How Quality Hosting Can Improve Core Web Vitals & Search Rankings

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Technical SEO is as important as on-page metrics, like keywords, metadata, and others. Core Web Vitals optimization is a big part of SEO, but it’s impossible without good hosting.

In this article, we will explain Core Web Vitals, how hosting affects them, how to find good hosting, and how to optimize your website’s performance to reach the top of SERPs.

Understanding Core Web Vitals

Many believe that simply following the E-E-A-T content guidelines and remembering that Google is absolutely against paid links is enough for high search rankings. However, this is only one aspect of SEO. Every optimizer knows that web performance is a key factor in rankings. That’s why, if you are serious about SEO, you have to understand what Core Web Vitals are all about.

Google uses three Core Web Vitals:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). This metric refers to the time it takes for the largest element of the website to load. This is usually a big picture, a video, or text in a large-block element.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP). This measures how long it takes the website to react to any click, tap, or keyboard input. The final number is the longest time it takes for the website to react during the session, excluding any outliers.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). This is a total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift during the session. The score starts with zero and goes up to any positive number, with zero meaning no shifting. This is vital because unexpected shifting degrades the user experience.

All these metrics should be kept as low as possible to ensure the best UX. Google assigns three degrees for each vital: Good, Need improvement, and Poor. Your website is ranked based on the lowest vital. Desktop and mobile rankings are separate.

To make it clearer, here are two examples:

• If your LCP and INP are Good, but CLS is Need improvement, the whole website will still be ranked as Need improvement.
• If all vitals on desktop are Good, but some Need improvement on mobile, then your desktop score will be Good, but your mobile score will be Need improvement.

Here’s a handy table with the benchmarks Google uses to judge your website.

Industry websites can use Google PageSpeed Insights to assess their Core Web Vitals  or use other content marketing and SEO tools.

These metrics are directly related to how users perceive your websites, and that impacts its bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rate. Knowing the technical metrics allows you to focus on fixing the pressing issues to improve your website’s commercial performance.

The Role of Web Hosting for Core Web Vitals

There are many factors that improve Core Web Vitals, and good hosting is among them. Let’s see how high-quality hosting can influence your metrics exactly.

• Server response time and LCP. The speed at which your server responds to requests directly affects your Largest Contentful Paint score. High-quality hosting with abundant resources can significantly decrease the time it takes for the largest elements to load.
• Page load speed and INP. The hosting you use greatly influences page load speed, which directly impacts INP. Having a well-configured hosting can help you improve this metric.
• Stability and CLS. Shifting is typically associated with front-end issues, but back-end problems can be as damaging. Consistent and reliable hosting can prevent unexpected shifts in layout due to server-side rendering delays or resource-loading issues.

These metrics are key for the smooth operation of your website and high search engine rankings. But how do you find a hosting that fits the bill?

Choosing the Right Hosting Type

Picking a good hosting service is a hassle that requires a lot of trial and error. However, you can narrow your list of potential hostings down by choosing the right hosting type for your website. Let’s look at the pros and cons of different hosting types.

Shared Hosting

When multiple websites share resources on a single server, it’s called shared hosting. Think of it as renting an apartment with your mates at university. All the spaces are shared, so if someone takes up too much, everyone else suffers.

Shared hosting is generally only good for small websites with low traffic, personal blogs, or startups on a budget.

LCP will generally be slower due to limited resources, as can INP during high-traffic periods for other websites on the server. CLS isn’t hit directly, but can also suffer from slower overall performance.

Dedicated Hosting

On the other end of the spectrum is dedicated hosting. It entails using the entire physical server for a single website or app. It’s the most expensive option on the list, and for a good reason, as it offers unparalleled speed and reliability.

Continuing the housing metaphor, this is like having your own house. You can pretty much do anything you want, but it costs a pretty penny.

This option is perfect for high-traffic websites, large e-commerce stores, or applications requiring maximum performance and control. All Core Web Vitals will be at their peak with dedicated hosting, as all resources are funneled to a single website.

VPS Hosting

A middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting is VPS (virtual private server) hosting. In essence, you still have multiple websites and apps on one physical server, but its resources are pre-allocated. Therefore, you always know your capacity, regardless of what’s going on with other websites on the server.

Think of it like living in an apartment complex. You can do whatever you want within your apartment, but it’s still a shared space.

It’s the perfect option for medium-side websites that want just a touch more control over their resources. If you get enough resources in your hosting deal, there should be no issues with any of the Core Web Vitals.

Cloud Hosting

A relatively new player in the field is cloud hosting. It uses a network of interconnected virtual and physical cloud servers to host websites. It is almost infinitely scalable, as stable as dedicated hosting, and offers a pay-as-you-go model for payment flexibility.

This is the perfect choice for websites with varying traffic levels or those that value flexibility. While it isn’t more inherently expensive than any other option on the list, costs can escalate quickly without proper management.

On the plus side, your vitals will be good with cloud hosting. Scalable resources will guarantee consistent LCP, even during traffic spikes. Load balancing across multiple servers can improve INP. High availability and redundancy in the cloud infrastructure positively contribute to a stable CLS.

Managed WordPress Hosting

Finally, there is a special option for WordPress websites — managed WordPress hosting. Unlike other hosting types, it can be realized through various architectures. This is more of a service type if anything.

However, it is specifically optimized for WordPress websites, guaranteeing the best performance. It often includes built-in caching and CDN integration, improving LCP. WordPress-specific optimizations can also lead to better INP. Managed updates and optimizations also contribute to a more stable CLS.

The downside is that it is generally a bit more expensive than general hosting. However, it also gives you more bang for your buck with specific WordPress optimizations. Additionally, it requires way less understanding of the technical aspects of the hosting process.

If you ever feel like you’ve made the wrong choice, you can always change your website hosting without hurting your SEO.

Conclusion

Quality hosting is a fundamental aspect of achieving and maintaining good Core Web Vitals scores. By choosing the right hosting solution and implementing best practices, you can significantly improve your website’s performance, user experience, and, ultimately, your search rankings.

Remember that optimizing for Core Web Vitals is an ongoing process, requiring regular monitoring and adjustments to ensure your website continues to meet Google’s performance standards.