The Chrome development team has introduced a new feature to its developer toolkit that addresses layout shifts that affect web performance.
The Layout Shift Culprits feature, currently available in Canary builds, enhances the debugging capabilities for Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
It marks a notable improvement in this area in recent years.
The new debugging interface operates within Chrome’s Insights Panel, providing developers with:
Web performance consultant Sander van Surksum, who initially shared details about the feature, noted that developers can hover over identified problem areas to see layout shifts in action.
This visualization makes it easier to pinpoint exact issues affecting page stability.
This development is significant as CLS is a key metric in Google’s Core Web Vitals.
CLS measures visual stability, impacting:
Barry Pollard, Google Chrome’s Web Performance Developer Advocate, highlighted this feature as part of a series of recent DevTools improvements.
This tool could become an essential resource for performance optimization workflows.
Developers can use the new feature to:
Currently available in Chrome Canary, this feature could impact how developers optimize performance once it reaches stable versions of Chrome.
It offers immediate visual feedback on layout shifts, making performance debugging more efficient.
Developers can download Chrome Canary separately from the stable Chrome browser to test both versions simultaneously.
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