The verdict in three sentences
A B2B website whose mobile LCP exceeds 4 seconds loses a measurable share of its quote requests, and Google places it in the "poor" zone of its Core Web Vitals. In Berlin in 2026, budget 1,200 to 3,000 EUR excl. VAT for the audit and 3,000 to 12,000 EUR excl. VAT for the fixes, depending on whether the issue comes from images, the theme or hosting. The numeric target is easy to put in a contract: LCP under 2.5 s, INP under 200 ms, CLS under 0.1 at the 75th percentile of real visitors.
The three thresholds to demand and what they measure
Core Web Vitals are measured on field data (Chrome's CrUX report), not on a single lab test. What counts is the 75th percentile value over 28 days: if 25% of your mobile visitors wait more than 2.5 s, your page is rated slow.
| Metric | What it measures | Good | Needs improvement | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | Display of the largest visible element | under 2.5 s | 2.5 to 4 s | over 4 s |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | Responsiveness to clicks and input | under 200 ms | 200 to 500 ms | over 500 ms |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | Visual stability of the page | under 0.1 | 0.1 to 0.25 | over 0.25 |
| TTFB (diagnostic metric) | Server response time | under 0.8 s | 0.8 to 1.8 s | over 1.8 s |
| Mobile page weight (benchmark) | Total resources loaded | under 1.5 MB | 1.5 to 3 MB | over 3 MB |
| Third-party scripts (benchmark) | Chat, tags, pixels, widgets | fewer than 5 | 5 to 12 | more than 12 |
On a typical Berlin B2B site (WordPress with a page builder, header slider, four tracking tools, background video), you often find an LCP of 4.5 to 6 s and an INP of 300 to 600 ms. The cause is rarely single, which is why an audit should come before paying for fixes.
What each type of work costs in 2026
The ranges below are a German market estimate for 2026 for a B2B corporate site of 20 to 80 pages. They vary with the technology and the state of the code.
| Work item | Budget excl. VAT (2026 estimate) | Lead time | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Web Vitals audit (CrUX, Lighthouse, WebPageTest, action plan) | 1,200 to 3,000 EUR | 1 to 2 weeks | Diagnosis and prioritisation |
| Image optimisation (AVIF/WebP, sizing, lazy loading) | 800 to 2,500 EUR | 3 to 5 days | LCP -1 to -2 s |
| Cleaning up third-party scripts and tag manager | 600 to 2,000 EUR | 2 to 4 days | INP -100 to -300 ms |
| Hosting change, CDN and server cache | 500 to 2,500 EUR + 30 to 150 EUR/month | 1 week | TTFB cut by 2 to 4 |
| Theme rebuild or page builder removal | 4,000 to 12,000 EUR | 4 to 8 weeks | Lasting gains on all three metrics |
| Monthly performance monitoring | 150 to 500 EUR/month | Ongoing | Prevents regressions |
A realistic total budget for a slow but sound site sits between 4,000 and 8,000 EUR excl. VAT (audit included). Beyond 12,000 EUR, a full rebuild on a modern stack deserves consideration, because you are then paying to work around an architecture that stays heavy.
What the quote must state
A serious optimisation quote must include measurable targets and a measurement method. Ask explicitly for: baseline values (a capture of the CrUX report or Search Console), targets per metric and per page template (home, service page, article), the list of tested pages, and a 28-day acceptance clause, the time field data needs to refresh. Be wary of promises of a "100 score on PageSpeed": the lab score is not what Google uses, and it can be inflated with no benefit for your real visitors. In Germany, also check that any CDN or font change keeps you GDPR compliant, for instance by self-hosting web fonts.
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Jonas runs an industrial maintenance SME in Berlin (14 employees). His site gets 3,200 monthly visits, 62% on mobile, and generates 24 quote requests per month. Mobile LCP is 5.1 s, INP 420 ms.
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He commissions an audit at 1,800 EUR excl. VAT, then fixes at 4,700 EUR excl. VAT (images, removal of two slider plugins, CDN, cleanup of six scripts). After 28 days, LCP drops to 2.2 s and INP to 170 ms. With a 12% conversion gain, mid-range of what the market observes, he gets about 2.9 extra requests per month. With a 25% close rate and a gross margin of 2,400 EUR per contract, that is roughly 1,700 EUR of margin per month. The 6,500 EUR investment pays back in just under 4 months.
FAQ
How long until the effect shows in Search Console?
Field data covers a rolling 28-day window. Allow 4 to 6 weeks after the fixes go live to see pages move from "poor" to "good".
Do Core Web Vitals really improve Google rankings?
They are part of the page experience signals but weigh less than content relevance. Their clearest effect is on conversion: market gains of 7 to 20% are regularly observed when LCP drops under 2.5 s.
Do I need to rebuild the whole site to fix a 5-second LCP?
Not always. In about two cases out of three, images, caching and third-party scripts are enough for 3,000 to 6,000 EUR excl. VAT. A rebuild is justified if the theme or page builder alone blocks more than one second.
Can a WordPress site reach a good INP?
Yes, provided you limit active plugins (fewer than 20 in practice) and third-party scripts. An INP under 200 ms is achievable on most corporate sites.
How do I stop performance degrading after optimisation?
Set a written performance budget (page weight, number of scripts) and a monthly check, 150 to 500 EUR excl. VAT per month on the market. Every new widget should be tested before release.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL: we price the audit and fixes scope, with a delivery timeline and measurable targets per page. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.