Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Measures loading performance by timing when the main content element (image or text block) becomes visible to users.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) estimates perceived load speed by measuring when the largest content element in the viewport—often a hero image or headline—renders. Good LCP correlates with lower bounce and higher engagement. It matters because users quickly abandon slow pages, and LCP contributes to page experience signals. LCP influences image strategy (compression, dimensions, priority hints), server performance, and critical CSS delivery. Addressing heavy hero assets and render‑blocking resources typically yields the largest gains.
Key Takeaways:
- •Optimize hero images and fonts
- •Inline critical CSS and defer non‑critical JS
Context:
A blog template loads a 1.5MB hero image.
Action:
The team serves next‑gen formats, sets width/height, and preloads the hero.
Result:
LCP drops to 2.2s; time on page and scroll depth increase across articles.
Related Terms
Core Web Vitals
Google’s user-centric performance metrics: LCP (loading), INP (interactivity), and CLS (visual stability) that influence page experience signals.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
A Core Web Vital that measures responsiveness—how quickly the interface updates after user input across the page’s lifecycle.
Page speed
Page speed influences speed, stability, and crawl/index efficiency. Solid technical execution improves user satisfaction and strengthens page experience signals that support durable visibility and conversions.
First Contentful Paint (FCP)
First Contentful Paint (FCP) aligns content with AI-driven experiences and answer engines so your expertise is selected, cited, and trusted across evolving search surfaces.
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