First Contentful Paint
According to Google, First Contentful Paint (FCP) measures the time from navigation to the time when the browser renders the first bit of content. This is the first point where users can tell that the page is actually loading. Thus, whether user experience is off to a good start.
This is just one measurement that helps determine page load time for a web page. For information on how to implement code to measure this, check Google here.
How to improve FCP
The priority here is to speed up minor downloads so that the browser can focus on main content pieces that the browser first renders. Here are some other tips:
- Reduce total of necessary render-blocking scripts and CSS.
- Set up the site so that users who cache can speed up load times when they return to the site.
- Minify text-based assets like text images.
- Reduce the amount of work JavaScript files are doing