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Fix library · Performance

Server response time: the wait before anything appears

Before a browser can draw anything, it asks your server for the page and waits. That wait happens before any image loads or any script runs, so nothing you do to the page itself can hide it. It is usually caching, an overloaded hosting plan, or a pile of plugins doing work on every single request.

Performance High at worst 2 findings covered

High

The server is slow to respond

What SEOPert detected

Your homepage took a long time to send its first byte.

What this means

Your homepage took a long time to start loading. Slow sites lose visitors and can rank lower.

How to fix it

  1. Turn on page caching (most hosts and site builders have it).
  2. Compress large images before uploading them.
  3. Remove plugins, apps or widgets you don’t use.
  4. If it’s still slow, ask your host whether your plan is overloaded or consider a faster plan.
On WordPress
  1. Install a caching plugin (your host may provide one) and enable page caching.
  2. Deactivate and delete plugins you don’t need.
  3. Use an image-compression plugin for existing images.

If you are handing this to a developer

Investigate TTFB: enable full-page caching, reduce server-side work, check hosting resources and CDN.

Check it worked. Test the homepage at pagespeed.web.dev a few times and compare “Time to First Byte” with before.

Medium

The server is a little slow to respond

What SEOPert detected

Your homepage was slower than ideal to send its first byte.

What this means

Your homepage is a bit slow to start loading. Faster pages keep more visitors.

How to fix it

  1. Turn on page caching and compress large images.
  2. Remove plugins, apps or widgets you don’t use.
On WordPress
  1. Enable a caching plugin and an image-compression plugin; remove unused plugins.

If you are handing this to a developer

Improve TTFB with caching; review server-side work.

Check it worked. Test the homepage at pagespeed.web.dev a few times and compare “Time to First Byte” with before.

Find the page that is slow, and why A 30-second exercise. One line is the problem — see whether you would catch it.

Guides

Guides that cover this

Related

Read next

Mobile page speed and Core Web Vitals Performance

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