---
title: "What is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)? · Unlighthouse"
meta:
  "og:description": "LCP measures loading performance. Learn what it is, thresholds, and how to improve your score."
  "og:title": "What is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)? · Unlighthouse"
  description: "LCP measures loading performance. Learn what it is, thresholds, and how to improve your score."
---

**Glossary**

# **What is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)?**

[Copy for LLMs](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/lcp.md)

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Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the largest visible element to render. It's one of Google's three [**Core Web Vitals**](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/) and directly impacts search rankings.

## [Thresholds](#thresholds)

| **Score** | **Rating** |
| --- | --- |
| ≤ 2.5s | Good |
| 2.5s - 4.0s | Needs Improvement |
| > 4.0s | Poor |

[**Google recommends**](https://web.dev/articles/lcp) achieving 2.5 seconds or less for at least 75% of page visits.

## [What Triggers LCP](#what-triggers-lcp)

LCP tracks when the largest image, video poster, or text block renders. [**73% of mobile pages have an image as their LCP element**](https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2024/performance).

## [Why It Matters](#why-it-matters)

LCP is the [**hardest Core Web Vital to pass**](https://www.debugbear.com/blog/hardest-core-web-vitals-metric) - only 59% of mobile pages achieve good scores. [**Vodafone improved LCP by 31% and saw 8% more sales**](https://web.dev/case-studies/vitals-business-impact).

## [Common Issues](#common-issues)

- Slow server response ([**TTFB**](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/ttfb))
- Render-blocking CSS/JavaScript
- Large unoptimized images
- Client-side rendering delays

## [Measure LCP](#measure-lcp)

- [**Core Web Vitals Checker**](https://unlighthouse.dev/tools/cwv-checker) - test any page
- Chrome DevTools Performance panel
- Lighthouse audit
- [**PageSpeed Insights**](https://pagespeed.web.dev/) (field data)
- Search Console Core Web Vitals report

→ [**Complete LCP Guide**](https://unlighthouse.dev/learn-lighthouse/lcp)

[Edit this page](https://github.com/harlan-zw/unlighthouse/edit/main/docs/glossary/lcp.md)

[Markdown For LLMs](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/lcp.md)

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[**INP** INP measures responsiveness. Learn what it is, thresholds, and how to improve interaction speed.](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/inp) [**Speed Index** Speed Index measures how fast visible content fills the viewport. Good score: ≤3.4s mobile, ≤1.3s desktop. 10% of Lighthouse performance score. Thresholds, tools, and fixes.](https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/speed-index)

**On this page **

- [Thresholds](#thresholds)
- [What Triggers LCP](#what-triggers-lcp)
- [Why It Matters](#why-it-matters)
- [Common Issues](#common-issues)
- [Measure LCP](#measure-lcp)