Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a metric that measures how quickly a webpage responds to user interactions, such as clicks or taps.
INP is set to replace First Input Delay (FID) as a Core Web Vital metric. It helps evaluate and optimize the aspect of user experience related to page responsiveness.
Optimizing INP involves reducing delays in response to user interactions and can lead to improved search engine rankings and conversion rates.
What is Interaction to Next Paint (INP)?
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a pending Core Web Vital metric that focuses on measuring the responsiveness of a webpage to user interactions.
It provides insight into how quickly a webpage reacts to user actions and offers visual feedback.
INP is designed to ensure a smooth user experience by reducing delays and providing prompt feedback to users.
A Closer Look at INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
INP utilizes data from the Event Timing API to measure the responsiveness of a webpage when it becomes unresponsive due to user interactions.
This unresponsiveness can negatively impact the user experience, leading to users leaving the page and potentially not returning.
What Does INP Measure?
INP measures the time it takes for a webpage to respond to user interaction.
Specifically, it focuses on three components:
- Input Delay: The time between the user’s interaction and the moment the browser begins processing it.
- Processing Time: The time it takes for the browser to process the user’s interaction.
- Presentation Delay: The time it takes for the browser to paint the updated content on the screen after processing the interaction.
Why does INP matter?
- INP matters because it directly affects the user experience on your webpage.
- A prompt response to user interactions is crucial for user engagement, conversion rates, and search engine rankings.
- By optimizing website INP, you can provide a better overall experience for your users.
Difference between INP and First Input Delay
INP is set to replace First Input Delay (FID) as a Core Web Vital metric.
While FID measures the delay between a user’s first interaction and the browser’s ability to respond, INP focuses on the overall responsiveness to user interactions.
INP provides a more comprehensive view of the user experience by considering additional factors such as processing time and presentation delay.
Importance of INP as a Core Web Vitals Metric
INP holds significance as a Core Web Vitals metric because it directly impacts the user experience.
A delay in responsiveness can lead to users leaving the page and negatively affect engagement and conversion rates.
Therefore, optimizing INP is crucial for providing a positive user experience and potentially improving search engine rankings.
How is Interaction to Next Paint Calculated?
INP measures the time it takes for a webpage to respond visually after a user interacts with it.
INP is calculated by measuring the time it takes for a webpage to visually respond after a user interacts with it, such as clicking or tapping. A lower INP score indicates a more responsive webpage.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) Values
The values of Interaction to Next Paint (INP) are measured in milliseconds and indicate the time taken by a web page to respond to user interactions, such as clicks or taps.
Generally, lower values of INP are considered good because they signify faster response times.
A good INP value is typically below 100 milliseconds, indicating that the web page responds almost instantaneously to user actions.
However, the specific threshold for what is considered good may vary depending on the context and individual expectations.
Handling Multiple User Interactions
INP takes into account multiple user interactions on a page. It considers the time it takes to process and present each interaction, ensuring that the overall page responsiveness is optimized.
Impact of Poor INP Values on Google Rankings
Google considers INP as an important user experience metric and plans to incorporate it into its ranking algorithm starting from March 2024. Websites with good INP scores are likely to have better rankings in search results.
Facts about the impact of poor Interaction with Next Paint (INP) values on Google rankings:
User Experience
Google places a high emphasis on user experience in its ranking algorithm.
Websites with poor INP values often have slower responsiveness to user interactions, resulting in a negative user experience.
Core Web Vitals
INP is one of the Core Web Vitals, a set of key performance metrics identified by Google as important for user experience.
Google has stated that websites with good Core Web Vitals metrics, including INP, are more likely to rank higher in search results.
Poor INP values can negatively impact the overall Core Web Vitals score and, in turn, the website’s ranking.
Bounce Rates and Dwell Time
Websites with poor INP values are likely to experience higher bounce rates, as users may become frustrated and leave the site before it fully loads or responds to their interactions.
High bounce rates can indicate to Google that the website does not meet user expectations, which can result in lower rankings.
Additionally, poor INP values can lead to lower dwell times, as users spend less time on a website that is slow to respond or load.
Mobile-First Indexing
With the majority of internet users browsing on mobile devices, Google has shifted to mobile-first indexing.
This means that the mobile performance of a website, including its INP values, carries significant weight in determining its rankings.
Websites with poor INP on mobile devices may see a decline in their rankings for both mobile and desktop searches.
Competitor Advantage
Websites with better INP values and overall performance have a competitive advantage over those with poor INP values.
Users are more likely to engage with websites that are faster and more responsive, which can lead to higher click-through rates and better user signals.
Over time, this can result in improved rankings for websites that prioritize and optimize their INP values.
It’s important to note that while INP is one factor in Google’s ranking algorithm, other factors such as relevancy and quality of content still play a significant role.
However, ensuring a good user experience through optimal INP values can positively impact search rankings and attract more organic traffic to your website.
How to Measure Interaction to Next Paint
There are several tools that you can use to measure Interaction with Next Paint (INP) for your website. Here are some of them:
- Lighthouse: Lighthouse is an open-source tool developed by Google that can analyze your website’s performance and generate a report of best practices and areas for improvement. It can measure both Time to Interactive (TTI) and First Contentful Paint (FCP), which can be used to derive INP.
- Google PageSpeed Insights: PageSpeed Insights is another tool from Google that can measure the performance of your website and provide recommendations for improvement. It can also generate a report of TTI and FCP timings that can be used to estimate INP.
- WebPageTest: WebPageTest is a free tool that can measure various performance metrics of your website, including INP. It allows you to simulate different network conditions and devices to test how your website performs under different scenarios.
- GTmetrix: GTmetrix is a performance monitoring tool that can analyze your website’s performance and provide recommendations for optimization. It can measure INP as well as other key metrics like Total Blocking Time (TBT) and Time to First Byte (TTFB).
- Dareboost: Dareboost is an all-in-one solution for monitoring and optimizing website performance. It can measure INP as well as provide recommendations for optimization based on several performance metrics.
- CrUX: Tools like the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) can provide insights into the performance of the page in the field, allowing developers to identify areas for improvement.
How to Optimize Interaction to Next Paint
Optimizing INP involves reducing delays in the three main components: input delay, processing time, and presentation delay. Consider the following strategies:
Reduce Input Delay Component
Minimize the time between a user’s interaction and the browser’s initial response.
Optimize JavaScript execution and remove any unnecessary processing that may delay the response.
Minimize Processing Time
Make improvements to the efficiency of the browser’s processing of user interactions. Identify and optimize any resource-heavy tasks or scripts that may impact processing time.
Decrease Presentation Delay
Ensure that the browser can quickly paint the updated content on the screen after processing the user’s interaction. Implement techniques such as lazy loading and content visibility to prioritize rendering essential content.
Content-Visibility for Off-Screen Elements
The content-visibility CSS property can be used to prioritize rendering on-screen elements, improving the overall speed and responsiveness of the webpage.
The INP Metric in Practice
Many websites have successfully improved their INP values by implementing optimization techniques.
For example, e-commerce platforms have minimized delays during checkout processes, resulting in a smoother user experience and increased conversion rates.
E-commerce websites Improvement
An e-commerce platform optimized its INP by reducing input delay, processing time, and presentation delay.
By streamlining JavaScript execution, optimizing image loading, and prioritizing the rendering of critical content, they significantly improved the overall responsiveness of their web pages.
Challenges in INP Optimizing
Optimizing INP can come with challenges, such as balancing interactivity and performance and addressing resource-heavy scripts.
However, the successes of optimizing INP include improved user experience, increased engagement, better search engine rankings, and higher conversion rates.
Tips for Optimizing Interaction to Next Paint
- Prioritize Critical Rendering Path
Ensure that the critical content necessary for the initial view of the webpage is loaded and presented quickly. This reduces the perceived latency and improves the overall responsiveness of the page.
- Optimize JavaScript Execution
Review and optimize your JavaScript code to minimize any potential bottlenecks that could delay the processing of user interactions. Consider using code-splitting or lazy-loading techniques to load JavaScript only when necessary.
- Minimize Render-Blocking Resources
Identify and remove any render-blocking resources, such as CSS or JavaScript that prevent the browser from rendering the webpage quickly.
Load critical resources asynchronously if possible or defer their loading to prioritize the rendering of content.
- Implement Lazy Loading for Images and Videos
Lazy loading allows images and videos to be loaded only when they are visible in the viewport, reducing the initial page load time and improving the overall responsiveness of the webpage.
- Utilize Caching and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Leverage caching techniques to store frequently accessed resources locally on the user’s device, reducing the need for repeated requests to the server.
Additionally, consider using a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver assets from servers closer to the user, minimizing network latency.
- Use Efficient CSS Animations and Transitions
If your webpage includes CSS animations or transitions, optimize them for performance by using hardware acceleration where possible and limiting excessive or complex animations that could contribute to delays in responsiveness.
- Optimize Network Performance
Ensure that your server response times are minimized by optimizing your backend infrastructure and reducing unnecessary network requests.
Compress and minify your CSS and JavaScript files to reduce their size, leading to faster downloads.
Stay Up to Date with Web Performance Best Practices
Web performance optimization is an ongoing process, and best practices evolve over time.
Stay updated with the latest industry trends, new technologies, and recommendations from experts to ensure that your website consistently offers a smooth and responsive user experience.
Conclusion
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a crucial metric that measures the responsiveness of a webpage to user interactions.
By reducing delays in processing user interactions and presenting updated content promptly, you can provide a positive user experience, improve search engine rankings, and increase conversion rates.
Regularly measuring and optimizing INP is essential to ensure that your webpage remains highly responsive and meets the expectations of your users.
