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Data Extraction Glossary

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Time to Interactive

Time to Interactive (TTI)

Time to Interactive is an important web performance metric. It is the time that a web page takes to become interactive. At this point the user can fully use the web page. You can fill out the form or click the buttons. The lower TTI means pages load faster and results in quicker interaction.

What is Time to Interactive?

The time between page loading and the point it turns fully interactive is called TTI. Within this time, all the important elements of the page are clearly visible, and the user can enter inputs without any delay.

Time to interactive is the key factor of users experience. It should be as low as possible for smooth interaction.

How Does Time to Interactive Work?

Time to interactive is calculated by measuring the time from when a web pages starts loading till they are fully loaded. It is the point when no long tasks block the main thread and the page becomes becoming fully rendered. 

TTI scores play a significant part in performance metrics tools, like Google’s Lighthouse. It determines how quickly a site becomes usable. High loading times, lengthy scripts, and poor coding can have a negative impact on performance scores and TTI.

How to Improve TTI?

  1. Reduce JavaScript execution and blocking time.
  2. Make use of code-splitting and lazy loading.
  3. Optimize server response times as well as third-party scripts.
  4. Prioritize rendering above-the-fold content.

By improving TTI, developers can increase the websites’ loading time. This way they become fully interactive quickly, which results in better users satisfaction.

Examples

  • A website with fast loading times, as well as optimized scripts, sees a Time to Interactive of 3 seconds.
  • A new blog site using heavy ads took around 8 seconds for becoming interactive. This results in low performance scoring and high user drop-off.
  • Optimizing a travel website’s image sizes as well as scripts cuts TTI by 50%, eventually improving TTI and bounce rates.

Understanding as well as enhancing Time to Interactive leads to smoother digital experiences and aids websites in succeeding in today’s speed-sensitive environment.