First Contentful Paint (FCP)

First Contentful Paint is an early loading metric. It records when the browser first draws qualifying content such as text, an image, an SVG element or a non-white canvas. FCP does not mean that the main headline, booking form or rest of the page is fully usable. It answers the narrower question of when visitors first see useful visual evidence that a page is loading.

The metric includes the early navigation journey, including redirects and server response delays. According to web.dev, FCP of 1.8 seconds or less is the recommended good threshold, evaluated at the 75th percentile and separately for mobile and desktop. Results can differ between lab tests and visitors' real devices.

FCP and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) are not interchangeable: LCP focuses on when the largest relevant visible content element appears. A quick FCP can coexist with a slow hero image or a delayed form. Diagnose both the first response and the critical rendering path before choosing a fix.