How to improve LCP (largest contentful paint)?

How to improve LCP (largest contentful paint)?

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is one of Google’s most important Core Web Vitals and a powerful indicator of how fast your website feels to users the moment they land on your page. A better LCP score creates a stronger first impression and keeps visitors engaged longer — which is crucial whether you're running ecommerce, SaaS, or digital service websites. If improving performance is part of your growth strategy, explore our full list of digital optimization services to support ongoing improvement.

What Is Largest Contentful Paint?

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures the time it takes for the largest visible piece of content to load within a user’s viewport. This could be a hero image, a video poster frame, a main heading, or a large text block.

LCP is part of the trio of Core Web Vitals that Google uses to evaluate real-world page performance:

  • LCP – How quickly the primary content appears.
  • Interaction to Next Paint (INP) – Formerly FID, this measures how soon the page responds to user input.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Measures visual stability and layout shifts during load.

These metrics interact with each other — for example, if a JavaScript-heavy layout delays the LCP element, it may also impact responsiveness (INP) and cause layout movement (CLS).

Largest Contentful Paint vs. First Contentful Paint

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and First Contentful Paint (FCP) are commonly confused because both relate to visible load time, but they measure different events:

  • FCP: Tracks when the first tiny visual element displays.
  • LCP: Tracks when the main meaningful content displays.

FCP can give the illusion of a fast page even when critical content is still loading. LCP is a far stronger signal of how fast a page feels from a user perspective.

Why Is LCP Important for Website Performance?

Speed and perception go hand in hand — a page that loads quickly builds trust, drives deeper engagement, and reduces abandonment. Whether you're improving performance yourself or using a web development retainer service for monthly website improvements, LCP should be a priority metric.

Improved LCP supports:

  • Better Google rankings due to Core Web Vital influence
  • Reduced bounce rates because users don’t wait for critical content
  • Higher conversions due to smoother engagement flow

What Is a Good LCP Score?

Google recommends the following thresholds:

  • Good: 2.5 seconds or faster
  • Needs improvement: 2.5s – 4s
  • Poor: Over 4 seconds

To achieve a passing grade, your LCP should meet the 2.5-second threshold for at least 75% of real-world page loads.

What Causes a Poor LCP Score?

A weak LCP score typically results from one or more of the following:

  1. Slow server response times
  2. Render-blocking CSS and JavaScript
  3. Large images or unoptimized media files
  4. JavaScript-heavy client-side rendering

How to Measure Largest Contentful Paint

Below are reliable, free tools to understand and diagnose LCP issues:

Google PageSpeed Insights

Visit PageSpeed Insights, enter your URL, and view both Mobile & Desktop scores along with tailored improvement suggestions.

Google Search Console

The “Core Web Vitals” section provides real-world LCP data across groups of pages and shows where improvements are needed.

Chrome Lighthouse / DevTools

Run a Lighthouse audit in DevTools for lab-based testing and step-by-step recommendations.

How to Fix LCP Issues: 12 Practical Strategies

Below are the most impactful methods for improving your LCP score:

1. Identify the LCP Element

Use PageSpeed Insights to determine which element is flagged as LCP.

2. Optimize Images

  • Compress images
  • Serve WebP or AVIF formats
  • Use responsive images and preload hero images

3. Optimize Fonts

  • Use system fonts
  • Host fonts locally
  • Use font-display: optional or swap

4–12. Additional Techniques

  • Minify CSS, JavaScript & HTML
  • Defer non-critical scripts
  • Inline critical CSS
  • Upgrade hosting if server TTFB is slow
  • Enable caching
  • Use a CDN
  • Limit heavy client-side rendering
  • Avoid lazy loading above-the-fold media

Optimize LCP and Create a Faster User Experience

LCP is one of the most influential performance metrics for modern websites. When your primary content appears quickly, visitors stay longer, interact sooner, and trust your site more.

Whether you're implementing improvements yourself or partnering with experts, you can explore all of our optimization-focused digital services or choose an ongoing support model through our website retainer plans to continue scaling performance as your site evolves.

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