Martijn Assie

Posted on Jan 20

Why Your Avada Theme Site Fails Core Web Vitals (And How to Fix It)

#webdev #wordpress #performance #seo

You check Google Search Console and there it is...

"Poor URL performance"

Red warnings everywhere. LCP over 4 seconds. CLS through the roof. Your Avada theme site is failing Core Web Vitals hard!!

And now you're panicking because Google uses these metrics as ranking factors...

Don't worry. You CAN pass Core Web Vitals with Avada. But it takes work :)

Let me show you exactly how...

What Are Core Web Vitals Anyway?

Core Web Vitals are three metrics Google uses to measure user experience:

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) - How fast your main content loads

Good: ≤ 2.5 seconds
Needs improvement: 2.5 - 4 seconds
Poor: > 4 seconds

INP (Interaction to Next Paint) - How fast your site responds to clicks

Good: ≤ 200 milliseconds
Needs improvement: 200 - 500 ms
Poor: > 500 ms

CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) - How stable your layout is while loading

Good: ≤ 0.1
Needs improvement: 0.1 - 0.25
Poor: > 0.25

Note: INP replaced FID (First Input Delay) in March 2024. If you're still reading about FID optimization... that info is outdated!!

Why Avada Struggles With Core Web Vitals

Let's be honest here...

Avada is a multipurpose theme. It does EVERYTHING. Sliders, mega menus, animations, parallax effects, 100+ prebuilt websites...

All those features come with JavaScript and CSS. Lots of it!!

The result?

Large file sizes that slow down LCP
Heavy JavaScript that hurts INP
Animations and dynamic content that cause CLS

Out of the box, most Avada sites score around 35-50 on mobile PageSpeed. That's not great...

But here's the thing: You can fix this :)

Step 1: Fix Your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

LCP is usually the biggest problem for Avada sites. Here's how to fix it:

Kill the Above-the-Fold Slider

This is the #1 LCP killer!!

Sliders need JavaScript to render. They wait for the DOM to be ready. They load multiple large images...

Better solution: Use a static hero image with a Container background. Same visual impact without the performance hit.

If you MUST have a slider, use Fusion Slider (lightest option) and hide it on mobile with Conditional Rendering.

Skip Lazy Loading for Your Hero Image

This sounds counterintuitive but stay with me...

Lazy loading delays image loading until needed. Great for images below the fold. TERRIBLE for your hero image!!

In Avada:

Go to your Container or Image Element settings
Find "Skip Lazy Load"
Enable it for your largest above-the-fold image

This tells the browser: "Load this image FIRST" - dramatically improving LCP :)

Generate Critical CSS

Critical CSS loads only the styles needed for above-the-fold content first. The rest loads after.

Avada → Options → Performance → Enable Critical CSS = ON

Then go to Avada → Critical CSS and generate for:

Homepage
All Pages
Important landing pages

Important: Regenerate Critical CSS after every Avada update!! Old CSS causes visual bugs...

Preload Your LCP Image

If you're using Critical CSS and have set your hero image to skip lazy load, Avada will automatically preload it.

But you can also manually add preload hints:

<link rel="preload" as="image" href="/path/to/hero-image.webp">

Add this to Avada → Options → Advanced → Code Fields (Head).

Step 2: Fix Your INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

INP measures how fast your site responds when users click buttons, tap links, or interact with forms.

Heavy JavaScript = slow INP = frustrated users!!

Disable Unused Avada Features

Go to Avada → Options → Advanced → Theme Features and turn OFF:

❌ Elastic Slider (if not using)
❌ Fusion Slider (if not using)
❌ YouTube API Scripts (if no videos)
❌ Vimeo API Scripts (if no videos)
❌ Google Map Scripts (if no maps)
❌ Mega Menu (if not using)

Each disabled feature = less JavaScript = faster interactions!!

Run the Element Scan

Go to Avada → Options → Builder Options → Avada Builder Elements

Click "Run Element Scan" - this scans your entire site and identifies unused elements.

Disable everything you don't use. This reduces both JavaScript AND CSS :)

Avoid Parallax on Mobile

Parallax effects look cool but they're JavaScript-heavy and kill interactivity on mobile.

For any Container using parallax:

Open Element settings
Go to responsive options
Disable parallax for mobile breakpoints

Your mobile INP will thank you!!

Step 3: Fix Your CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

CLS measures how much your layout jumps around while loading. Ever tried to click a button and it moved?? That's CLS...

Always Define Image Dimensions

When images load without defined dimensions, they push content around.

In Avada, always set:

Width and height attributes on images
Aspect ratio on containers with background images

Reserve Space for Dynamic Content

Ads, embeds, and dynamically loaded content are CLS killers.

For YouTube/Vimeo videos, enable Video Facade in Performance settings. This loads a placeholder image first, preventing layout shift.

Avoid Animations Above the Fold

I know animations look cool...

But animations in the viewport cause layout shifts during load. Use them below the fold instead!!

Watch Your Fonts

Web fonts loading can cause text to reflow (FOUT - Flash of Unstyled Text).

In Avada → Options → Performance:

Font Face Rendering = Swap All
Preload Key Fonts = Google Fonts

This tells browsers to show fallback fonts immediately, then swap when custom fonts load.

Step 4: Add a Proper Caching Plugin

Avada's built-in performance features help... But they're not enough for really good Core Web Vitals.

WP Rocket is what I recommend. Here's why:

Page caching reduces server response time (helps LCP)
Remove Unused CSS feature is a game-changer
Delay JavaScript Execution improves INP
Automatic integration with Avada's lazy loading

Critical settings when using WP Rocket with Avada:

In Avada:
- Disable CSS combination (conflicts with WP Rocket RUCSS)
- Use either Avada OR WP Rocket lazy loading (not both!)
- Disable Avada's Critical CSS (let WP Rocket handle it)

In WP Rocket:
- Enable Page Caching
- Enable Remove Unused CSS  
- Enable Delay JavaScript Execution
- Enable Separate Mobile Cache (important for Avada!)

The key rule: Never double up on features. Use Avada's optimization OR WP Rocket's - not both!!

Step 5: Optimize Your Images

Even with all the above optimizations, massive unoptimized images will still tank your scores...

The rules:

Never upload larger than needed - If your container is 1200px wide, don't upload a 4000px image!!
Use WebP format - Avada supports WebP natively. It's 25-35% smaller than JPEG.
Compress before uploading - Use tools like Squoosh or TinyPNG
Use proper sizing - A 2MB hero image will always be slow, no matter what optimizations you apply

Step 6: Get Better Hosting

I see this ALL the time...

Someone blames Avada for slow speeds when they're on $3/month shared hosting :)

Avada is a complex theme. It needs resources!!

Minimum requirements:

PHP 8.0+ (newer = faster)
256MB+ memory limit
Fast SSD storage
Server response under 200ms

Popular hosts that work well with Avada:

SiteGround
Cloudways
WP Engine
Kinsta

If your TTFB (Time to First Byte) is over 600ms... it's your hosting, not Avada.

Real Results You Can Expect

After implementing everything above:

Before optimization:

Mobile: 35-50 PageSpeed
LCP: 4-6 seconds
CLS: 0.15-0.3
INP: 300-500ms

After optimization:

Mobile: 70-90 PageSpeed
LCP: 1.8-2.5 seconds
CLS: < 0.1
INP: < 200ms

Will you hit 100/100 on mobile? Probably not with Avada...

But you CAN pass Core Web Vitals and get into the green zone!!

The Uncomfortable Truth About Avada

Here's something nobody wants to say...

Avada is powerful. It's feature-rich. It can build almost anything.

But those features come at a performance cost. You'll always be fighting against the bloat.

Consider these facts:

Avada license = $69 per site (one-time, but per-site)
Extended support = $80/year per site
Building 5 client sites? That's $345 just in licenses

Some themes are built lighter from the ground up AND offer unlimited site licenses.

For example, Divi gives you:

Unlimited websites for ~$89/year OR $249 lifetime
Dynamic CSS/JS that only loads what you use
Built-in performance optimizations
Similar visual builder experience

If you're building multiple sites or Core Web Vitals are critical for your SEO strategy... it might be worth considering.

Not saying Avada is bad - it's still one of the best-selling themes ever for good reason. Just that it requires more optimization work to hit the same performance targets :)

Quick Checklist

Here's your Core Web Vitals action plan for Avada:

For LCP:

[ ] Remove above-the-fold sliders
[ ] Skip lazy load on hero image
[ ] Generate Critical CSS
[ ] Use WebP images
[ ] Optimize server response time

For INP:

[ ] Disable unused theme features
[ ] Run Element Scan and disable unused elements
[ ] Disable parallax on mobile
[ ] Use WP Rocket's Delay JavaScript

For CLS:

[ ] Define all image dimensions
[ ] Enable Video Facade for embeds
[ ] Avoid above-the-fold animations
[ ] Configure font loading properly

General:

[ ] Install WP Rocket
[ ] Upgrade hosting if needed
[ ] Clear ALL caches after changes
[ ] Test with PageSpeed Insights AND Search Console

Wrapping Up

Passing Core Web Vitals with the Avada theme is absolutely possible...

It just takes more work than with lighter themes.

Focus on these three metrics:

LCP - Kill sliders, optimize images, use Critical CSS
INP - Reduce JavaScript by disabling unused features
CLS - Reserve space for images, avoid animations above the fold

Add WP Rocket, get decent hosting, and your Avada site will fly... Or at least pass Core Web Vitals ;)

What Core Web Vitals scores are you getting on your Avada site? Drop them in the comments - I'd love to help troubleshoot!!

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