5 Key Strategies to Minimize Cumulative Layout Shift

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a critical Core Web Vital metric that measures unexpected layout shifts in web pages, impacting user experience (UX) by causing content to move unexpectedly during page loads. These shifts can lead to user frustration, such as clicking the wrong button or experiencing disrupted reading due to delayed content loading, especially from ads or media without specified size attributes. To improve CLS and thus the overall UX, web developers are encouraged to specify size attributes for media, avoid placing new content above existing content unless user interaction calls for it, utilize transitions and animations to provide context for page changes, and anticipate how ads and web fonts will affect page layout. Tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights and Chrome's DevTools help measure and diagnose CLS, enabling developers to implement strategies to minimize layout shifts and enhance website performance.