Month: March 2024

Interaction to Next Paint (INP) and Its Role

Every click, tap, or scroll on a website shows how users access your services. But what if your interface lags when customers are trying to filter out the items that they need, or delays when processing to checkout? That delay, when unnoticed, can often lead to an instant drop in users attention and impact the revenue.

That’s exactly why Google has introduced Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as a core web vitals metric. Unlike First Input Delay (FID), which focuses solely on the first interaction, INP measures the longest delays between a user action and the next visual update throughout the website’s lifecycle.

It is a more realistic option that allows you to maintain the website’s responsiveness. And the fact is that since March 20244, INP has officially replaced FIS in Google’s performance criteria.

For online retailers and eCommerce development companies, this shit is not just technical but also strategic. A high INP score means more responsiveness. A poor one, giving the reflection of bad performance.

In this guide, we will explain how Interaction to Next Paint works, what an ideal INP score looks like, how to approach INP optimization, and why it should be a core focus for eCommerce performance strategies moving forward.

What Is Interaction to Next Paint (INP) and Why Does It Matter in eCommerce?

Google’s new metric, INP, measures the time it takes for your E-commerce website to respond visually to a user’s first interaction on the page. This includes many clicks such as add to cart, more options, pay, checkout, etc.

It is the successor to Google’s First Input Delay (FID), which was launched in May 2020. FID mostly tracks delays only after noticeable actions like clicks or taps. Scrolls and zooms don’t affect FID.

Google has redeemed itself by launching the INP score, as it offers a nuanced outlook on web responsiveness. It not only considers the JavaScript execution time but also the browser’s rendering pipeline to make sure your website is fully optimized.

The INP score is based on the duration of your web pages’ “most user interactions.” Depending on how long your website takes to update visually, the score will show ‘Good’, ‘Needs Improvement’, or ‘Poor’.

Why Does INP Matter for Your eCommerce Site?

For e-commerce stores, INP is crucial to make sales, and during the website development, you must keep testing and monitoring. A slow and less responsive web design with a high INP translates to a frustrating user experience.

For example, a desperate consumer is in a hurry and eager to purchase. However, he encounters only delays when clicking on product details or adding items to his cart. This frustration often results in cart abandonment and, ultimately, no purchase. This might be the last time the consumer comes to your site.

Here’s why INP matters even more:

• Conversion Rate: The direct correlation between website speed and conversion rates makes a good INP score necessary. A seamless website experience leads to happier customers who are more likely to complete their purchases and return for more.
• SEO: While it is too early to speculate, Google’s commitment to improving overall user experience only tells us that INP might play a role in search rankings. A well-optimized website with a low INP will definitely go straight up in the rankings.
• Retention: A speedy, Flash-like website creates a positive brand perception. Customers who experience a responsive website will keep returning to you, ultimately fostering customer loyalty.

How the INP Score Is Measured on eCommerce Websites

For businesses, how well their site responds matters, whether it is related to customer clicks, taps, or scrolls, can have a direct impact on sales. These moment interactions are now measured precisely, which is known as the INP score.

The INP score, Interaction to Next Paint, measures how long it takes for the website to respond to the customers. In simpler terms, it checks how quickly your site reacts when someone taps or clicks something important.

This metric is a part of interaction to next paint core web vitals, which is introduced by Google to better capture real-time user experience. In comparison with the older metric, INP looks beyond the first interaction.

It can easily track down the slowest interaction across the different aspects, gives you a clearer view of responsiveness issues, and helps in having high-traffic pages.

There are various tools available from which you can easily measure your INP score.

Tools to Measure INP Score

To measure and monitor the Inp score on your website, you can use:

• PageSpeed Insights – Offers INP database based on real-time user experience from the Chrome User Experience Reports (CrUX).
• Lighthouse – Helpful for lab testing during development and staging.
• Web Vital Chrome Extension – Let you evaluate the INP score in real-time while browsing your site.

What Counts as a Good or Bad INP Score?

Google classifies the INP score into three different categories, which are:

• Good: Less than 200 milliseconds
• Needs Improvements: Between 200 to 500 milliseconds
• Poor: More than 500 milliseconds

If your site falls in the “Need Improvement” or “poor” category, especially on the important aspects like checkout or product customization, then you are more likely to lose your potential customers.

Faster interaction times lead to smoother sessions, reduced drop-offs, and better conversion rates. Monitoring the interaction to the next paint core web vitals helps you to be sure about staying competitive in terms of performance and satisfaction.

What Causes a Poor INP Score on eCommerce Sites?

Having a poor INP score for the website means the response time is not good to maintain the attraction of users for clicks, taps, or keyboard inputs.

These slowdowns are often caused by common technical issues that can be fixed by implementing the right strategy and processes.

Here is what you can follow to improve your interaction to next paint (INP) score:

1. Delayed Response to User Actions

When a user clicks a button like “Add to Cart” or applies a filter, if there occurs a noticeable pause or delay, then it may have an impact on lowering the INP score. This happens often when:

• The user is supposed to wait long before any changes occur on the site.
• JavaScript is blocking the browser from rendering a response.
• Animation or loading states are not handled efficiently.

2. Heavy JavaScript Execution

JavaScript can slow down things when it is not optimized properly. Once the eCommerce site is managed properly, it can give a better impact. This typically includes:

• Product variant update with the change in color or size.
• Real-time inventory management and calculations.
• Dynamic pricing with no hidden cost.

All these actions require significant browsing, and when delayed, they will have an impact on the INP score.

3. Third-Party Scripts Overload

Shopify apps, third-party analytics, and other scripts can have an impact on JavaScript overhead. Many sites rely on the looks like:

• Analytic trackers
• Live chat widgets
• Heatmaps and A/B testing tools

If used individually, these can have an impact. But if users combine these can lead to delayed input handling and drag down your interaction to next paint performance.

4. Slow Server Response on Dynamic Pages

If your server is slow when it comes to managing the process of checkout, search, or managing a user’s profile page. Then it can affect the time it takes to respond, even with the fast code available, the backend can impact your INP score.

Being clear about every step that you follow with your site can reduce the chances of delays when browsing the data, and also maintain the INP score. You can also connect with professional web development services.

INP Optimization for eCommerce Websites: Best Practices

Improving the INP score of your eCommerce website can have a direct impact on how users are satisfied with the website’s appearance. Better designing services can often lead to higher conversion, especially when filtering products or completing the purchase process.

Here are practical INP optimization techniques that can make a measurable difference.

1. Optimize JavaScript for Interactivity

Heavy or unoptimized JavaScript often leads to delays in managing processes. To improve performance, you can:

• Use debouncing to manage repeated purchase actions of users and filtering options.
• Split large script code using code-splitting techniques, so only the necessary JavaScript can be loaded when required.
• Avoid long tasks that can block the running of the pages.

This helps in improving the speed of browsers, improving your INP score, and increasing the chances that the product is purchased regularly.

2. Minimize Main Thread Work

The browser’s main thread handles important tasks like rendering and user input processing, which will lead to a smoother experience. To avoid delays:

• Break long-running tasks into smaller units.
• Use a web worker for background processes when possible.
• Monitor JavaScript execution time with tools like Chrome DevTools.

Keeping the main thread light helps you to improve the responsiveness and keep the INP score in the required minimal range.

3. Optimize for High-Intent Actions

Not all page elements are supposed to be interactive in the right way. You should prioritize the performance and actions that influence conversion. Focus your optimization on:

• Add to cart, buy now, and checkout buttons
• Navigation filter and product options
• User inputs on forms or login updates

Making these key interactions reliably fast (under 200ms) significantly improves user satisfaction and supports better INP optimization results.

4. Reduce Lazy-Loading And Non-Critical Content

Load the essential interactive components first, and then delay loading the elements that do not require immediate actions.

• Product carousels, reviews, and promotions (>80% extra load)
• Third-party widgets (live chat, analytics, embeds)
• Product recommendation

This ensures that critical interactions are given equal priority while keeping the INP score consistent across different devices and connection speeds.

5. Improve TTFB to Support Quicker Page Reactivity

Server response time has an impact on the loading of the page and the reactions. To improve this:

• Use a CDN for global asset delivery.
• Optimize backend queries and database performance
• Cache dynamic pages where possible

A quicker TTFB decreases the time it takes for the browser to begin executing scripts, improving both load time and INP score.

How INP Affects Conversion Rates and UX in Online Stores

When shoppers visit an online store, speed alone does not determine how long they stay on your page or take any positive actions. What matters more is how fast your site responds to their actions, like taps, clicks, and inputs. This is what the interaction to next paint (INP) measures.

How INP Score Impacts Conversion Rates

INP score captures the user’s interaction and the visual responses on the screen. If that feedback takes too long, users may find the site unresponsive and unreliable.

Here is what industry data shows:

• A 100-ms improvement in INP score can result in a 7% increase in conversation rates.
• Poor INP  performance during high-traffic increases the bounce rate up to 10-15%
• For mobile users, Higher INP scores directly give the impact on cart abandonment.

Example for Measurable Impact on Business

Suppose a leading brand has run an A/B test to maintain the focus on INP performance across mobile and desktop. It optimized JavaScript and streamlined the event handlers.

Results after rounding INP from 300ms to 180ms:

• 6.8% increase in overall conversions
• 12% decrease in bounce rate on product pages
• 9% increase in completion of the cart process

This shows that interaction to next paint (INP) improvement can lead to better conversion rate and user experience.

Important UX Elements That Affect INP

Improving the INP score can not always be the fact that you make the changes on the entire site. You should maintain the focus on various aspects, which are:

• Filter Options – Ensure that instant updates are being given to users with sort or applied filters.
• Search Bars –  For simpler searching of the products or services without any noticeable delay.
• Smoother Cart – Real-time quantity updates and reduced friction in the adding to cart option.
• Checkout Forms –  Lag-free input validation and transitions to keep users moving smoothly.

Each of these components affects how responsive your site is and increases the revenue options. But make sure you align with the core Web Vitals.

Aligning with Core Web Vitals

Google has made the interaction to next paint a core web vital, which has officially replaced the first input delta (FID). Meeting the INP score can have a positive impact on both ranking and user satisfaction.

Tools to Monitor and Improve INP for eCommerce

To know about the INP score and the optimization results, there are various tools available from which you can check the performance of your site.

Partnering with a Development Team for INP Optimization

Improving your INP score is not just a one-time fix. It requires maintaining a continuous approach with frontend performance management, especially for an eCommerce website.

Factors like inefficient JavaScript, unoptimized media, files, or bloated third-party scripts can cause the high interaction to next paint (INP) values. Without the support of an expert, these issues can go unnoticed.

A skilled eCommerce developer will allow you to manage INP optimization effectively. This includes:

• Conduct a frontend code audit to identify the issues of delay.
• To lower the initial load time, implement lazy loading for below-the-fold content.
• Optimizing server delivery by configuring content delivery networks for faster response.
• Fixing long input handler or main thread blocking tasks.

By addressing these aspects, a development team will help you to maintain a fast, interactive experience across pages, filters, cart operations, and checkout flows.

All these actions will have a direct influence on your interaction with the next paint core web vitals score.

So, if you are facing the same problem, then your eCommerce development services will allow you to improve your INP score.

We will help your business create faster, more responsive stores that convert better. Let’s connect to review your site’s current metrics and plan performance-focused improvements.

Let’s connect to review your site’s current metrics and plan performance-focused improvements.

Make INP Optimization a Priority for Better Conversions

Improving your INP score is more important than the technical update, as this gives direct influence on how the user experience is maintained on your site. A lower interaction to next paint (INP) time means your page responds faster to taps, clicks, and scrolls. This not only reduces the bounce rates and increases purchase intent among customers.

From real-time monitoring tools to frontend performance audits, each step plays a role in reducing input delays. Whether you are running a high-traffic website, to maintain the store’s scalability to achieve measurable gains, the user satisfaction and conversion rates.