First Contentful Paint: how to improve

Hosta Blanca

2 years ago

First Contentful Paint (FCP) is an essential metric in web performance that measures the time taken for the first piece of content to appear on a web page. It is crucial because it determines the user’s perception of the website’s loading speed. A slow FCP can significantly affect the user experience, leading to frustration and abandonment of the website.

In this article, we will explore some effective ways to improve First Contentful Paint, which will help in enhancing the overall user experience of your website oh Hosta Blanca VPS server or Shared hosting.

First Contentful Paint: optimize Images

Images are a significant contributor to web page size, which can affect the FCP. Hence, optimizing images can help in reducing the loading time of the web page. You can use image compression tools to reduce the image file size without compromising the quality. Also, consider using next-generation image formats like WebP, JPEG XR, and JPEG 2000, which are known to deliver smaller file sizes and faster loading times.

Minimize HTTP Requests to improve First Contentful Paint

HTTP requests are one of the major factors that can slow down the FCP. Each HTTP request made by the browser to the server adds an overhead, which can increase the loading time of the web page. Hence, it is crucial to minimize the number of HTTP requests. You can achieve this by reducing the number of resources required by the web page, combining multiple resources into a single file, and leveraging browser caching.

Reduce Server Response Time

Server response time is the time taken by the server to respond to a user’s request. A high server response time can significantly affect the FCP. To reduce server response time, you can optimize your server’s configuration, database queries, and use a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute content.

Use Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is a technique that allows the web page to load only the visible content initially and loads the rest of the content as the user scrolls down. This technique can significantly improve the FCP, as the browser doesn’t have to load all the content at once. You can use lazy loading for images, videos, and other media files.

Minimize Render-Blocking Resources

Render-blocking resources are resources that prevent the web page from rendering until they are loaded. Examples of render-blocking resources include CSS and JavaScript files. You can minimize the impact of render-blocking resources by optimizing their delivery, inlining critical CSS, and deferring non-critical JavaScript.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers that are geographically distributed to deliver content faster. By using a CDN, you can reduce the distance between the user and the server, which can improve the FCP. CDNs can also cache the web page’s static resources, reducing the number of HTTP requests and server load.

First Contentful Paint: optimize Web Fonts

Web fonts can significantly affect the FCP, especially if they are large in size or hosted on a slow server. To optimize web fonts, consider using system fonts or using fewer font weights and styles. You can also host web fonts on a faster server or use a font loading API like Google Fonts API.

Conclusion:

Improving the First Contentful Paint (FCP) is crucial to enhance the overall user experience of your website. By optimizing images, minimizing HTTP requests, reducing server response time, using lazy loading, minimizing render-blocking resources, using a CDN, and optimizing web fonts, you can significantly improve the FCP. Remember that every small improvement can have a significant impact on the user’s perception of your website’s loading speed.