with it
An interaction could be clicking a button tapping a link or pressing a key on a keyboard
The clock starts the moment the user acts and stops the moment the browser actually paints a frame showing the result of that action
While the old FID metric only looked at the very first interaction a user had with a page INP looks at all of them
It measures the "worst" or longest delay during the entire time a visitor is on your site
This makes it a much more accurate reflection of the actual user experience

Why the old metric wasn't enough

The old metric FID was basically a pass/fail test for the initial load of a page
It only measured the delay for the first interaction
If your site responded quickly to that first click it passed even if every subsequent click was painfully slow
Google realized this didn't reflect reality because most people spend more time interacting with a page after it has already loaded
They found that 90% of user time on a page happens after the initial load
By switching to INP Google is forcing site owners to care about performance throughout the entire visit

The three parts of an interaction

Every time a user clicks something on your site three things happen behind the scenes
First is the Input Delay which is the time the browser is busy doing other things before it even notices the click
Second is the Processing Duration where the browser runs the code or script associated with that click
Third is the Presentation Delay which is the time it takes the browser to calculate the layout and paint the new pixels on the screen
INP is the sum of all three of these phases
If any one of these parts is slow your INP score will suffer

What is a good INP score

Google has clear benchmarks for what they consider a healthy website
A score of 200 milliseconds or less is considered Good
Anything between 200 and 500 milliseconds Needs Improvement
If your delay is over 500 milliseconds it is flagged as Poor
Most established businesses with older websites or bloated templates often find themselves in the "Needs Improvement" or "Poor" categories
This isn't just a technical detail because it directly impacts your visibility on search engines

Why established businesses should care

If you have a business that relies on web traffic for leads or sales this change matters
A slow INP score can lead to higher bounce rates because users get frustrated when buttons don't react immediately
People are used to the snappiness of mobile apps and expect the same from your website
When a site is unresponsive it creates a "dead" feeling that erodes trust in your brand
Beyond the user experience Google uses these Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor
A poor score can push you down in the search results making it harder for new customers to find you
At WorldWise we focus on ensuring your digital strategy accounts for these technical shifts

How to check your own score

You don't need to be a developer to see how your site is performing
The easiest way is to use Google PageSpeed Insights
Simply enter your URL and look for the Interaction to Next Paint section
It will show you data based on real users who have visited your site over the last 28 days
If you see a red or orange icon it means you have work to do
You can also check your Google Search Console account under the "Core Web Vitals" report to see which specific pages are failing

Common causes of high INP

Most INP issues are caused by heavy JavaScript or poorly optimized code
If your site uses a lot of third-party plugins or tracking scripts they might be "blocking" the main thread
The main thread is like the brain of the browser and it can only do one thing at a time
If it is busy processing a heavy ad script it can't respond to a user's click until it finishes
Large image files or complex layouts can also slow down the Presentation Delay phase
Using a template-based site builder often adds unnecessary code that drags these numbers down
This is why we often recommend custom web design for businesses that need high performance

Quick fixes you can implement

The first step is to audit your third-party scripts
Remove any tracking pixels or plugins that you aren't actively using
You can also look into "yielding" which is a technical way of telling the browser to take a break from long tasks to check for user input
Minimizing the amount of work the browser has to do during an interaction is key
Optimizing your CSS and reducing the complexity of your page layout can also help with the painting phase
If your current hosting is slow it might be contributing to general lag across the board
You can explore our web hosting options if you think your server is the bottleneck

The role of custom design in site speed

Many businesses run into INP issues because they are using "off-the-shelf" themes that are built to do everything for everyone
These themes are often bloated with features you don't need which slows down the browser
Custom design allows you to build only what is necessary for your specific business goals
By keeping the codebase clean and lightweight you naturally achieve better INP scores
This approach doesn't just help with SEO it makes the site more enjoyable for your customers
You can see examples of high-performing sites in our portfolio

Interaction to Next Paint and mobile users

INP is especially important for mobile users who might be on slower devices or weaker data connections
A script that runs fine on a high-powered desktop might cause a massive delay on a three-year-old smartphone
Since most web traffic is now mobile having a poor INP score on mobile is a major liability
If your marketing strategy involves driving paid traffic to your site you are wasting money if the mobile experience is laggy
Users will click your ad wait for the page to load try to click a "buy" button and then leave when nothing happens

Moving forward with your website

The move to INP represents a shift toward valuing the "feel" of a website rather than just the "speed" of its data
It is about responsiveness and fluidity
If you haven't looked at your site's performance in a year now is the time to do it
The web is getting more competitive and technical SEO is becoming a baseline requirement rather than an optional extra
If you aren't sure how to fix these issues we are here to help
You can contact us to discuss an audit of your current site

Getting started with optimization

Optimizing for INP isn't a one-time task but an ongoing part of site maintenance
As you add new content and features you need to ensure they don't break your performance scores
Start by identifying your most important pages: like your homepage and lead forms: and fix those first
If you want to see how we can transform your online presence you can get started with a consultation
We focus on making sites that work for both Google and your human visitors
Don't let a technical change like INP be the reason your competitors move ahead of you in the rankings
Keep your site fast keep it responsive and keep your customers happy