What Is Interaction to Next Paint (INP)? A Performance Metric You Can't Ignore
INP is a Core Web Vitals metric introduced by Google to evaluate the responsiveness of a webpage. Specifically, it tracks the latency between a user input (like a click or key press) and the next visual update — the moment your website 'paints' the change caused by their action. A low INP score means your site feels fast and responsive. A high INP? That’s a signal your visitors are waiting too long after interacting, which could lead to abandonment. INP is replacing First Input Delay (FID) as the responsiveness metric in Core Web Vitals starting March 2024. Why? Because INP delivers a fuller, more accurate picture of real-world responsiveness across all user interactions, not just the first one.
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Use Cases
A fast INP ensures customers can browse, add to cart, and check out seamlessly—leading to higher sales and lower bounce rates.
For interactive apps, like dashboards, minimizing INP improves usability and reduces frustration—key to retention and trial-to-paid conversion.
Mobile users expect instant feedback. An optimized INP keeps your site feeling snappy even under heavy network or CPU load.
SEO and Core Web Vitals Compliance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good INP score?
A good INP is less than or equal to 200 milliseconds. Scores between 200–500 ms need improvement, while anything above 500 ms is considered poor.
How do I measure INP?
Use tools like Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), Lighthouse (v10+), PageSpeed Insights, or Web Vitals JavaScript library to track INP values across real users and lab simulations.
How is INP different from FID?
FID only measures the delay before the browser starts processing the first user input. INP, on the other hand, captures the full interaction lifecycle—including processing and rendering—making it a more comprehensive metric.
What causes high INP?
Yes. INP will become a Core Web Vitals ranking signal in March 2024. High INP scores can potentially hurt your position in Google's search results.
Does INP affect SEO?
Start by minimizing main thread blocking time, break up long tasks, defer non-critical JavaScript, reduce third-party script impact, and use performance profiling tools to find and fix bottlenecks.
Related Terms
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