Google engineer Rick Viscomi tweeted that the Core Web Vitals Technology Report was updated to include July 2021 data from CrUX and HTTPArchive. The data demonstrated continuous improvements in Core Web Vitals metrics—FID, LCP, and CLS—by both WordPress and Wix.
There can only be one winner this month.
### CrUX Data
CrUX stands for the Chrome User Experience report, which provides actual user experience data and serves as the source for Core Web Vitals (CWV) information. This data is collected from Chrome browsers whose users have opted to contribute their data, known as Field Data.
### First Input Delay (FID): WordPress vs Wix
First Input Delay (FID) measures the time it takes for a website to become interactive with elements like buttons, links, and dropdowns. WordPress emerged as the clear winner over Wix in terms of FID.
WordPress improved its FID performance by six percentage points between May and July 2021—rising from 89.4% in May to an impressive 95.71% in July. This significant improvement showcases the efforts of the WordPress development team to enhance user page experience.
Wix, which led in May with 93.79% publishers having good FID scores, saw only a marginal improvement to 94.6% in July, thereby losing its lead to WordPress.
### Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the main content to load and become interactive. WordPress saw a minimal increase in LCP performance, going from 27.51% in May to 28.11% in July.
Wix demonstrated a more substantial improvement, rising from 29.16% in May to 33.43% in July. This means 33.43% of Wix publishers offered a faster LCP page experience compared to 28.11% of WordPress publishers, giving Wix a five-percentage-point lead.
### Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): WordPress vs Wix
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures how much page elements move around while loading.
A poor CLS score would be a page where, for example, a visitor clicks a button that shifts around, causing the visitor to accidentally click on an ad.
WordPress saw its CLS scores slightly deteriorate between May and July 2021, dropping from 60.52% to 59.94%. On the other hand, Wix improved its CLS scores by over 7%, with 80.49% of Wix publishers experiencing good CLS scores in July compared to 59.94% for WordPress.
### Overall CWV Performance: WordPress vs Wix
#### WordPress CWV Performance Improvement
WordPress has been steadily improving its CWV performance but at a modest pace of 1% per month, showing a 2% improvement between May and July 2021. These are the percentages of WordPress sites receiving good scores:
– May 2021: 17.1%
– June 2021: 18.9%
– July 2021: 19.1%
#### Wix CWV Performance Improvement
Wix showed impressive improvement between May and July 2021, with a six-percentage-point increase during this period:
– May 2021: 22.6%
– June 2021: 28.3%
– July 2021: 28.5%
For the overall Core Web Vitals score, Wix leads WordPress by nine percentage points, largely due to its significantly higher CLS scores.
### Facts are Clear: Wix Has Higher CWV Scores
In the overall Core Web Vitals score for July 2021, 19.1% of WordPress publishers achieved good CWV scores compared to 28.5% of Wix publishers. This nearly ten-percentage-point better performance may be attributed to Wix’s proprietary platform, which allows for tighter control over web performance.
### Wix is Improving at a Fast Pace
The Wix approach to a closed proprietary system shows a faster rate of improvement, jumping by six percentage points from May to July 2021. WordPress’s improvement, although present, is modest in comparison, rising by two percentage points within the same timeframe.
### Wix Wins… But Not By Much
While the fast-paced improvement in CWV scores indicates advantages in the Wix approach for certain publishers, WordPress is not far behind. The contest for Core Web Vitals excellence continues.
### Citation
Rick Viscomi announced the update via a Tweet, highlighting the ongoing competition between platforms regarding Core Web Vitals performance.
