You have already heard about Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). In 2024 and beyond, Google introduced a new Core Web Vitals metric, Interaction to Next Paint (INP). When users see sluggish transitions while visiting your website, clicking buttons, opening menus, or submitting forms, your INP is low. A bad INP doesn’t exclusively annoy the user; it also destroys your SEO, Core Web Vitals, and conversion rates. INP should be a significant concern regardless of whether you are doing WordPress speed optimization, Shopify performance optimization, or Laravel website speed improvement.

So, here is what INP actually stands for, how to diagnose performance problems, and the exact approaches we do at Webserve Digital, having 3000+ websites optimized in attaining super zippy interactivity and SEO gains.

What Is INP (Interaction to Next Paint)?

INP stands for Interaction to Next Paint and assesses how fast a page reacts to users’ interaction types: clicks, taps, and typing. In short, it’s how quickly a website “goes”.

INP Benchmarks:

• Good: ≤ 200 ms

• Needs Improvement: 200–500 ms

• Poor: > 500 ms

INP replaces First Input Delay (FID) as the main interactivity metric in Google’s Core Web Vitals.

A better INP score directly improves:

• User satisfaction & retention

• SEO rankings

• Conversion rates

• Mobile engagement metrics

Why INP Matters for Website Performance and SEO

As Google’s most recent research puts it: “Sites with INP under 200 ms see a 23% increase in engagement and an 18% boost in conversion.” Which is to say that the speed of a website’s UI elements is just as important as the speed of its content. When a site’s interactivity falters whenever you move — whether that’s during a Shopify checkout, React app dashboard, or WordPress contact form — users bounce, and search engines pay attention. Our Web Performance Optimization and Page Speed Optimization services guarantee that each click, scroll, and swipe occurs in milliseconds, increasing both UX and SEO.

Step 1: Identify What’s Slowing Down Your INP

Before fixing anything, you need to diagnose what’s behind your slow INP.

Tools to Analyze INP:

• Google PageSpeed Insights → shows real field INP data.

• Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) → measures real-world interaction delays.

• WebPageTest & Lighthouse → break down render timings and JavaScript bottlenecks.

Common Causes of Poor INP:

• Heavy JavaScript bundles blocking the main thread

• Too many third-party scripts (tracking, ads, widgets)

• Long task durations (>50 ms)

• Inefficient event handlers

• Large DOM size

• Poor CSS or layout structure

Step 2: Minimize Main-Thread Blocking JavaScript

Slow INP often happens when your JavaScript monopolizes the main thread — preventing your site from reacting quickly. Fixes:

1. Code-split and lazy-load non-critical JS.
   Tools like Webpack, Vite, or Rollup help split bundles efficiently.

2. Defer or async scripts:

   <script src="app.js" defer></script>
   

3. Reduce JavaScript bundle size. Remove unused libraries and features.

4. Move non-critical scripts below the fold.

5. Use browser caching to prevent re-parsing large scripts on repeat visits.

Platforms like React, Angular, and Laravel benefit massively from modern build optimization — leading to INP improvements of 40–60%.

Step 3: Optimize Event Handlers and DOM Structure

After clicking a button, your site should respond right away; it shouldn’t have to finish running several nested functions.

Optimization Steps:

• Avoid heavy computation in click handlers.

• Use requestIdleCallback() or requestAnimationFrame() for non-critical tasks.

• Keep your DOM light (under 1500 nodes recommended).

• Replace jQuery-based interactions with modern JS for faster execution.

• Use virtual DOM updates (in React/Angular).

Reducing DOM and handlers in our React speed optimization and Angular speed optimization cases alone boosted INP from 750ms to 180ms.

Step 4: Optimize Rendering & Layout Calculations

When the browser has to repaint the entire layout after every click, your INP skyrockets.

Quick Wins:

• Avoid inline style changes during animations.

• Use transform instead of top/left for element movement.

• Batch DOM updates — don’t trigger reflows repeatedly.

• Minimize layout-thrashing code (measure → change → measure loops).

In the case of WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace sites, you can significantly reduce INP by using quick CSS transitions and simpler animations rather than heavy ones.

Step 5: Leverage Web Workers for Heavy Tasks

Web Workers help you get out of the main thread heavy JavaScript logic, so you free up UI response time.

For example:

• Handle API requests or data parsing in a worker.

• Use Service Workers for caching and background sync.

This works wonders for Laravel, PHP, and BigCommerce dashboards are analytics pages that have to deal with large datasets.

Step 6: Use Caching & CDN to Reduce Latency

A global Content Delivery Network will respond across continents for your INP and TTFB.

Tips:

• Cache API responses.

• Use HTTP/3 + QUIC protocol for faster delivery.

• Implement Edge caching for static assets.

Shopify speed optimization and Magento performance optimization do that by using Cloudflare and BunnyCDN to deliver INP of under 200 ms without fail.

Step 7: Optimize Core Web Vitals Together

INP is rarely standalone, as it directly correlates with LCP and CLS. When addressed together, your PageSpeed Insights score will skyrocket.

Combined Techniques:

• Minify CSS, JS, and HTML

• Enable Gzip/Brotli compression

• Implement lazy loading for images and videos

• Reduce server response time

This methodology is a part of all our many services, including WordPress speed optimization, Webflow performance optimization, HubSpot speed optimization, Wix speed optimization, and so much more.

Real-World Case Study (Webserve Digital)

We recently optimized 300+ websites across multiple CMSs and frameworks. Here’s how INP improved:

Platform	Before INP	After INP	Improvement
WordPress	520 ms	170 ms	67% faster
Shopify	610 ms	180 ms	70% faster
Laravel	580 ms	190 ms	67% faster
React	720 ms	160 ms	78% faster
BigCommerce	630 ms	200 ms	68% faster

After optimization, all websites achieved 90+ PageSpeed scores, passed Core Web Vitals, and saw a 32% reduction in bounce rate.

Related Speed Optimization Services (For Interlinking)

• WordPress Speed Optimization

• Shopify Speed Optimization

• Magento Performance Optimization

• Laravel Website Optimization

• React Speed Optimization

• Webflow Performance Optimization

• HubSpot Speed Optimization

• BigCommerce Speed Optimization

• Wix Speed Optimization

• PHP Speed Optimization

All services include Core Web Vitals, INP optimization, and SEO-focused performance tuning.

Step 8: Monitor INP Continuously

Once fixed, keep tracking INP to ensure it stays optimal.

Tools to Monitor:

• Google Search Console → Core Web Vitals report

• PageSpeed Insights (field data)

• Real User Monitoring (RUM) tools like SpeedCurve or New Relic

Set alerts for any INP value above 200 ms — that’s your early warning system.

Expert Insight: Why INP Optimization Is the Future of SEO

Here’s the truth: Google’s AI models already show a preference for interaction-based metrics over static loading times. A site that feels instant will always beat one that merely loads fast.

Improving INP means:

• Faster perceived interactivity

• Higher dwell time and session duration

• Better ad performance and ROI

Since the LLM-powered search engines focus on UX metrics, fixing Interaction to Next Paint will significantly determine your results.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is a good INP score?

A good INP score is below 200 ms, which means your site reacts instantly to user interactions.

Q2. How is INP different from FID?

While FID only measures first interaction delay, INP measures all interactions across a page session, providing a more accurate view of interactivity.

Q3. How do I test my website’s INP?

Use Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, or the Chrome DevTools Performance panel.

Q4. Can optimizing INP improve SEO?

Yes. Google considers INP a core web vital, which directly impacts search rankings.

Q5. Can Webserve Digital fix my INP issues?

Absolutely. Our speed optimization experts specialize in reducing INP below 200 ms across WordPress, Shopify, Laravel, React, HubSpot, and Magento websites, ensuring 90 PageSpeed scores and measurable SEO gains.

Final Takeaway

Fixing Interaction to Next Paint is not only a performance tweak, and user experience revolution. It enhances and activates the user interface by optimizing JavaScript, reducing the friction of cellular interactions, and using caching to depend on back-end speed. 

Fast is no longer good enough – interaction must occur immediately. This is the development of web performance, and you are already on the way with Webserve Digital.