Time to First Byte (TTFB) measures how long it takes for a browser to receive the very first byte of data back from a server, after sending a request. It's an early, foundational indicator of overall server performance, and it directly influences a page's total load time.
What Contributes to TTFB
- Server processing time — how long the server takes to actually generate a response
- DNS lookup time — the time needed to resolve a domain into its actual IP address
- Network latency — the physical distance data has to travel
- Database query performance — how efficiently the server can pull the requested content
What Counts as a Good TTFB
A TTFB under 200 milliseconds is generally considered good; anything over 600 milliseconds is generally considered genuinely slow and worth investigating further.
Improving TTFB
- Choose quality, high-performance hosting, ideally with servers located near your primary audience
- Enable server-level caching wherever it's supported
- Optimize database queries, and remove unnecessary or bloated plugins
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to shorten the physical distance data has to travel
A slow TTFB affects every single visitor, on every single page, regardless of how well-optimized the rest of a site might otherwise be — making it a genuinely foundational metric worth checking early in any performance troubleshooting.
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