Input delay is a measure of the time that elapses between when a user first interacts with your website and when they see their input reflected on the page. First Input Delay (FID) can be measured in milliseconds, so it's possible to have an FID of anywhere from 0ms-500ms. This article will explore what First Input Delay is, how it affects users, and why you should care about it!
So what is First Input Delay (FID) and why does it matter?
First Input Delay is the time between when a user first interacts with your website and when they see their input reflected on the page. This might mean that there's some kind of delay in loading or processing content, which means users are waiting for something to happen. First Input Delay (FID) can be measured in milliseconds, so it's possible to have an FID of anywhere from 0ms-500ms.
Why is First Input Delay (FID) so important?
The First Input Delay (FID) is important because it can affect user behaviour. Users are impatient creatures by nature, and don't like having to wait for something before they get what they want. If your website takes too long to load or doesn't update in sync with the input of a user's device, then your users will leave.
First Input Delay (FID) can also affect how Google ranks your website on their search engine results pages (SERPs). First Input Delay (FID) is one of the factors that Google takes into account when ranking your website. If your First Input Delay (FID) is too high, then you can expect to see a decrease in website ranking against a similar website who is trying to rank for a similar keyword/key phrase.
By improving your First Input Delay (FID) and other parameters that Google looks out for like First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), one could see their existing traffic increase as a result of Google seeing that you have optimised your site for good user page experience and will highlight your content more.
Where can I find my First Input Delay (FID) score?
Typical users and webmasters can find these scores on Google Page Speed insights which is a free tool that Google has introduced for developers to get a firm understanding of how their websites are performing and if they are not performing well, then they can find out exactly what is slowing down their site.
How do I improve my First Input Delay score?
There are a few things you can do to improve First Input Delay (FID) score.
Note that JavaScript is seen as one of the main culprits of poor First Input Delay (FID) results.
First of all, check your website speed via Google Pagespeed insights which will give you recommendations on how to improve First Input Delay scores. The tool can be accessed by going into the Search Console for any given website and then clicking into Site Performance > First Contentful Paint & First Input Delay.
You can also use Google Developers First Input Delay (FID) checker tool to get an accurate First Input Delay score along with suggestions on what you should do in order to improve your First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
You should also consider the First Input Delay (FID) for your mobile website as many users are now browsing websites via their smartphones. First Input Delay (FID) is one of several factors that Google uses to measure user experience and how it affects website rankings, so if you want better results then you need to improve First Input Delay scores. First Input Delay (FID) is also used for measuring user experience across smartphone, tablet and desktop which means First Input Delay should be considered in all devices.
By ensuring that your website has a high First Contentful Paint & First Input Delay score you are improving the chances of getting higher page ranks on Google search engine results pages. This will in turn result in an increase in website traffic to your site.
Can plugins help fix my poor First Input Delay score?
There are several plugins that can help improve First Input Delay (FID) by reducing the time taken to load a website. In short, you need to reduce the number of requests made from your site which will result in First Contentful Paint & First Input delays being improved.
We recommend using Hummingbird Pro for WordPress CMS websites as its paid version uses a similar page speed tool which will show you what CSS and JavaScript is needed for compression, combining, moving, deferring or preloading script.
Conclusion
In short, FID measures the time it takes for a user to interact with your website. The lower this number is, the better because higher numbers indicate delays in page load times and lost conversions as customers browse elsewhere before returning.
If you’re looking for digital marketing help or SEO advice from experts that have helped countless other companies increase their conversion rates through innovative strategies and techniques, contact us today! We know how to find what works best for every business type.
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