First Byte Time “FBT” findings and research results

[Anton Chigurh]

(01-17-2016 01:34 PM)clubberz Wrote:  Gnaser is correct. Frontend bloat such as image size or javascript doesn't affect the TTFB one bit. There is no question about this.

It's all about the backend processing when it comes to the TTFB. You can't see that on the webpagetest results because it happens on the server side before the file gets sent to the browser. Whether an image is 5mb or 1mb, or if the page contains 1000s of requests it won't affect the TTFB. What matters is how that page is put together in the backend code before it gets sent to the browser, which you cannot see on webpagetest.

The decrease in the TTFB you noticed by removing plugins would be related to the decrease in PHP and database calls not the amount of requests.

But, yes you can. I showed how this is done in the posts I linked.

HOW that page source code file is "put together" is from the 100s of queries done during FBT which is reflected in the content of request #1. Reduce the need for so many queries by reducing the number of requests it has to find and compile, reduce the FBT. It's proven. The requests GENERATE the calls, and the resulting page source code is compiled. Then that is uploaded by the browser, which then executes it.

The browser does not "know" what requests to look for, until the executable file represented in request #1, tells it.

As far as image file sizes go - each and every time I have optimized images for a client, taking out tons of bloat - magically the TTFB drops like a rock. Still no clue why this happens, but I was not at all addressing that.

I was right about CDNs affecting the target TTFB that WPT assigns, and Patrick did a fix for that. I'm right about this as well. The amount of requests after a certain point, DOES increase FBT.