Connection hints on the typical site: 0 dns-prefetch, 0 preconnect, 0 preload

1

At a glance the headline numbers for Connection hints

dns-prefetch, preconnect and preload links the document declares.

0

dns-prefetch hints

on the typical page

0

preconnect hints

on the typical page

0

preloads

on the typical page

180,684

sites measured

all-device field data

Connection hints on the typical site: 0 dns-prefetch, 0 preconnect, 0 preload.

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

2

Distribution & median CLS site count and median CLS at each level of connection hints — dns prefetch

0.00 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.15

0.1

0 61373 122745

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8–9 >p98

Good (≤0.1) Needs improvement Poor (>0.25) Site count

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

3

Passing CLS by connection hints — dns prefetch which level passes the CLS most often

Connection hints — dns prefetchSitesPassing CLSCLS

0 122,745 88% 0.00

1 27,801 89% 0.00

2 13,338 87% 0.01

3 6,538 85% 0.01

4 4,231 88% 0.01

5 2,088 88% 0.01

6 1,084 85% 0.01

7 667 86% 0.01

8–9 1,150 87% 0.01

>p98 1,042 80% 0.02

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — dns prefetch 0. p75 1. p99 8. At the low end (0): CLS 0.00. At the high end (>p98): CLS 0.02. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

4

Distribution & median CLS site count and median CLS at each level of connection hints — preconnect

0.00 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.15

0.1

0 64781 129562

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >p98

Good (≤0.1) Needs improvement Poor (>0.25) Site count

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

5

Passing CLS by connection hints — preconnect which level passes the CLS most often

Connection hints — preconnectSitesPassing CLSCLS

0 129,562 88% 0.00

1 19,644 85% 0.01

2 17,172 89% 0.00

3 7,180 89% 0.01

4 3,810 85% 0.01

5 1,484 74% 0.02

6 622 80% 0.02

7 420 85% 0.02

>p98 790 77% 0.04

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — preconnect 0. p75 1. p99 6. Spearman with CLS r = +0.33. At the low end (0): CLS 0.00. At the high end (>p98): CLS 0.04. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

6

Distribution & median CLS site count and median CLS at each level of connection hints — preload

0.00 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.15

0.1

0 64187 128374

0 1 2 3 4 5 6–7 8–10 11–13 14–18 19–25 >p98

Good (≤0.1) Needs improvement Poor (>0.25) Site count

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

7

Passing CLS by connection hints — preload which level passes the CLS most often

Connection hints — preloadSitesPassing CLSCLS

0 128,374 88% 0.00

1 14,607 87% 0.00

2 10,628 89% 0.00

3 4,694 86% 0.01

4 6,925 92% 0.00

5 4,215 91% 0.00

6–7 4,466 88% 0.01

8–10 2,745 81% 0.01

11–13 1,318 84% 0.01

14–18 930 82% 0.02

19–25 775 80% 0.01

>p98 1,007 75% 0.03

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — preload 0. p75 1. p99 18. At the low end (0): CLS 0.00. At the high end (>p98): CLS 0.03. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · all devices field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

8

Why this matters for the Core Web Vitals, and where to start fixing it

Hints move network work earlier. dns-prefetch resolves a domain name before it is needed. preconnect goes further and completes the TCP and TLS setup too. preload fetches one specific file that the scanner would otherwise find late, like a background hero image or a critical font.

Hints are easy to overuse. Every preconnect spends sockets and CPU on a connection you might never use. A preload that is not critical steals bandwidth from something that is. A handful of deliberate hints beats a wall of them.

How does this affect the Core Web Vitals?

Connection hints correlate with the LCP. Preloads separates passing sites from failing sites the most. With few preloads, 82% of sites pass the LCP. With many, 64% do. The decline is gradual. There is no point where sites suddenly start failing.

Go fix it Guide to resource prioritization → Preload the LCP image → When preloading stylesheets does not make sense → 103 Early Hints →