Google has launched a new Core Web Vitals tool called CrUX Vis, designed to reveal hidden patterns in performance scores and offer guidance on potential improvements. This tool uses data from the CrUX dataset, which gathers real user experiences from analyzed URLs and websites.
CrUX
The new tool is built upon the CrUX dataset, which forms the foundation of Core Web Vitals scores.
Chrome’s documentation describes CrUX as:
The Chrome User Experience Report (also known as the Chrome UX Report or CrUX) is a dataset reflecting real-world user experiences of popular web destinations on Chrome.
CrUX serves as the official dataset for the Web Vitals program, encompassing all user-centric Core Web Vitals metrics.
Information is gathered from users’ real browsers globally, determined by certain browser settings that define user eligibility. This data, collected across various dimensions and metrics, helps site owners understand user experiences on their sites.
Publicly available via multiple Google and third-party tools, CrUX data aids Google Search’s page experience rankings. Eligibility criteria for representation in the dataset depend on origins and pages being publicly accessible and having sufficient visitor numbers for statistical significance.
Debugging Core Web Vitals
While enhancing website performance scores may not directly impact rankings as some might hope, it remains a crucial factor. High scores boost earnings, ad clicks, conversions, user experience, and overall site popularity—leading to indirect ranking benefits. A site with poor performance scores may still function but will not fully realize its earnings potential.
Though Chrome’s Lighthouse offers performance snapshots and estimated scores, it lacks the capability to analyze performance trends over time or break down essential metrics.
CrUX Vis
Chrome’s new tool, CrUX Vis, is a data visualization tool that lets users visualize the Chrome User Experience data (CrUX). This offers a fresh perspective on website performance at both URL and site levels (origin).
The tool allows users to change variables in the Controls section at the top of the page, concerning data, device, and period.
Screenshot Of CrUX Vis Controls
Segment Data By Multiple Variables
As depicted in the screenshot, the data can be segmented in three ways:
- Data
Performance scores can be viewed by origin (entire site) or by individual URL. - Device
Data can be segmented by mobile, desktop, or a combined view. - Period (Date Range)
Users can visualize data spanning 25 overlapping time periods, covering approximately six months, from 3/17/2024 to 09/28/2024.
Five Views Of Metrics
There are five ways to analyze data, focusing on core web vitals, three categories of metrics, and all metrics combined. These are accessible via the left navigation panel on desktop UI (user interface).
- Core Web Vitals
- Loading Performance
- Interactivity
- Visual Stability
- All Metrics Combined
Visualizing Data
Visualizations for Core Web Vitals display a time-based trend graph with color-coding: green for good and pink for poor performance.
The three core web vitals are depicted by:
- Circle = Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Square = Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
- Triangle = Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
The desktop UI displays the trend graph, a summary on the left, and an explanatory text on the right.
Screenshot Of User Interface
The graph provides a visual overview of the direction core web vitals are moving and the trend for each metric.
Trends in Core Web Vitals
- Good and Improving
- Good and Stable
- Poor and Regressing
Loading Performance
By navigating to the Loading Performance section, users see another trend graph with metrics related to site or URL load times.
It offers six visualizations:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- Time to First Byte (TTFB)
- Round Trip Time (RTT)
- Navigation Types
- Form Factors
Screenshot Of Six Visualization Choices
A toggle next to each choice reveals the trend graph for that metric.
The new CrUX Vis tool is a valuable asset for publishers and digital marketers seeking to measure website performance and trends accurately. It’s beneficial for competitor research and website audits.
Go check it out:
CrUX Vis
Featured image by Shutterstock/Krakenimages.com
