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

desktop 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 · desktop field datacorewebvitals.io/state-of-cwv

2

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

0ms 63ms 125ms 188ms 250ms

200ms

0 61373 122745

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8–9 >p98

Good (≤200ms) Needs improvement Poor (>500ms) Site count

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

3

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

Connection hints — dns prefetchSitesPassing INPINP

0 122,745 99% 48ms

1 27,801 99% 49ms

2 13,338 99% 49ms

3 6,538 99% 52ms

4 4,231 99% 58ms

5 2,088 100% 56ms

6 1,084 99% 58ms

7 667 99% 57ms

8–9 1,150 99% 60ms

>p98 1,042 99% 61ms

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — dns prefetch 0. p75 1. p99 8. At the low end (0): INP 48ms. At the high end (>p98): INP 61ms. computed

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

4

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

0ms 63ms 125ms 188ms 250ms

200ms

0 64781 129562

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >p98

Good (≤200ms) Needs improvement Poor (>500ms) Site count

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

5

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

Connection hints — preconnectSitesPassing INPINP

0 129,562 99% 47ms

1 19,644 99% 53ms

2 17,172 99% 52ms

3 7,180 99% 58ms

4 3,810 99% 60ms

5 1,484 98% 65ms

6 622 98% 64ms

7 420 99% 63ms

>p98 790 98% 64ms

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — preconnect 0. p75 1. p99 6. Spearman with INP r = +0.31. At the low end (0): INP 47ms. At the high end (>p98): INP 64ms. computed

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

6

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

0ms 63ms 125ms 188ms 250ms

200ms

0 64187 128374

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

Good (≤200ms) Needs improvement Poor (>500ms) Site count

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

7

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

Connection hints — preloadSitesPassing INPINP

0 128,374 99% 47ms

1 14,607 99% 51ms

2 10,628 99% 55ms

3 4,694 99% 58ms

4 6,925 99% 52ms

5 4,215 99% 54ms

6–7 4,466 99% 57ms

8–10 2,745 98% 59ms

11–13 1,318 97% 62ms

14–18 930 99% 62ms

19–25 775 97% 66ms

>p98 1,007 96% 63ms

Good Needs Improvement Poor Faded rows: under 100 sites

Connection hints — preload 0. p75 1. p99 18. Spearman with INP r = +0.31. At the low end (0): INP 47ms. At the high end (>p98): INP 63ms. computed

The State of Web Vitals · Q2 2026 · 189,915 sites · desktop 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. Dns-prefetch hints separates passing sites from failing sites the most. With few dns-prefetch hints, 89% of sites pass the LCP. With many, 74% 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 →