The European AI Act came into effect on August 1, 2024. Google has abandoned its timeline for phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome. The Core Web Vitals have integrated Interaction to Next Paint. These three events alone are reshaping how we design, measure, and monetize websites.
Interaction to Next Paint and web responsiveness measurement
The replacement of First Input Delay with Interaction to Next Paint (INP) in the Core Web Vitals has changed Google’s evaluation grid. FID only measured the delay before the first interaction. INP captures the latency of all interactions during the session.
In practice, a site could achieve a good FID score while experiencing severe blocking on subsequent clicks, especially on pages with high JavaScript density. With INP, poorly optimized third-party scripts (chat widgets, ad tags, consent modules) become visible degradation factors in the Search Console.
We observe that e-commerce sites with heavy product carousels or client-side dynamic filters are the most affected. The solution involves breaking down long tasks into micro-tasks via requestIdleCallback or scheduler.yield, and deferring the loading of non-critical components. Developers who relied solely on the Lighthouse score in lab mode must now cross-reference with field data (CrUX) to identify actual bottlenecks.
The information from Le Petit Webmaster allows tracking these technical developments as Google’s algorithm updates unfold.
European AI Act: what changes for websites in 2024
The European regulation on artificial intelligence is not just a text intended for research laboratories. It directly concerns web services that integrate generative models, chatbots, or automated recommendation systems.
Transparency obligations apply as soon as content is generated by AI and presented to a user. A customer service chatbot must indicate its non-human nature. An automated scoring or profiling system must document its logic.
The first prohibitions regarding certain AI practices (subliminal manipulation, social scoring) have been in effect since February 2025, but the adoption of the text in 2024 has already prompted companies to audit their integrations. Web development agencies deploying AI tools on client sites must now integrate a layer of documentation and governance into their deliverables.
Points of caution for technical teams
- Identify all components using a generative AI model on the site (chatbot, product sheet generation, content personalization) and document them in an internal register.
- Ensure that each AI interaction includes an explicit mention of its automated nature, including in conversational flows.
- Anticipate the risk categorization of the deployed system (minimal, limited, high risk) as compliance obligations vary significantly according to this classification.
Third-party cookies and server-side tracking: the shift of 2024
Google abandoned the complete removal of third-party cookies in Chrome in July 2024. This decision does not mean a step back. Safari and Firefox already impose strict restrictions on cross-site tracking, and the underlying trend remains a shift towards server-side measurement.
Server-side tracking involves sending browsing data from the site’s server to analytics and advertising platforms, rather than from the user’s browser. This mechanism bypasses ad blockers and browser restrictions while providing better control over the transmitted data.
We recommend not interpreting the retention of third-party cookies in Chrome as a reprieve. Advertisers who have not yet migrated to a first-party data strategy are accumulating technical debt. Explicit consent management, coupled with a proprietary data collection plan (customer accounts, segmented newsletters, loyalty programs), remains the most resilient trajectory.
Web accessibility and the European EAA directive in 2025
The European Accessibility Act comes into effect in June 2025. E-commerce sites, online banking services, and transport platforms are directly affected. Technical preparation has largely begun in 2024.
Specifically, interfaces must meet at least WCAG 2.1 level AA criteria. This includes color contrast, keyboard navigation, text alternatives for images, and the semantic structure of HTML.
Web design and development: convergence of accessibility and performance
Accessibility aligns with performance on a technical point often underestimated: a clean, semantically structured DOM improves both the Lighthouse Accessibility score and rendering time. Custom components (dropdown menus, modals, tabs) coded without ARIA attributes or keyboard focus management pose a dual problem of legal compliance and user experience.
Web development teams treating accessibility as a cosmetic layer added at the end of a project expose themselves to costly rework. The most effective approach integrates automated accessibility testing (axe-core, pa11y) into the CI/CD pipeline from the development phase.
Digital marketing and corporate communication on the internet now pass through these technical filters. A high-performing site in 2024 is no longer just about good web design or careful SEO. It is a technical foundation that anticipates regulation, accurately measures its interactions, and controls its data chain end-to-end.
