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Speed High impact Hard depends on the cause

TTFB — server response

The time before the server sends the first byte of the response.

What it is

TTFB (Time To First Byte) is the time from the request until the first byte of the server's response arrives. It includes server work (database, HTML generation) and network latency.

Why it matters

A high TTFB delays absolutely everything else — the page can't start rendering before the HTML arrives. It's usually a symptom of slow hosting, an inefficient application, or missing caching.

How to do it

  1. 1Enable server-side caching (page cache / object cache) so the HTML isn't generated on every request.
  2. 2Optimize slow database queries and application code.
  3. 3Deploy a CDN to bring content closer to the user.
  4. 4Consider faster/more powerful hosting if the server is overloaded.

Conclusion

TTFB is the "starting line" — if it's high, no front-end optimization can save it. The most common cure is caching (server-side + CDN) and a faster backend. The goal is to keep TTFB low (roughly under ~0.5–0.8 s) on mobile.

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