Google Chrome has officially ended support for the First Input Delay (FID) metric, shifting developers’ focus to the more comprehensive Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric. This transition reflects Google’s effort to better measure the full user interaction experience, and it’s crucial for businesses to understand how this affects their websites and customer engagement.
Why Did Google Drop First Input Delay (FID)?
First Input Delay (FID) has long been a key metric for measuring the responsiveness of websites. It tracked the delay between a user’s first interaction (like clicking a button) and when the browser responded. However, FID only captured part of the picture—it measured the initial delay but didn’t account for how long it took the page to fully update after that interaction.
Recognizing this limitation, Google has introduced Interaction to Next Paint (INP), a more holistic metric that tracks the entire lifecycle of a user interaction, from input to the final visual update. This allows for a better understanding of how responsive a website feels to users.
Impact on Business Owners
For businesses that rely on their websites for customer engagement, eCommerce, or lead generation, this change is significant. A slow or unresponsive website can lead to higher bounce rates and missed opportunities. Now, with INP, site owners have a more accurate tool to measure and improve their website’s responsiveness.
This transition also underscores the importance of optimizing the entire user experience. While FID only addressed part of the equation, INP gives business owners the chance to evaluate how well their site performs from the moment a customer clicks to when they see the results on screen. Slow interaction times can lead to frustrated users and a negative impression of your brand.
How Business Owners Can Adapt
Here are some key actions businesses should take in response to Chrome’s shift from FID to INP:
- Understand INP and Its Importance
Learn the basics of INP by reviewing Google’s official documentation on web.dev. INP measures the full interaction cycle, helping you gain deeper insights into how users experience your website. - Audit Your Website’s INP Performance
Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or real-user monitoring services to evaluate your site’s INP. Identifying areas of improvement will help ensure your site remains fast and responsive, providing a better user experience. - Optimize Interaction Responsiveness
Follow best practices to optimize your website’s responsiveness. This includes minimizing input delays, optimizing event handling, and reducing layout shifts, all of which can improve your INP score and make your site more engaging for users. - Update Monitoring Tools and Metrics
If you currently rely on FID-based performance metrics, it’s time to update your tools and scripts to align with INP. The web-vitals.js library, for instance, will roll out a new version (5.0) to support INP, so be sure to upgrade if you’re using this or similar tools. - Adjust Data Pipelines for INP
For businesses that leverage the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) or BigQuery datasets, expect schema updates that will remove FID-related fields. Make sure to adjust your data pipelines accordingly ahead of the October 2024 dataset release.
The Bottom Line for Business Owners
Transitioning from FID to INP may require some adjustments, but it ultimately gives businesses a more complete understanding of how users experience their websites. By adopting the INP metric, business owners can ensure their sites are fast, responsive, and user-friendly—leading to better customer satisfaction and potentially higher conversion rates.
Take this opportunity to review your website’s performance and make improvements where necessary. By staying ahead of these changes, you’ll ensure a smoother user experience that keeps visitors engaged and loyal to your brand.