What each phase means
A web request goes through four steps before the first byte of content arrives. The breakdown shows which step is slow.
- DNS — turning the domain into an IP address.
- Connect — the TCP handshake; roughly one network round trip to the server.
- TLS — negotiating HTTPS encryption; usually one more round trip.
- First byte (TTFB) — the server processing the request and starting to reply. This is the part the site owner controls most.
What is a good response time?
As a rule of thumb, a server response (TTFB) under 200 ms is fast, up to about 600 ms is acceptable, and above 1.5 seconds visibly slows pages. Google's web.dev guidance treats a total TTFB of 800 ms or less as good for real users.
These timings are from our server, so they show the website's own performance and network distance from us — not your connection. To test your connection, run the speed test or the ping test.
Common causes of slow responses
- High connect time — the server is far away; a CDN helps.
- High TTFB — slow application code, database queries or no page caching.
- Several redirects — each adds a full round trip; link directly to the final URL (check with the header checker).
Questions
Why is the first run slower?
Every run makes a fresh DNS lookup and connection so the measurement reflects a first visit. Differences between runs are normal network and server variation; the median is reported.