Understanding Old and New Google Metrics for Web Responsiveness - Newsweek

Metrics and data analysis are endlessly fascinating.

Stop the presses! There's been a new development in how Google assesses web responsiveness. Okay, these changes happen all the time, and while changes are typically noteworthy, it is a constantly evolving set of criteria and metrics. On May 12, Google Chrome Developers Annie Sullivan and Michal Mocny put out a video walking viewers through their reasoning for changing the way Google looks at web responsiveness and what those changes are.

First, a note on terminology. A number of people who commented on the YouTube video were irritated because they expected the topic to be how pages adapt to different size requirements for different devices. The wording can be a little confusing. The term "responsive web design" does indeed refer to building sites that display properly on a range of screens and screen sizes. What Sullivan and Mocny mean when they talk about web responsiveness is the speed with which a page responds to user input.

In the video, starting at the 45-second mark, Michal Mocny gives a brilliant illustration of responsiveness in real life, specifically from the way in which he interacts with his new car's cruise control feature, compared with the way his old car responded to his interaction. The video illustrates why responsiveness is so important for user experience (UX).

You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute! There's already a responsiveness metric. Why does this matter?" You're right, Google's Core Web...

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