P1Issue #64

Page spped : Avoid large layout shifts

❓ What does it mean?

❓ What does it mean? A layout shift happens when visible elements on a page move unexpectedly while the page is loading. Example: text jumps down when an image loads late, or a button shifts position when an ad is inserted. Google measures this using the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) metric, which is part of Core Web Vitals.

🚨 Why is it important for SEO?

🚨 Why is this a problem for SEO? Bad User Experience → Users get frustrated if buttons or links move suddenly (e.g., clicking wrong element). Negative SEO Signal → High CLS hurts Core Web Vitals, which directly affect Google rankings. Lower Engagement → Users abandon the page when they cannot read or interact smoothly.

✅ How to Fix It

✅ Best Practices to Fix Always set width and height (or aspect ratio) for images, videos, and iframes. Reserve space for ads, embeds, and dynamic content so they don’t push content around. Avoid inserting new DOM elements above existing content after load. Use CSS min-height or aspect-ratio for placeholders. Load fonts properly (use font-display: swap to prevent invisible text flash).

❌ Bad Example

📌 Example ❌ Bad (causes layout shift): <p>Welcome to our shop!</p> <img src="banner.jpg" alt="Shop Banner"> <p>Browse our latest collection.</p> 👉 The browser doesn’t know the image size until it loads, so text below jumps when the banner appears.

✅ Good Example

✅ Good (avoids layout shift): <p>Welcome to our shop!</p> <img src="banner.jpg" width="1200" height="400" alt="Shop Banner"> <p>Browse our latest collection.</p> 👉 By defining width & height, the browser reserves space before the image loads, preventing layout jumps. ✅ Better with CSS aspect-ratio: <img src="banner.jpg" style="aspect-ratio: 3/1; width: 100%;" alt="Shop Banner"> 👉 The aspect-ratio property ensures space is reserved even on responsive layouts.

⚡ Result

⚡ SEO & UX Impact of Fixing Lower CLS score → Better Core Web Vitals performance. Improved Google ranking since Core Web Vitals are a ranking factor. Better user experience → reduces frustration & accidental clicks. Higher engagement → users read & interact smoothly.