Why Freelancers Should Care About Core Web Vitals

Web Vitals Are Not Just for Developers Anymore

If you’re a freelancer building WordPress websites, offering SEO services, or writing content, here’s a hard truth: about Core Web Vitals

If your site is slow to load, moves while loading, or irritates users, Google doesn’t care how lovely it is.

Greetings from Core Web Vitals, a collection of performance indicators that have a direct impact on your user experience, bounce rates, and search engine results.

Whether you’re writing blog posts or building e-commerce websites, ignoring these vitals can make your work invisible on Google.

Let’s break down what Core Web Vitals are, why they matter more than ever in 2025, and how you can optimize for them – even if you are not a tech wizard.

What Are Core Web Vitals? (Plain English Version)

Google’s Core Web Vitals are a group of metrics that measure real-world user experience when they visit a page.

In 2025, the three primary vitals remain:

1. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – Measures loading performance.
2. Goal: Under 2.5 seconds
3. FID (First Input Delay) – Measures interactivity.
4. Goal: Under 100 milliseconds
5. (Note: In 2025, this is being replaced by INP — Interaction to Next Paint)
6. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – Measures visual stability.
7. Goal: Less than 0.1

If your site fails these metrics, you’re offering a bad user experience — and Google knows it.

Why Freelancers Should Pay Attention

1. Your Work Reflects on Clients’ Success

When a client hires you to build their WordPress site or create SEO content, they trust you to help their site perform — not just look pretty.

If a page loads slowly or shifts around, users bounce. Rankings drop. Leads disappear.

Your reputation takes a hit.

2. Google Made Core Web Vitals a Ranking Factor

Since May 2021 (and even more so in the years after), Google has clearly stated: Web Vitals are part of their algorithm.

So if you’re optimizing content, pages, or UX, ignoring them means you’re leaving performance (and money) on the table.

3. Clients Are Getting Smarter

In 2025, even non-tech-savvy clients are asking:

“How fast is my site?”

If you can confidently say, “Yes, your Core Web Vitals are all green,” you immediately set yourself apart from other freelancers.

How to Check Core Web Vitals (Free Tools)

• PageSpeed Insights
• Chrome Lighthouse – Built into Chrome DevTools
• Web.dev Measure Tool
• Google Search Console (Experience tab) – Great for real-world data

Don’t just check once — make it part of your ongoing SEO workflow.

How to Improve Core Web Vitals (Non-Developer Tips)

Let’s be honest — as a freelancer, you may not want to dive into complex JavaScript optimization. So here are realistic ways non-coders can improve Core Web Vitals.

Choose a Fast WordPress Theme

Use lightweight, optimized themes like:

• GeneratePress
• Astra
• Neve

These are built for performance out of the box.

Use Fewer Plugins

Every plugin you install adds potential bloat. Use only essentials and avoid heavy page builders when possible.

Optimize Images

• Use WebP format
• Compress with tools like TinyPNG
• Add lazy loading

Images are usually the biggest contributors to poor LCP.

Enable Caching & CDN

Use plugins like:

• WP Rocket
• W3 Total Cache

And consider CDNs like Cloudflare to serve static content faster globally.

Minimize Layout Shifts (CLS Fix)

Layout shifts often happen due to:

• Ads loading late
• Fonts rendering slowly
• Missing width/height attributes on images

You can fix CLS by reserving space for dynamic elements in your layout.

How INP Is Replacing FID (2025 Update)

As of March 2024, INP (Interaction to Next Paint) officially replaced FID.

What’s INP?

It measures the time from a user interaction (like clicking a button) to when the next visual change happens.

If users click something and your site lags before responding, it’s bad.

How to improve INP:

• Avoid heavy JavaScript
• Optimize for mobile responsiveness
• Delay third-party scripts (like chat widgets)

How Core Web Vitals Impact SEO and Conversions

Let’s say you’ve written the perfect blog post — keyword-rich, deeply informative. But your LCP is 6 seconds?

You’ll lose 40–50% of your visitors before they even read a word.

Bad Core Web Vitals impact:

• Bounce rate
• Time on page
• Search rankings
• Conversions and sales

So yes — performance is directly tied to profit.

What to Offer Clients as a Freelancer

Want to increase your value as a freelancer? Offer a Web Vitals audit as an add-on.

You can even productize it:

“$99 Core Web Vitals Optimization – I’ll audit your site, fix major issues, and help improve your SEO score.”

This sets you apart from “just another content writer” or “random WordPress guy.”

Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait Until Rankings Drop

You don’t need to be a developer to understand or optimize for Web Vitals.

You just need:

• A basic understanding of user experience
• The right tools
• A mindset that values performance

In 2025 and beyond, Google is pushing for a faster, more stable web — and freelancers who keep up with these standards will win more projects, retain more clients, and charge higher rates.

So, if you haven’t already, run your site through PageSpeed Insights today — and start caring about Core Web Vitals.