Under 2.5 seconds for the main content (LCP) on mobile 4G. Anything slower and you lose roughly 7% of conversions for every additional second.
Three benchmarks worth memorizing:
**Mobile 4G LCP under 2.5 seconds** is Google's "good" threshold and the one that affects your search ranking. About 60% of websites currently fail this on mobile.
**Time to First Byte (TTFB) under 600ms** — this is your server's responsibility. If TTFB is over 1 second, no amount of front-end optimization will save you. Switch hosts or add a CDN.
**Total page weight under 2MB** is the rule of thumb for any page that needs to load fast on flaky mobile connections. The median page on the web in 2025 is 2.4MB on mobile and 2.7MB on desktop — most of that is unoptimized images and third-party JavaScript.
The conversion math: Google's 2017 mobile speed study (still cited because the relationship hasn't changed) found that bounce rates rise 32% when page load goes from 1 second to 3 seconds, and 90% when it goes from 1 second to 5 seconds. For ecommerce specifically, a 2024 Cloudflare study found a 7% conversion drop per additional second of load time.
What to fix first, in order of impact: (1) compress and properly size images — this fixes 70% of slow sites, (2) remove third-party scripts you don't need, (3) enable Brotli compression and HTTP/2 on your server, (4) lazy-load images below the fold, (5) defer non-critical CSS and JavaScript.
- **How much does a small business website cost in 2026?** — $1,500–$15,000 for most small businesses, depending on whether you go DIY, freelancer, or agency. - **Should I use WordPress, Webflow, or Shopify for my business website?** — Shopify if you sell products. Webflow if design matters most and you want a working CMS. WordPress if you need maximum flexibility or already have a team that knows it. - **What is Core Web Vitals and how do I fix it?** — Three Google performance metrics — LCP (load speed), INP (interactivity), and CLS (visual stability) — that affect your search rankings. - **Do I need a custom website or is a template fine?** — A template is fine if your business looks like 1,000 others in your category. Custom is worth it when design itself is part of how you sell.