Performance Metrics - Understanding Total Blocking Time (TBT)

If you're running a website, you may have heard of the term "Total Blocking Time" or "TBT". Total Blocking Time is a crucial metric that plays a significant role in determining how well your website is performing.  

Understanding TBT is crucial for website owners as it measures the time users have to wait before they can interact with a page. TBT is an important factor in determining the overall page load time, which can have a significant impact on user experience and website performance. 

A website with a high TBT score may cause frustration for users, leading to a high bounce rate and reduced engagement. In contrast, a low TBT score can result in a better user experience, increased engagement, and ultimately, better search engine rankings. 

It's important to note that TBT can be impacted by various factors, including third-party scripts, large images, CSS and JavaScript files, server response time, and more. By identifying and addressing these factors, you can improve your TBT score and enhance the overall user experience. 

In this article, we'll explore what Total Blocking Time is, how it affects your website, and what you can do to improve your score. 

H2: What is Total Blocking Time?

Total Blocking Time (TBT) is a performance metric that measures how long a page is unresponsive to user input. When a user tries to interact with a page, such as clicking on a button, and the page takes too long to respond, it leads to a poor user experience.

TBT is the total time in milliseconds that the page was unresponsive during the loading process. It's important to note that TBT is only measured during the loading process and not during user interactions after the page has loaded. 

A good TBT score is essential for a website's success. If a website's TBT score is high, it means that users are experiencing slow page loads and unresponsive pages, leading to a poor user experience. This can result in a high bounce rate, which can have a significant impact on your website's ranking on search engines. Meanwhile, a low score means that your website is loading quickly, providing users with a smooth and seamless user experience. 

Why is Total Blocking Time important?

Total Blocking Time measures the time that users have to wait before they can interact with a page. If a page takes too long to become interactive, users may get frustrated and leave the website, resulting in a high bounce rate. A high bounce rate tells search engines that users are not finding what they're looking for on your website, which can negatively impact your website's search engine ranking. 

In addition to affecting your website's search engine ranking, TBT can also impact the user experience. A website with a high TBT score may feel slow and unresponsive, which can make users feel frustrated and less likely to engage with your website. This can ultimately result in a loss of potential customers or clients. 

Furthermore, TBT is an important metric for mobile users. Mobile users often have slower internet connections than desktop users, and they may not have access to the same processing power. This means that a website with a high TBT score may be even slower and less responsive for mobile users, leading to an even higher bounce rate.

By improving your website's score, you can improve both your search engine ranking and the user experience. This can lead to increased engagement, higher conversions, and ultimately, greater success for your website or business. 

What happens if the Block Time is Exceeded?

If the Total Blocking Time (TBT) score exceeds the recommended threshold, it means that the page took too long to become interactive, and users were unable to interact with the page during that time. This can result in a poor user experience and a high bounce rate, negatively impacting your website's ranking on search engines.  

Users expect websites to load quickly and provide them with the information they need in a timely and efficient manner. If a website fails to meet these expectations, users are more likely to leave the website and find what they need elsewhere. 

A high score can also lead to a drop in conversion rates, as users are less likely to engage with the website and take the desired action. This can be particularly problematic for websites that rely on user engagement and conversions to generate revenue. 

Therefore, it's essential to optimize your website's score by implementing best practices in website design and development. By reducing the score, you can improve your website's user experience, increase engagement and conversion rates, and boost your search engine ranking. 

What is a good TBT score?

A good TBT score is typically less than 300ms, which means that the page becomes interactive within 300 milliseconds of the user initiating an action. This level of responsiveness provides users with a smooth and seamless experience, allowing them to interact with the website without any delay. 

A score between 300-600 ms is considered average and is still acceptable. However, it's important to note that a higher TBT score in this range may still result in a suboptimal user experience. Users may experience some delay or lag, which can negatively impact their engagement with the website. 

A score above 600 ms is considered poor and can significantly impact the user experience. Users may experience a delay of more than half a second, which can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. This level of delay may result in a high bounce rate, where users leave the website before taking any action. 

Therefore, it's crucial to aim for a TBT score that is as low as possible. The lower the score, the better the user experience, and the more likely users are to engage with the website and take the desired action.

How to improve your TBT score

Improving your TBT score can be challenging, but there are several things you can do to optimize your website. Here are some tips to help you improve your score: 

1. Minimize the use of third-party scripts: Third-party scripts, such as analytics, advertising, or social media scripts, can have a significant impact on your website's TBT score. These scripts can delay the loading and interactivity of your website, negatively affecting the user experience.

Therefore, it's essential to only use third-party scripts that are necessary for your website's functionality and business goals. If possible, try to eliminate third-party scripts altogether or replace them with alternative solutions that have a lower impact on your website's performance.

By reducing the number and impact of third-party scripts, you can improve your score and provide users with a smoother and faster experience. 

2. Optimize your images: Images are essential elements of a website, but they can also significantly impact your score. Large images can slow down your website, leading to a high TBT score and a poor user experience.

To improve your score, it's crucial to optimize your images. You can do this by compressing your images, reducing their size, and using responsive images that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions.

By optimizing your images, you can reduce the loading time of your website and improve its TBT score. This can result in a smoother and faster user experience, leading to increased engagement, conversion rates, and overall website performance. 

3. Minimize your CSS and JavaScript: Large CSS and JavaScript files can also have a significant impact on your website's TBT score. These files can take a long time to download and process, leading to delays in the rendering of your website and a high TBT score.

To improve your score, you should minimize your CSS and JavaScript files by removing unnecessary code, using minification to compress the files, and utilizing browser caching to reduce the loading time of your website.

By optimizing your CSS and JavaScript files, you can reduce the time it takes for your website to become interactive, leading to a better user experience and a lower TBT score. 

4. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN is a distributed network of servers located around the world that can help reduce your website's load time. By using a CDN, your website's content, such as images, videos, and other static assets, can be cached and distributed across multiple servers, reducing the distance between the server and the user.

This can result in faster loading times, improved TBT scores, and a better user experience. A CDN can also help reduce the load on your website's server, leading to increased website stability and reduced server costs.

Overall, a CDN can be an effective solution for improving your TBT score and overall performance, especially if your website has a global audience or serves large amounts of static content.

5. Prioritize above-the-fold content: Above-the-fold content is the content that appears on the screen without the user having to scroll. Prioritizing this content can help improve your TBT score by allowing users to interact with the page sooner.

By prioritizing above-the-fold content, you can ensure that users can start engaging with your website as soon as possible, reducing the perceived loading time and improving the user experience. This can also help reduce the likelihood of users bouncing from your website, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates.

You can use techniques such as lazy loading, which delays the loading of non-critical content until the user scrolls down the page, or by optimizing your HTML and CSS to load above-the-fold content first.

6. Reduce server response time: A slow server response time can significantly impact your TBT score. A slow server response time can cause delays in the delivery of your website's content, leading to a high TBT score and a poor user experience.

To ensure that your server response time is optimized, you can take steps such as upgrading your hosting plan, using a content delivery network, or optimizing your website's code and content to reduce the load on the server.

By ensuring that your server is optimized and that your hosting plan is appropriate for your website's needs, you can help ensure that your website's content is delivered quickly and efficiently. 

7. Use a performance monitoring tool: Utilizing a performance monitoring tool can help identify areas of your website that are slowing down your TBT score, allowing you to make the necessary changes to optimize your website. 

Performance monitoring tools can provide you with valuable insights into your website's performance, such as your TBT score, server response time, and load times for individual pages. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas that need improvement and take steps to optimize your website, resulting in improved scores and a better user experience. 

Level Up Your Website Performance Today 

If you're struggling with your website's speed and performance, consider reaching out to Fix My Site Speed. Our team of experts specializes in optimizing website speed and performance, ensuring that your website provides users with a seamless experience.  

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help improve your website's speed and Total Blocking Time (TBT) score.