Challenge:
The client’s website experienced a sudden spike in Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) after replacing a static banner with a video element. The LCP value jumped to 5.47s, causing the site to fail Core Web Vitals (CWV) and impacting user experience and SEO performance.

Objective:
Improve LCP and ensure the website passes Google’s Core Web Vitals thresholds without compromising design aesthetics.

Actions Taken:

✅ Implemented an optimized poster image in WEBP format.

✅ Preloaded the poster with high fetch priority to ensure early loading.

✅ Deferred video playback so it wouldn’t block LCP calculation.

Results:

📉 LCP reduced from 5.47s to 2.37s (well within Google’s threshold).

✅ Website successfully passed Core Web Vitals.

⚡ Enhanced page speed, user experience, and SEO performance.

Key Takeaway:
Video banners can enhance visual appeal, but if not optimized, they severely hurt performance. Poster preloading, modern format usage, and loading strategy adjustments are critical to maintaining both aesthetics and performance.