15 Easy Ways To Improve First Contentful Paint In WordPress (Core Web Vitals Item)

This is a simple (yet in-depth) guide on improving first contentful paint in WordPress.

First contentful paint (FCP) is the point when users see anything on your site (very similar to LCP where users see your largest image or text block in the viewport). Anything before that (including TTFB, DNS lookups, as well as the first content shown) is part of both FCP and LCP.

The Waterfall chart in WebPageTest shows which files load in your FCP time (test your site then click the Waterfall image). In the example below, all files loading in green are part of FCP.

The first request is usually the longest and includes factors like TTFB, DNS, and SSL. The other requests are related to whatever files load first which can be CSS, JavaScript, fonts, and images.

Pay special attention to files loading in the viewport: preloading images/fonts, avoiding bloated headers created by page builders (by hard coding them in CSS), and pushing plugins + third-party code below the fold can help. Aside from reducing the size of files loading in your viewport, using a performant setup (hosting, theme, plugins, CDN) are two big FCP/LCP factors.

First Contentful Paint	Score
0–1.8s	Good
1.8–3s	Needs Improvement
Over 3s	Poor

1. Aim for a <100ms TTFB
2. Reduce CSS + JavaScript files
3. Use local fonts, preload them, and use “swap”
4. Preload viewport images and exclude from lazy load
5. Avoid page builders for headers
6. Defer JavaScript
7. Use full page caching
8. Avoid loading plugins/scripts in the viewport
9. Use a performant DNS/CDN
10. Use multiple caching layers
11. Generate critical CSS and inline it
12. Delay JavaScript
13. Fix errors in your Waterfall chart
14. Set a longer cache expiration
15. Test Cloudflare’s Rocket Loader

 

1. Aim For A <100ms TTFB

TTFB is 40% of LCP which means it’s also a big part of FCP.

In 2019, I moved from SiteGround to Cloudways Vultr HF and posted my results. In 2022, I moved to Rocket.net with Cloudflare Enterprise which landed me a <100ms global TTFB in KeyCDN. They’re the fastest host I’ve used in 12 years and are blowing up in Facebook groups.

If you have a poor TTFB, you need to rethink your hosting/CDN setup since those are the 2 main TTFB factors . After writing bad reviews of SiteGround, Hostinger, Kinsta, and EIG, I think we can agree most hosting reviews are garbage. A good place to get unbiased feedback is the WP Speed Matters Group (run by Gijo from FlyingPress). Rocket.net doesn’t do aggressive marketing so not as many people know about them, but results are all I care about. Hence, a <100ms global TTFB:

Good hosting plans:

	FastComet FastCloud Extra	NameHero Turbo Cloud	Cloudways Vultr HF (2GB)	Servebolt Pro	Rocket.net Starter
Type	Shared	Shared	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud
Server	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx
Cores/RAM	6 cores/3GB	3 cores/3GB	1 core/2GB	Unmetered	32 cores/128GB
Storage	35GB / SATA	Unlimited NVMe	64GB / NVMe	4GB / NVMe	10GB / NVMe
CDN	QUIC.cloud	QUIC.cloud	Cloudflare Enterprise ($5/mo)	Cloudflare Enterprise ($299/mo)	Cloudflare Enterprise (free)
CDN PoPs	80	80	285	285	285
Full page caching	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
CDN image optimization	via QUIC	via QUIC	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish
DNS	Use QUIC	Use QUIC	DNS Made Easy ($5/mo)	x	Cloudflare
Cache plugin	LiteSpeed Cache	LiteSpeed Cache	x	Servebolt plugin	x
Object cache	Memcached	Redis	Redis Pro	x	Redis
PHP processor	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	FPM	Apache 2 ITK MPM	LiteSpeed
Database	MySQL	MariaDB	MariaDB	MariaDB	MariaDB
Bandwidth or monthly visits	92GB + 100k (est.)	50k (est.)	2TB	1M dynamic requests	50GB + 250k visits/mo
Control panel	cPanel	cPanel	Custom	Custom	Custom
Email hosting	✓	✓	x	x	x
Major incidents	2022 DDoS attack	2011 2-day node outage	None	None	None
Migrations	3 free	1 free	1 free + $25/site	Unlimited free	Unlimited free
TrustPilot rating	4.9/5	4.6/5	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.9/5
Monthly price	$5.49 (1-3 years)	$9.98 (3 years)	$30	$99	$25 (1 year)

Bad hosting plans (and bad hosts in general):

	SiteGround GrowBig	Hostinger Business WP	Bluehost Choice Plus	WP Engine Startup	Kinsta Starter
Type	Shared	Shared	Shared	Cloud	Cloud
Server	Apache + Nginx	LiteSpeed	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx
Cores/RAM	Not listed	2 cores/1.5GB	Not listed	Not listed	12 cores/8GB
Storage	20GB / SATA	200GB / SATA	40GB / SATA	10GB / SATA	10GB / SATA
CDN	Google Cloud	QUIC.cloud	Cloudflare free	Cloudflare free + Polish	Cloudflare APO + firewall rules
CDN PoPs	176	80	285	285	285
Full page caching	via CDN	via QUIC	x	x	✓
CDN image optimization	Very limited	via QUIC	x	Polish only	x
DNS	Blocked by Google for 4 days	Use QUIC	Internal	Internal	Amazon Route 53
Cache plugin	SG Optimizer	LSC	x	x	x
Object cache	Memcached	Memcached	x	Memcached	Redis ($100/mo)
PHP processor	FastCGI	LiteSpeed	FastCGI	Not listed	FastCGI
Database	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	Not listed	MySQL
Resource limits	CPU limits are common	Low resources	Low resources	Low PHP workers + 25k visits/mo	2 PHP workers + 25k visits/mo
Inodes	400k	600k	50k	Unlimited	Unlimited
Control panel	Site Tools	hPanel	cPanel	User Portal	MyKinsta
Email storage	10GB	1GB	Adjustable	x	x
Major incidents	Denies issues with TTFB, DNS, CPU, others	Scam reports, fake reviews, 2019 breach	Claims of hosting terrorist sites	2015 breach	None
Migrations	$30/site	Unlimited (but screws it up)	Free on qualified accounts only	Paid (quoted)	Free on select hosts + 1 free
TrustPilot rating	4.6/5	4.6/5 (fake)	3.7/5	4.5/5	4.2/5
Monthly price	$3.99 (1 year)	$3.99 (2 years)	$5.45 (1 year)	$20 (1 year)	$29 (1 year)
Renewals	$24.99/mo	$14.99/mo	$19.99/mo	$25/mo	$29/mo

I agree:

 

2. Reduce CSS + JavaScript Files

Are CSS/JS files part of FCP in your waterfall chart? You can also use the coverage report in Chrome Dev Tools to see your largest files:

Themes, plugins, and third-party code are usually the biggest culprits. After that, you can further reduce files through the “remove unused CSS” setting in FlyingPress or Perfmatters (faster than WP Rocket’s setting), delaying JavaScript, and replacing plugins. For example, I replaced wpDiscuz with native comments and started using Gutenberg for galleries + tables.

 

3. Use Local Fonts, Preload Them, And Use “Swap”

Fonts loading in your first contentful paint time? No problem…

Use Local Fonts – check your Waterfall chart to make sure fonts load from your domain, not fonts.gstatic.com or use.fontawesome.com. If they do, there are several tools to host them locally: several cache plugins can do this (but not WP Rocket), Perfmatters, OMGF, Elementor, Transfonter, etc. Also use woff or better, woff2 which are faster than alternative formats like .ttf. Finally, only use 1 font without loading too many font weights/icons (obvious but still common).

Preload Fonts – fonts loading above the fold or those in CSS files should be preloaded. There’s no magic tool to learn which fonts to preload, so this requires testing them in a Waterfall chart (preloading too many fonts or preloading fonts not being used can result in a negative impact).

Use Font-Display: Swap – if you need to ensure text remains visible during webfont load, PSI tells you which fonts are causing FOIT (flash of invisible text). Basically, you want to locate that file using String Locator, then add font-display: swap to the @font-face. Some plugins may also be able to do this: Elementor, Perfmatters, FlyingPress, WP Rocket, Swap Google Fonts Display.

@font-face {
font-family: "Lato Regular";
font-weight: 300;
font-style: normal;
src: url("fonts/Lato-Regular-BasicLatin.woff2") format("woff2");
font-display: swap;
}

 

4. Preload Viewport Images And Exclude From Lazy Load

Since viewport images should be loaded with high priority, they should be preloaded and excluded from lazy load. Again, FlyingPress/Perfmatters are more effective than WP Rocket.

Both can preload critical images where you set the number of images that usually load in the viewport (i.e. 2-3), then they will be automatically excluded from lazy load while preloaded. With WP Rocket, you need to follow an 8-step process just to specify the number of images to exclude from lazy load. Then you need to preload them individually (with code or a plugin like Pre* Party Resource Hints) which is a pain since usually, each page has unique viewport images.

If you have background images loading in the viewport, they’re treated differently, but you’ll want to exclude those from lazy load as well. Cache plugins and page builders usually have documentation on how to do it, for example, some plugins have a “skip-lazy” class you can add.

 

5. Avoid Page Builders For Headers

Your header/menu is part of the viewport and one of the first things people see.

Creating these with a page builder adds a lot of unnecessary code. So if you insist on using a page builder, code these in CSS (or hire a developer to do this). When I was trying to remove Elementor, I hired WP Johnny and this was the first thing he did which made a huge difference. And while we’re on the topic, stay clear of hamburger menus and other bloated menu plugins.

 

6. Defer JavaScript

Eliminating render-blocking resources is the first thing Google recommends to improve first contentful paint, which usually means deferring JavaScript.

If your site breaks, you’ll need to exclude problematic JS files from being deferred. And if you still don’t see good results, try installing Async JavaScript and click “apply defer” in the settings.

 

7. Use Full Page Caching

In Cloudflare’s test, APO improved first contentful paint by around 5% for desktop/mobile.

Of course, there are other options if you don’t want to pay $5/mo for APO: QUIC.cloud’s CDN, Super Page Cache plugin, and Rocket.net’s Cloudflare Enterprise all include full page caching.

 

8. Avoid Loading Plugins/Scripts In The Viewport

Since the viewport is high priority, consider moving heavy plugins/scripts down on the page.

Ads, social sharing buttons, and other files can be pushed down below the fold so they won’t load in the viewport. And, they can usually be delayed which can further improve web vitals.

 

9. Use A Performant DNS/CDN

Going back to your Waterfall chart, DNS lookup time is part of that long first request, and CDNs are also one of the best ways to improve TTFB.

Cloudflare’s DNS is my go-to which performs well on cdnperf.com (just sign up and change nameservers). If using QUIC.cloud, their DNS seems to perform well. But if you registered your domain with someone like GoDaddy or NameCheap, you’re using their DNS by default which is usually slow. And because DNS speed is part of TTFB, you’ll want to move it from your registrar.

While the best CDN is debatable, there’s no arguing Cloudflare Enterprise, QUIC.cloud (for LiteSpeed), and BunnyCDN are 3 solid options. Cloudflare has a massive network of 270+ locations with extensive speed/security features. QUIC.cloud’s CDN is newer but still has 75+ PoPs with powerful CSS/image optimizations when used with LiteSpeed Cache (but use the paid plan since the free version only uses 6 PoPs). BunnyCDN is another one of my favorites.

Cloudflare settings that can improve FCP include: Signed Exchanges, TCP Turbo, TLS settings, APO, using Workers for serverless rendering, and Brotli (although your host must support this).

 

10. Use Multiple Caching Layers

Did you know there are 6 different caching layers?

You might know 4 of them: browser cache (done by your cache plugin), CDN cache (done by your CDN), full page cache (done by your CDN), and HTTP accelerators like Varnish/FastCGI (done through your host). There are 2 other important caching types you may not know about:

 

11. Generate Critical CSS And Inline It

Some plugins like WP Rocket generate critical CSS and inline it for you.

Otherwise, you can also use a free critical CSS generator tool which prevents FOUC (flash of unstyled text). The next step would be to inline it. Because the browser won’t have to wait for the CSS, it can start rendering your page sooner which will also improve first contentful paint.

 

12. Delay JavaScript

Delaying JavaScript can improve both your largest and first contentful paint.

Several cache plugins do this (FlyingPress, Perfmatters, Flying Scripts, WP Rocket). Just make sure you read the documentation and view common scripts to delay. You can even delay entire plugins when they load below the fold, such as third-party comments or social sharing plugins.

 

13. Fix Errors In Your Waterfall Chart

Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many websites have red errors (which probably means you’re loading something that’s not being used, therefore creating a canceled request). Errors can often create the largest requests on your site, so you’ll want to fix them immediately.

 

14. Set A Longer Cache Expiration

Serving static assets with an efficient cache policy is an easy one to fix. Check your hosting account to see if there’s a setting. For example in Cloudways, it’s static cache expiry. Google wants a cache expiration of 365 days, but WooCommerce sites should generally use 1 month.

 

15. Test Cloudflare’s Rocket Loader

Rocket Loader defers JavaScript and can improve your site’s first contentful paint. However, it can also break your site, so use with caution. I personally prefer to keep Rocket Loader disabled.

 

Retest Your First Contentful Paint

PageSpeed Insights can take 28 days to update, so use SpeedVitals which uses Lighthouse.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is first contentful paint?

First contentful paint (FCP) measures the point when users see anything on your website. Anything that loads before that (including TTFB, DNS lookup time, and SSL) are part of FCP.

How do I improve first contentful paint in WordPress?

Reducing files loading in the viewport and ensuring a fast setup (hosting, CDN, theme, cache plugin) are two ways to improve first contentful paint. You can also preload fonts/images, defer and delay JavaScript, and avoid using page builders for headers.

Which WordPress plugins improve first contentful paint?

FlyingPress is better at optimizing first contentful paint than WP Rocket since it preloads images, hosts fonts locally, has a faster CDN, and is more effective at removing unused CSS.

How do I improve first contentful paint in Elementor?

Elementor optimizes first contentful paint with Experiments settings and hosting fonts locally while preloading them with font-display: swap. However, Elementor adds extra code compared to other lightweight options. Therefore, Elementor is NOT good for FCP.

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments. Hope this helped :)

Cheers,
Tom