Positions Three theses on Core Web Vitals on enterprise platforms, backed by my own benchmark data
The topic pages on this website describe how things work. This section describes what I think of them. The three articles argue for theses that depart from common habits in projects: how Core Web Vitals are organized, measured and signed off.
The positions rest on two foundations. The first is the Core Web Vitals Benchmark, which I compile quarterly from Google's real-user data for websites on Adobe Experience Manager and Magnolia CMS in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with a disclosed methodology. The second is more than ten years of my work on the load time of large websites. Where an article relies on experience, it says so; figures come from the benchmark or from linked sources.
Three positions on operating, measuring and signing off Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are operations. One-off optimizations fade, because every release, every campaign and every new tag changes the values, and Google always assesses the last 28 days. The values can only be held with a performance budget, a sign-off per release and monitoring in the field.
No Lighthouse in requirements. The Lighthouse score weights different metrics than Google's assessment and sees neither consent nor interaction. Requirements and sign-off therefore need field data at the 75th percentile per page type.
Sign-off separate from implementation. Whoever builds a platform should not sign off its performance, just as nobody in quality assurance checks their own work. An independent sign-off against target values set in advance is not competition for the agency; it gives the agency clear criteria.
Positions and topic pages: theses here, guidance there
The articles argue for a stance; the topic pages describe the implementation. How the positions turn into a process is described in Website Performance Optimization, and how target values are written as tickets in the Core Web Vitals acceptance criteria. Wording for requirements is provided in the templates AEM performance requirements and Magnolia performance requirements.
Disagreement is welcome. If you see a thesis differently and have data to support it, you can reach me via my LinkedIn profile.
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Frequently asked questions about the positions
What are the positions based on?
On two foundations: the Core Web Vitals Benchmark with Google's real-user data for AEM and Magnolia websites in the DACH region, and more than ten years of work on the load time of large websites. Every figure in the articles names its source, and statements based on experience are marked as such.
May agencies quote from the positions?
Yes. Quotations with attribution and a link are explicitly welcome, including in proposals and client presentations. The benchmark data is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and can be reused freely with attribution.
Are the figures in the articles updated?
Yes. The figures are taken from the benchmark, which is published quarterly, and are updated with every edition. If an assessment changes, the article is revised.