What Is First Contentful Paint (FCP)?
First Contentful Paint (FCP) is a key performance metric that measures the time it takes for the first piece of meaningful content (such as text, images, or SVG elements) to appear on a web page after a user begins loading it. It is an essential part of Google’s Core Web Vitals and directly impacts user experience by influencing perceptions of page speed and usability.
The Importance Of First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- User Experience: Faster FCP reduces user frustration and improves retention.
- SEO Significance: FCP is a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm.
Examples Of First Contentful Paint (FCP)
A user visits a blog, and the page title and featured image appear first.
Best Practices For First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- Optimize and preload critical resources like CSS and JavaScript.
- Reduce server response times.
- Use lazy loading for non-critical assets.
Key Aspects Of First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- Critical Rendering Path: Optimize the sequence of loading visible content.
- Font Display: Use font-display properties to ensure text is readable during load.
- Asynchronous Loading: Minimize blocking resources.
- Browser Caching: Store frequently accessed data to speed up reloads.
Challenges For First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- Slow network connections and poorly optimized assets.
- Heavy reliance on large, third-party scripts.
Relevant Metrics
- FCP time in Core Web Vitals reports.
- User bounce rates correlated with FCP delays.
- Time to Interactive (TTI) and Total Blocking Time (TBT).
Learn more: How To Evaluate Your Core Web Vitals (CWV) Health
