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Total Blocking Time: 5 Best Ways of Improving User Experience

Total Blocking Time (TBT) is a key metric that measures the time between the user’s input and the moment when the page becomes responsive. It is an essential metric that affects the user experience, especially when it comes to page loading times.

The speed and performance of a website can have a significant impact on its success. A fast-loading, responsive site can keep visitors engaged and improve user experience, while a slow or unresponsive site can cause frustration and drive visitors away.

As a result, website owners and developers are constantly looking for ways to optimize their sites for performance.

In this blog post, we will discuss Total Blocking Time and how it affects web performance. We will also provide insights on how to improve Total Blocking Time and boost the overall user experience. By the end of this post, you will have a comprehensive understanding of Total Blocking Time and the role it plays in website performance, and be better equipped to optimize your own site for success.

core web vitals, Total Blocking Time,Website Loading Speed

Understanding Total Blocking Time:

Total Blocking Time is a web performance metric that measures the time between the user’s input and the point when the web page becomes interactive. It is a critical metric because it affects the user’s experience, especially when it comes to the website’s responsiveness.

The Core Web Vitals initiative introduced Total Blocking Time as one of the essential metrics for measuring page loading speed. Total Blocking Time measures the duration between the first interaction and the time when the web page’s main thread becomes idle.

Main thread idle time is a time when the browser has finished loading the page’s critical resources, and the browser is no longer busy with any other tasks.

The Total Blocking Time score is measured in milliseconds, and it should not exceed 300 ms for a good user experience. When Total Blocking Time exceeds 300ms, the user will perceive the page as unresponsive, which will lead to frustration and abandonment.

FAQs:

What is the difference between Total Blocking Time and other web vitals?

Total Blocking Time is one of three Core Web Vitals, which also include the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and First Input Delay (FID). LCP measures how quickly a page’s main content is loaded, while FID measures how quickly a page responds to user input.

Importance of TBT in Core Web Vitals:

Total Blocking Time (TBT) is one of the three Core Web Vitals that Google has identified as critical for providing a good user experience on the web. The other two Core Web Vitals are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and First Input Delay (FID).

Total Blocking Time measures the amount of time a web page is unresponsive to user input during loading. This can happen when the page is loading a large number of resources, or if the page’s main thread is busy executing JavaScript code or rendering the page’s layout.

Total Blocking Time is an important performance metric because it directly impacts user experience. If a web page takes too long to become responsive to user input, users may become frustrated and abandon the page. This can lead to lower engagement and revenue for your website.

In contrast, websites that provide a good user experience are more likely to see higher engagement and conversion rates.

By monitoring and optimizing Total Blocking Time, website owners can ensure that their site is providing the best possible user experience, which can lead to improved rankings and increased revenue.

Google has set a threshold of 300ms for Total Blocking Time, meaning that pages with a Total Blocking Time score of more than 300 ms are considered to have a poor user experience. As such, website owners should aim to keep their Total Blocking Time score as low as possible, ideally below 300ms, in order to provide a good user experience.

By optimizing for Total Blocking Time, website owners can not only improve their user experience but also boost their search engine rankings. This is because Google’s page experience algorithm takes Core Web Vitals, including Total Blocking Time, into account when ranking websites in search results.

In summary, Total Blocking Time is a critical component of Core Web Vitals and an important performance metric that website owners should monitor and optimize. By keeping their Total Blocking Time score low, website owners can provide a good user experience, improve their search engine rankings, and increase engagement and revenue for their websites.

FAQs:

What are core web vitals?

Core Web Vitals is a set of metrics that measure key aspects of a website’s user experience. They were introduced by Google as part of its effort to improve the quality of the web and help website owners create websites that are fast, user-friendly, and engaging.

The three Core Web Vitals are:

  1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – measures the loading speed of the largest image or block of text visible in the viewport.
  2. First Input Delay (FID) – measures the time it takes for a web page to become interactive, meaning the time between when a user clicks on a button or link and when the page responds to that action.
  3. Total Blocking Time (TBT) – measures the amount of time a web page is unresponsive to user input during loading. This can happen when the page is loading a large number of resources, or if the page’s main thread is busy executing JavaScript code or rendering the page’s layout.
core web vitals, Total Blocking Time, TBT

TBT Score and User Experience:

Total Blocking Time is a crucial metric for user experience. A high Total Blocking Time score indicates that the website is taking too long to respond to the user’s input, making the website feel slow and unresponsive. This leads to a poor user experience, which can have a significant impact on the website’s success.

Google Pagespeed Insights and Lighthouse scores use Total Blocking Time as a key metric for evaluating a website’s performance. A high Total Blocking Time score can affect the website’s performance score and negatively impact the user’s experience.

The Total Blocking Time score is directly related to the website’s loading time, which is why website owners should always aim to reduce it. A low Total Blocking Time score indicates that the website is fast and responsive, leading to an excellent user experience and higher engagement rates.

Improving Total Blocking Time:

Improving TBT involves optimizing several key areas of website performance. Below are some strategies to reduce TBT and improve the overall user experience.

  1. Optimize Server Response Time:

Server Response Time (SRT) is the time it takes for the server to respond to a user’s request. A slow SRT can significantly increase TBT, leading to a poor user experience. Website owners can optimize SRT by using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and optimizing server-side scripts.

CDN,erver response time
  1. Optimize JavaScript Execution:

JavaScript is a crucial component of modern websites. However, large JavaScript files can significantly increase TBT. Website owners can optimize JavaScript execution by minimizing the size of the JavaScript files, removing unused JavaScript code, and deferring non-critical JavaScript files.

  1. Optimize Web Page Performance:

A poorly optimized web page can significantly increase TBT. Website owners can optimize their web pages by reducing the number of HTTP requests, compressing images, using lazy loading techniques, and optimizing CSS and HTML code.

  1. Optimize User Input Handling:

A slow input response time can significantly increase TBT. Website owners can optimize input handling by reducing the number of input events, prioritizing input events, and deferring non-critical input events.

  1. Use Large JavaScript Libraries With Caution:

Large JavaScript libraries can significantly increase TBT. Website owners should use large JavaScript libraries with caution and only load them when necessary. They should also consider using alternative libraries that are smaller and faster.

  1. Monitor User Experience:

Real User Monitoring (RUM) is a technique used to measure website performance based on actual user interactions.

Improving Total Blocking Time: Tips and Best Practices:

Now that you have a better understanding of Total Blocking Time and its importance for web performance, let’s take a look at some tips and best practices for improving it.

  1. Optimize JavaScript Executions:

Since long tasks and heavy JavaScript execution are some of the main causes of Total Blocking Time, optimizing JavaScript can have a significant impact on your TBT score. Some tips to improve JavaScript execution include:

  • Minimizing the size of your JavaScript files
  • Removing unnecessary or duplicate code
  • Avoiding synchronous requests and long-running functions
  • Caching JavaScript files to reduce server requests
  1. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN):

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can help reduce TBT by delivering static assets (like images, CSS, and JavaScript files) from servers located closer to the user. This can help reduce latency and improve page load times, which in turn can improve TBT.

Total Blocking Time,CDN,Content Delivery Network
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  1. Reduce Third-Party Scripts:

Third-party scripts and libraries can add a lot of overhead to a web page, increasing the amount of JavaScript execution and potentially causing long tasks and other TBT issues. To minimize the impact of third-party scripts, consider:

  • Removing unnecessary third-party scripts and libraries
  • Delaying loading of non-critical scripts and libraries
  • Using asynchronous loading techniques for third-party scripts and libraries.
third-party scripts,Total Blocking Time
  1. Optimize Critical Rendering Path:

The critical rendering path is the sequence of steps a browser takes to render a web page. Optimizing the critical rendering path can help improve TBT and other performance metrics by reducing the amount of time it takes for a user to see content on the page.

Some tips for optimizing the critical rendering path include:

  • Minimizing the number of server requests and reducing file size
  • Using browser caching to speed up subsequent page loads
  • Prioritizing above-the-fold content and lazy loading below-the-fold content
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  1. Use Web Performance Tools:

Web performance tools like Google Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, and Chrome DevTools can help identify TBT issues and suggest ways to improve them. Some key metrics to look for in these tools include:

  1. Implementing Real-Life Monitoring:

Real User Monitoring (RUM) involves collecting data on how users interact with your website in real-time. By analyzing this data, you can identify TBT issues and other performance problems that may be impacting user experience. Some popular RUM tools include:

  • Google Analytics
  • New Relic
  • Pingdom
  1. Regular Monitoring and Test Performance:

Finally, it’s important to regularly monitor and test your website’s performance to ensure that you are meeting your performance goals and providing a good user experience. You can use tools like HTTP Archive and WebPageTest to track performance over time and identify areas for improvement.

FAQs:

How Does TBT Impact My Website’s SEO?

TBT is a key component of Core Web Vitals, which is an important factor in Google’s page experience algorithm. Improving your TBT score can help boost your website’s rankings in search results.

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Conclusion:

Total Blocking Time is an important performance metric that can have a significant impact on user experience. By understanding TBT and implementing best practices to reduce it, you can improve your website’s speed and provide a better user experience. Remember to optimize JavaScript execution, use a CDN, reduce third-party scripts and libraries, optimize the critical rendering path, use web performance tools, implement real user monitoring, and regularly monitor and test performance. By following these tips, you can help ensure that your website is fast, reliable, and user-friendly.

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