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Website Response Time Test

Measure how fast a website responds and where the time goes: DNS lookup, TCP connect, TLS handshake, server wait (time to first byte) and download. Each phase is rated fast, ok or slow. Enter a URL such as https://example.com.

Common causes of slow response time

Slow server wait (high TTFB)

The server takes long to produce the page: slow database queries, no page cache, a cold serverless function or an overloaded host. Add caching (a page cache on WordPress, ISR or static pages on Next.js) and look at the slowest queries.

Slow DNS lookup

The authoritative nameservers are slow or far away, or the record has a very short TTL so resolvers rarely have it cached. Moving DNS to a large provider such as Cloudflare or Route 53 usually helps.

Slow TCP connect

The server is far from the visitor or the network path is congested. A CDN puts an edge server closer to visitors so the connection is short.

Slow TLS handshake

Older TLS versions need more round trips, and a large certificate chain takes longer to send. Enable TLS 1.3 and serve only the certificates the chain needs.

Slow download

The HTML itself is large or not compressed. Turn on gzip or Brotli compression and move inline data out of the page.

How to test website response time

  1. Enter the full URL, for example https://example.com or a specific page.
  2. Click Test response time.
  3. Look at the total, then find the phase rated slow.
  4. Run the test a few times: the first request can be slower while caches warm up.

What is website response time?

Response time is how long it takes from starting a request until the server's response has arrived. It is the sum of several phases, and each one points to a different fix.

DNS lookup turns the hostname into an IP address. TCP connect opens the connection. The TLS handshake sets up encryption for HTTPS. Server wait, also called time to first byte (TTFB), is the time the server spends producing the response. Download is the time to receive the body.

TTFB is usually the most useful number for the server itself, because DNS, connect and TLS depend mostly on distance and network. This test measures the HTML response only, not images, scripts or rendering, so it is not the same as a full page load time in the browser.

The test runs from one location. Visitors far from that location will see longer connect and TLS times.

DNS lookup      12 ms
TCP connect     28 ms
TLS handshake   41 ms
Server wait    310 ms
Download        15 ms
Total          406 ms

When to test response time

A WordPress site feels slow

Check whether the time is spent on the server (plugins, database, no caching) or on the network before you buy a bigger hosting plan.

Comparing hosts or regions

Test the same page on two servers, or before and after moving to AWS, a VPS or a managed host.

After adding a CDN

Confirm that Cloudflare or another CDN actually shortened connect and TLS times and that cached pages have a low server wait.

Checking an API endpoint

Measure a public API URL to see whether slowness comes from the handshake or from the endpoint's own work.

Check something else

Frequently asked questions

What is a good response time?

Lower is better, and the phase ratings show which part needs work. As a rule of thumb, a cached page should have a server wait well under half a second. Uncached pages from a CMS are often slower.

What is TTFB?

Time to first byte: how long after sending the request the first byte of the response arrives. Here it is shown as server wait, the part spent by the server, separate from DNS, connect and TLS.

Why do I get different results each time?

Caches warm up, servers handle other traffic and network routes change. Run the test a few times and look at the typical value, not a single result.

Is this the same as page speed?

No. It measures the main HTML response only. Page speed tools also load images, scripts and fonts and measure rendering in a browser.

Can TinyPing track response time over time?

Yes. Every HTTP monitor check records the response time, and the dashboard shows it alongside uptime. Alerts are sent when the site errors or times out, not on a response time threshold.

See response time over days, not one test

One test is a snapshot. TinyPing checks every 5, 15 or 30 minutes, charts the response time and alerts you when:

  • the site times out
  • the server returns an error status
  • the domain stops resolving or HTTPS breaks
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