First Contentful Paint (FCP) is a critical web performance metric that plays a significant role in both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO). It measures the time it takes for a browser to render the first piece of content from the Document Object Model (DOM) after a user navigates to your page. This content could be text, images, or other visible elements. Improving FCP can enhance user experience, engagement, and SEO performance, as search engines like Google use it as a ranking factor.
In this article, we will understand what FCP is, why it matters for website performance and SEO, and actionable steps to improve it.
Also read: Understanding Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
What is First Contentful Paint (FCP)?
FCP is part of Google’s Core Web Vitals, which are essential metrics used to assess user experience on a website. It specifically measures:
- The time from when a user clicks a link or enters a URL until the first piece of content appears on the screen.
- Content could include text, images, or any other HTML element.
Unlike Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which focuses on the largest visible content, FCP emphasizes the initial feedback to reassure users that the page is loading.
How Does FCP Affect Website Performance?
FCP directly influences perceived load speed. A faster FCP ensures users feel that the website is responsive and engaging. Delayed FCP can frustrate users, leading to higher bounce rates.
It is a known truth that Google prioritizes fast-loading websites in its ranking algorithm. So, a poor FCP score can negatively impact your website’s Core Web Vitals assessment, resulting in reduced visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Studies have also shown a strong correlation between fast-loading pages and higher conversion rates. Slow FCP times can deter users from staying on your website or completing actions like purchases or form submissions. If you have an e-commerce store with a high FCP, you are losing customers.
Importance of FCP in SEO
Google considers user experience a ranking factor. This is the reason FCP is crucial for SEO success. FCP is a key metric Google uses to measure page experience. If FCP is high, it means your website offers a poor user experience. Now that most users access the web on their mobile devices, you should optimize FCP to ensure your site performs well on mobile devices.
How to Measure FCP
There are several ways to measure FCP. Here are some tools that you can use to measure FCP or a web page.
- Google PageSpeed Insights: This is Google’s official tool that provides PageSpeed insights. It provides FCP along with other notable web vital scores.
- WebPageTest: This is another notable website that provides detailed load performance insights, including FCP.
- GTmetrix: GTmetrix is also a gear tool to measure the FCP time of a web page.
- Lighthouse: is a built-in tool in Chrome DevTools. It Audits FCP and other performance metrics.
- Search Console Core Web Vitals Report: Google Search Console also provides a detailed report of FCP and other metrics over time.
FCP Score Benchmarks:
If you are measuring the FCP of your website, you need to know what’s a good FCP score. Here’s the benchmark of the FCP score.
- Fast: Less than 1.8 seconds
- Needs Improvement: 1.8 to 3 seconds
- Poor: More than 3 seconds
How to Improve First Contentful Paint
1. Optimize Critical Rendering Path
The critical rendering path is the sequence of steps the browser takes to render content. To improve this, minimize the complexity of your HTML structure. It is also recommended to embed CSS needed for above-the-fold content directly into the section of your HTML. Removing unused CSS can also help in optimizing critical rendering paths. Use Tools like PurgeCSS to eliminate unnecessary styles.
2. Optimize Fonts
Fonts can block text rendering, delaying FCP. So, Add the font-display: swap; property in your CSS to render fallback fonts while custom fonts load.
@font-face {
font-family: 'CustomFont';
src: url('customfont.woff2') format('woff2');
font-display: swap;
}You should also use the tag for critical fonts.
3. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
CDNs store copies of your website on servers worldwide. Hence, it helps in reducing latency. You can use CDNs like Cloudflare or AWS CloudFront to serve content closer to the user’s location.
4. Lazy-Load Non-Critical Resources
Delay loading of images, videos, or scripts that are not essential for initial rendering. It improves page load time.
5. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
Render-blocking resources like CSS and JavaScript can significantly delay FCP. You can use Minify CSS and JavaScript by using tools like Terser for JS and CSSNano for CSS. Add the defer or async attribute to script tags for non-critical JS files.
6. Implement Preload and Prefetch
- Use
<link rel="preload">to load critical resources early. - Use
<link rel="dns-prefetch">for external resources.
7. Optimize Images
Image optimization can also help in improving the FCP score. You need to reduce the size of each image. You can use next-generation formats like WebP or AVIF to provide high-quality images with lower sizes. Reports suggest that WebP images can be up to 35% smaller than JPEGs while offering the same quality. Image compression tools can also help you compress images without sacrificing quality.
8. Reduce Server Response Time
Use faster hosting solutions or implement caching mechanisms like Nginx or Varnish. Sometimes optimization of the server can also reduce the Server response time and reduce the FCP. Use server-side caching to serve pre-rendered HTML quickly. If you are not sure how to optimize the server, you can use a high-performance hosting provider or Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Cloudflare or Akamai.
9. Use Browser Caching
- Ensure static assets are cached in users’ browsers for quicker load times on subsequent visits.
10. Eliminate Unused CSS and JavaScript
Audit and remove unnecessary styles and scripts. You can set up Critical CSS to make the above-the-fold content appear instantly.
Read: Ways to improve SEO of your website for better ranking
Conclusion
First Contentful Paint is a vital metric for evaluating your website’s performance and SEO effectiveness. It not only impacts how users perceive your site’s loading speed but also affects your rankings and overall user engagement. By optimizing FCP through techniques like reducing render-blocking resources, optimizing images, and leveraging CDNs, you can significantly enhance both user experience and SEO performance.
Remember, a faster FCP means happier users and better search engine rankings. Start optimizing your website today to stay ahead of the competition!
Deepanker
Tech enthusiast and blogger. Passionate about exploring the latest tech trends and sharing insights.
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