Website Performance Metrics: A 3-Step Guide

I was chatting with a friend the other day, and he said, “I think my site is pretty fast.” But then he admitted, “Actually, landing page is fast but other pages, maybe it feels a bit slow.”

It hit me — so many of us think the same way. We pour money into marketing, get visitors coming in, but they don’t stick around because the experience isn’t smooth.

The problem? We don’t really know how our site is performing until we dig into the metrics. Without that, it’s all just guesswork — and that’s money down the drain.

When I mentioned metrics, he immediately thought of Google PageSpeed Insights. You know—the one with all those numbers and confusing terms.

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by metrics like LCP, FCP, CLS, and a bunch of scores that didn’t really make sense at first glance.

That’s exactly the problem—so many get stuck trying to decode these tools instead of focusing on what really matters: how fast your visitors actually feel your site is.

You need answers of these 3 questions

  1. How Fast Does It Start?
  2. How Quickly Can I Use It?
  3. Did It Feel Good Enough to Stay?

Q 1: “How Fast Does It Start?”

Metrics to Track:

  • TTFB (Time To First Byte): How fast your server sends the first byte of data.
  • FCP (First Contentful Paint): When the browser displays the first visible element.
  • LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): When the main content finishes rendering.

Goal: Make users see something useful — fast.

Q 2: “How Quickly Can I Use It?”

Metrics to Track:

  • TTI (Time To Interactive): When your page is fully usable.
  • INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Measures how fast the UI responds to user input.
  • CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Checks for layout shifts that disrupt user experience.

Goal: Make the experience smooth, stable, and frustration-free.

Q 3: “Did It Feel Good Enough to Stay?”

Metrics to Track:

  • Time on Page: Are users spending time reading or interacting?
  • Bounce Rate: Are they leaving after just one page? For single page app, monitor the Engagement Rate instead of Bounce Rate

Goal: Create a delightful experience that keeps users coming back.

Pro Tip: Pair this framework with real monitoring tools like Google Lighthouse, Web Vitals, or PageSpeed Insights to get real data and recommendations.