How to optimize Webflow for Core Web Vitals?

@ervin.williamson 

Optimizing Webflow for Core Web Vitals involves focusing on improving key performance metrics that Google uses to assess user experience on websites. These metrics include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Here are some strategies to optimize a Webflow site for these metrics:

1. Optimize Images and Media

• Use Responsive Images: Ensure that images are responsive and use Webflow’s built-in responsive image feature to serve appropriately sized images for different devices.
• Compress Images: Use advanced compression tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce image file sizes without sacrificing quality.
• Use Modern Image Formats: Consider using modern formats like WebP, which offer better compression.

2. Enhance Loading Performance

• Lazy Load Assets: Implement lazy loading for off-screen images and videos via Webflow's lazy loading feature. This helps in reducing the initial page load time.
• Code Splitting: Minimize the use of unnecessary custom code and ensure scripts are loaded asynchronously or deferred wherever possible.

3. Improve Server Response Times

• Use Fast Hosting: Webflow hosting is generally fast, but ensure your site plan is suited to your traffic needs.
• Reduce Redirects: Minimize HTTP requests and redirects, as these can add latency to the user experience.

4. Optimize Fonts

• Limit Web Fonts: Restrict the number of different fonts and variants used on your site.
• Use Font Descriptors like font-display: swap: This ensures text remains visible while web fonts are loading.

5. Optimize CSS and JavaScript

• Minimize CSS and JavaScript: Use Webflow’s in-built features to minify CSS and JavaScript directly from the site settings.
• Remove Unused CSS: Audit your CSS to ensure all styles are in use, removing any redundant rules.

6. Enhance Interactivity and User Experience

• Improve FID by Reducing JavaScript Execution Time: Break up long tasks and optimize JavaScript to be non-blocking.
• Enhance CLS by Setting Dimensions for Elements: Always provide width and height for images and video elements to help the browser allocate space during loading.

7. Monitor and Test Regularly

• Use Webflow’s Built-In Audit Tools: Utilize the Audit panel in Webflow to identify and fix performance issues.
• Leverage Google’s Tools: Use tools like Lighthouse, Google PageSpeed Insights, and the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console to regularly monitor performance.

By following these strategies and regularly monitoring your website's performance, you can significantly enhance the Core Web Vitals scores in Webflow, leading to a better user experience.