Dorian HermosaGoogle has just made a major announcement concerning its web performance diagnostics tools. The company has decided to integrate all the functionalities of the Web Vitals extension directly into the DevTools Performance panel. This decision marks a significant turning point for developers and digital marketing professionals, who will now have to adapt to this new configuration.
Discontinuing the Web Vitals extension: a strategic choice
As of January 2025, Google has officially withdrawn the Vitals Web extension from its catalog. This decision is not insignificant, and is part of a logic of simplification and efficiency for developers. As a result, DevTools has become an increasingly powerful and comprehensive tool over the years, now offering the same features as the extension, while enriching them with new capabilities.
The main aim of this transition is to centralize web performance diagnostic tools within a single platform. This approach offers several advantages:
- A unified interface for all analysis tools
- A better integration different metrics
- From more frequent updates and more coherent
- A reduced fragmentation development tools
This evolution is perfectly in line with Google's strategic vision, which constantly seeks to improve the developer experience and optimize website performance. As a traffic acquisition specialist, I understand the importance of these changes for optimize technical SEO of our customers.
New DevTools features
With the integration of the capabilities of the Web Vitals extension, DevTools becomes a must-have for web performance diagnostics. Here's an overview of the main features now available in the Performance panel:
| Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
| Real-time data | Local analysis of Core Web Vitals metrics (LCP, CLS, INP) |
| Field data | Comparison of local metrics with CrUX data for URLs and origins |
| Details on LCP | Identification of specific elements affecting scores, such as TTFB and delayed rendering |
| Interaction tracking | Precise analysis of interactions influencing INP scores |
| Layout offset register | Identification of offset groupings contributing to CLS scores |
These new features give developers a more complete and detailed view of their websites' performance. They make it possible to quickly identify weak points and toeffective SEO optimization by improving the technical aspects crucial to SEO.
Impacts and adaptations for web professionals
This transition to DevTools as the central platform for web performance analysis and optimization will have a significant impact on the practices of developers and digital marketing professionals alike. Here are a few key points to consider:
- Skills update : It's vital to familiarize yourself with the DevTools interface and its new features.
- Process review The teams will need to adapt their workflows to effectively integrate the use of DevTools into their optimization routines.
- Training Companies will need to invest in training their teams to ensure a smooth transition.
- Updating tools Professionals using third-party tools based on the Vitals Web extension will need to find DevTools-compatible alternatives.
As the manager of an agency specializing in traffic acquisition, I understand the importance of this evolution for our customers. We need to be at the forefront of these changes if we are to continue to provide the best possible service to our customers. effective optimization strategies and maintain our expertise in a constantly evolving field.
Future prospects for web performance analysis
The integration of Web Vitals into DevTools is just the beginning of a new era in web performance analysis. Google has already announced that further enhancements are planned over the coming months. We can expect to see :
- A deeper integration with other Google tools
- From even more precise metrics to evaluate the user experience
- A artificial intelligence for analysis and recommendations
- A better consideration emerging technologies such as 5G and WebAssembly
These developments promise to provide developers and digital marketing professionals with ever more powerful tools for optimizing website performance. It's essential that we keep abreast of these changes and continue to invest in training and adapting our teams.
As a traffic acquisition specialist, I'm convinced that this centralization of analysis tools in DevTools opens up new opportunities for improve the effectiveness of our optimization strategies. It's an exciting development that forces us to rethink our approaches and constantly innovate our working methods.
