Learn How to Improve FCP in WordPress and increase your page speed scores and rank high in search results
What Is First Contentful Paint (FCP)?
First Contentful Paint (FCP) is an significant, user-centric metric for calculating perceived load velocity as it marks the first point in the page load timeline where the user can see something on the screen — a quick FCP helps reassure the user that anything is happening.
The First Contentful Paint (FCP) metric estimates the time from when the page begins loading up to when some portion of the purpose of the page is shown on the screen. For this metric, “material” refers to text, photos (including background images), elements < svg >, or non-white elements < canvas>.
In the load timeline above, FCP occurs in the second frame, since this is when the first text and image elements are rendered to the screen.
You’ll find that while some of the material has been rendered, it’s not all rendered. This is an significant distinction to make between First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — a distinction that helps to determine when the main content of the page is done.
