1
At a glance the headline numbers for Images per page
How many images the page renders and their over-the-wire weight.
21
image count
on the typical page
1.1 MB
image weight
on the typical page
2.8 MB
1 in 4 pages exceed this
image weight
189,915
sites measured
desktop field data
The typical page serves 21 images weighing 1.1 MB.
The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
2
Distribution & median CLS site count and median CLS at each level of images per page — n
0.00
0.04
0.08
0.11
0.15
0
20512
41024
0
1–2
3
4
5–7
8–12
13–19
20–32
33–52
53–85
86–139
>p98
Good (≤0.1)
Needs improvement
Poor (>0.25)
Site count
The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
3
Passing CLS by images per page — n which level passes the CLS most often
Images per page — nSitesPassing CLSCLS
0
8,326
82%
0.01
1–2
8,792
80%
0.01
3
7,196
78%
0.02
4
3,604
80%
0.02
5–7
11,587
81%
0.02
8–12
21,249
80%
0.02
13–19
30,042
80%
0.02
20–32
41,024
79%
0.03
33–52
30,382
76%
0.03
53–85
16,603
76%
0.04
86–139
7,554
74%
0.04
>p98
3,556
73%
0.05
Good
Needs Improvement
Poor
Faded rows: under 100 sites
Images per page — n 21. p75 38. p99 177. At the low end (0): CLS 0.01. At the high end (>p98): CLS 0.05. computed
The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
4
Distribution & median CLS site count and median CLS at each level of images per page — size
0.00
0.04
0.08
0.11
0.15
0
28083
56165
0
0.1–0.337
0.337–1.13
1.13–3.82
3.82–12.9
12.9–43.4
43.4–146
146–492
492–1656
1656–5579
5579–18792
>p98
Good (≤0.1)
Needs improvement
Poor (>0.25)
Site count
The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
5
Passing CLS by images per page — size which level passes the CLS most often
Images per page — sizeSitesPassing CLSCLS
0
8,782
81%
0.01
0.1–0.337
211
80%
0.02
0.337–1.13
314
78%
0.03
1.13–3.82
1,006
78%
0.02
3.82–12.9
2,715
77%
0.02
12.9–43.4
4,692
81%
0.02
43.4–146
10,282
81%
0.02
146–492
29,495
81%
0.02
492–1656
56,165
78%
0.03
1656–5579
49,479
76%
0.03
5579–18792
18,553
74%
0.04
>p98
3,529
74%
0.04
Good
Needs Improvement
Poor
Faded rows: under 100 sites
Images per page — size 1.1 MB. p75 2.8 MB. p99 26.3 MB. At the low end (0 KB): CLS 0.01. At the high end (>p98): CLS 0.04. computed
The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv
6
Why this matters for the Core Web Vitals, and where to start fixing it
Image count and image weight are the bulk of most pages. Those bytes compete with the LCP image for bandwidth: the browser downloads gallery thumbnails while the hero is still streaming. More images also means more decode work, and decoding is not free on a cheap phone.
Fewer, smaller, later. Cut the decorative ones, right-size the rest, lazy-load below the fold. The format and loading splits in the explorer show where to start.
How do images affect the Core Web Vitals?
Passing LCP barely moves across the range: 83% at one end, 81% at the other. This signal does not separate passing sites from failing ones.
Chrome field data from 189,915 sites, representing millions of real page loads.
How we measured.