Three myths about time to first byte

This is cheap to get right at the start and expensive to retrofit. A few things about time to first byte that get repeated more often than they get checked.

Performance work is mostly subtraction, which makes it unpopular and effective. Write the reasoning down alongside the decision, because the reasoning is what changes first.

“It only matters for big sites”

Slow server response caps how fast the page can ever be. That sounds obvious written down. It is still the thing most often skipped. If it only works because one person remembers to do something, it does not work yet.

“We can deal with it after launch”

Sometimes true, usually expensive. That sounds obvious written down. It is still the thing most often skipped.

“Our platform handles it”

Cheap shared hosting shows up here first. It is worth being explicit about, because assumptions differ quietly. If it only works because one person remembers to do something, it does not work yet.

How to tell if yours is fine

Real-world numbers from actual visitors matter more than a score produced on a fast laptop. Three things worth confirming about time to first byte before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Cheap shared hosting shows up here first — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Pick the one that would hurt most if it failed, and start there.