TTFB (Time to First Byte)

TTFB — explained in more detail

TTFB is the server-response latency from the browser’s perspective: everything that happens before the first byte of the HTTP response arrives. Concretely it sums DNS lookup, TCP handshake, TLS handshake, request transit, and — above all — server processing time (database queries, templating, backend logic).

Bad TTFB is usually a backend or hosting issue, not a frontend issue. Levers: faster hosting, a CDN for static assets, edge SSR, multi-layer caching (browser, CDN, server, database), and leaner render logic. TTFB is a prerequisite for good LCP and FCP — without a fast first byte, there is no fast first paint.

Example / In practice

An uncached WordPress blog on shared hosting often shows TTFB between 800–1500 ms. With object cache, page cache, and CDN pre-rendering, that drops below 100 ms — LCP often improves by 1–2 seconds without changing anything on the frontend.

Distinction from similar terms

Server response time in PageSpeed Insights is nearly synonymous (TTFB without the network share). FCP measures when the browser paints something — TTFB happens before. LCP measures the largest visible element — also bounded below by TTFB.

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