Website optimization requires taking steps to both improve user experience and adapt to current search engine algorithm requirements. As a result, SEO and UX are increasingly intertwined. The FID in the title is an example of a concept that straddles these two domains. Improving results within this metric can significantly improve the effectiveness of your online activities. Learn what first input delay is and how to address it.
What is First Input Delay (FID)?
First Input Delay (FID) is a key performance metric for websites. It measures the response time between a user's initial interaction and the browser's response. This can mean, for example, how long it takes after pressing a button for the next page to load.
Response time is particularly important during the first visit to a website, when it's crucial to make the best possible impression. It's worth emphasizing, however, that FID affects more than just the user experience. This metric is also a Google ranking factor. A poor result in this regard can, therefore, mean a decline in your company's visibility in search results.
How to distinguish a good FID result from a bad one?
There are several ranges that can be used to assess your website's FID optimization level. The classification is as follows:
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- less than 100 ms – an ideal result allowing for comfortable navigation on the website,
- 100 – 300 ms – the delay is noticeable, so the situation needs to be improved,
- above 300 ms – long response time, causing most users to interrupt their session, immediate improvements are necessary.
How to measure the First Input Delay result?
There are several tools you can use to check your website's FID performance. You can choose from the following options:
- PageSpeed Insights,
- Google Search Console,
- Chrome User Experience Report,
- JavaScript library.
How to get a better FID score?
The primary method for improving FID is to minimize the size and complexity of JavaScript code executed in the browser. Take steps to condense content by breaking large blocks of script into smaller pieces. Code-splitting is a good technique to dynamically load only the code fragments that are currently needed. Also, try to identify and remove unnecessary code fragments.
To reduce response times, you should also optimize the resources on your site. It's recommended to use lazy loading for images and other content placed beyond the first page view. Prioritize loading only content that's immediately visible upon opening the site. The remaining elements can load after a while.
Choosing the right server is also crucial. Conduct a thorough research of available solutions. Then, choose the option that ensures impeccable performance for your website.
What can you gain by improving First Input Delay?
Working on FID optimization is undoubtedly worth the effort. By improving this aspect, you can gain the following benefits:
- Improving user experience
A better FID score means a faster response to user actions, such as clicks. By reducing response times, you don't try users' patience, thus increasing the likelihood that they will stay on your site.
- Higher positions in search results
Google considers the FID metric when evaluating a page's quality, which influences its ranking in search results. Improving FID can increase your company's visibility in search results and attract more organic traffic.
- Conversion increase
A fast response time increases user engagement. When users don't have to wait for a server response, they become more likely to engage in interactions like purchasing or registering.
- Better brand image
A responsive and responsive website creates a positive impression on users. As a result, the brand appears more modern and more customer-focused.
- Optymalizacja mobilna
In today's world, most traffic comes from mobile devices. Improving FID will therefore positively impact the experience of users who prefer to access the internet on their smartphones and tablets.
Why can't the importance of FID be underestimated?
If you neglect FID, you'll not only remain stuck in your current position but also risk weakening your previously established position. Ultimately, you'll be facing competition that could overtake you by taking actions to shorten your response time. Learn the consequences of neglecting FID.
- Deterioration of user experience
When a website doesn't respond quickly enough to interactions, users' patience is tested. Slow loading times lead to discouragement and abandonment.
- Increased bounce rate
Bounce rate is a metric that measures the percentage of users who visit a website without interacting. You should strive to consistently reduce your bounce rate. You can achieve this by, among other things, improving response time.
- Conversion decline
Unresponsive websites effectively discourage browsing and interaction. Every time a user leaves your site, they lose a conversion opportunity.
- Negative impact on SEO
Excessively slow response times can result in lower search engine rankings. This, in turn, reduces a website's visibility and limits the flow of new and returning customers. Therefore, FID is a key metric for websites that rely on organic search engine traffic.
- Loss of user loyalty
Many users will give up on a poorly performing website. They will therefore avoid such a site in the future and go straight to a competitor. Negative performance experiences can therefore hinder the development of a loyal customer base.
- Higher optimization costs in the future
Failure to optimize FID early on can lead to costly technical changes later. Fixing responsiveness issues can be time-consuming, especially when the site requires a complete code overhaul.
Why is it still necessary to work on FID?
In addition to the aforementioned balance of potential benefits and consequences of omission, it's also worth noting the importance of FID in Google's algorithm. The range of ranking factors that determine a website's position is constantly changing. New criteria emerge, and existing ones may shift in importance.
FID became a key metric in the Google Core Web Vitals update introduced in 2021. Its importance is already fundamental, and it's likely to grow even further. Improving First Input Delay represents a forward-looking approach to building a long-term SEO strategy.
First Input Delay FAQs
FID is a metric that measures the stability and responsiveness of a website. It measured the time from a user's first interaction with the page (e.g., clicking a link or tapping a button on a phone) to the moment the browser was able to actually begin processing the response to that request.
According to Google's guidelines, to ensure a great user experience (UX), the FID should be below 100 milliseconds. A score between 100 and 300 ms required improvement, while a delay above 300 ms signaled serious technical issues with the site.
The main culprit was usually overly heavy, suboptimal JavaScript code. When the browser loaded the page, its main thread would be completely blocked by processing complex scripts. As a result, when the user tried to click something, the page would appear frozen because the browser had to finish the previous task first.
And here's something worth making clear: no, FID is no longer considered by Google. In March 2024, the Mountain View giant officially removed this metric from its Core Web Vitals.
FID has been replaced by a much more rigorous and precise indicator called INP (Interaction to Next Paint).
What's the difference? FID was very lenient—it measured only the user's first click and only the time until the browser begins to respond. The new metric, INP, examines all page interactions throughout the user's visit and measures the full time it takes until the image on the screen actually changes (i.e., until the user sees the graphical effect of their click).
The rules remain similar, but require greater precision. To keep your website in the green Core Web Vitals zone, you must:
- Modify long JavaScript tasks (break them into smaller parts),
- Limit unnecessary third-party scripts (e.g. old plugins, unnecessary tracking pixels),
- Use asynchronous code loading to ensure that interactive page elements are ready to function almost immediately after being displayed.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- FID as an indicator influencing the user's first impression, the smoothness of the website use and the website's position in search results,
- ways to evaluate the First Input Delay result and ranges determining the level of website optimization,
- what tools are used to measure FID,
- optimization activities that improve the First Input Delay indicator,
- the benefits of FID optimization and the losses that ignoring this indicator may cause,
- the impact of website responsiveness on SEO strategy.
