The verdict in three sentences
At 5.4 s mobile load time, a B2B site loses a large share of visitors before the catalogue even appears. Optimising the existing site for EUR 1,200 to 3,000 is enough if the site is under 4 years old with a sound technical base; otherwise a performance-first rebuild at EUR 7,000 to 12,000 pays off better. Each second saved brings, as a ballpark, 15 to 25% more conversions, and fast hosting costs only EUR 30 to 80 per month.
The three Core Web Vitals and your target thresholds
Google measures your visitors' real experience over 28 days using Chrome data. Three metrics matter, and a "green" site must meet them for at least 75% of visits.
| Metric | What it measures | "Good" threshold | Typical slow SME value | Common cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | Rendering of the largest visible element | ≤ 2.5 s | 4.5 to 6 s | 2 to 4 MB banner image, slow server |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | Responsiveness to clicks | ≤ 200 ms | 350 to 600 ms | Third-party scripts, chat, page builder |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | Visual stability | ≤ 0.1 | 0.2 to 0.4 | Cookie banner, fonts, images without dimensions |
| TTFB (supporting metric) | Server response time | ≤ 0.8 s | 1.5 to 2.5 s | EUR 5 per month shared hosting |
| Mobile page weight | Data downloaded | < 1.5 MB | 4 to 8 MB | Uncompressed JPEGs, autoplay videos |
For a medical equipment supplier, LCP is almost always the bottleneck: high-definition product photos and demo videos loaded as soon as the page opens.
Optimise or rebuild: the options priced
| Option | 2026 budget (excl. VAT) | Timeline | Main actions | Expected mobile LCP | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeted optimisation | EUR 1,200 to 1,800 | 1 to 2 weeks | AVIF images, lazy loading, caching, CDN | 3 to 3.5 s | Recent site, few third-party scripts |
| In-depth optimisation | EUR 2,000 to 3,000 | 2 to 4 weeks | + third-party script triage, self-hosted fonts, critical CSS, new host | 2.2 to 2.8 s | Site under 4 years old, well-maintained CMS |
| Performance-first rebuild | EUR 7,000 to 12,000 | 8 to 12 weeks | New stack (Next.js or lean WordPress), design system, SEO preserved | 1.0 to 1.8 s | Older site, heavy page builder |
| Fast hosting | EUR 30 to 80 / month | 1 day migration | Dedicated server or edge platform, HTTP/3, European CDN | TTFB gain of 0.5 to 1.5 s | In every case |
| Continuous monitoring | EUR 50 to 150 / month | Ongoing | Core Web Vitals alerts, performance budget | Gains maintained | Sites that publish often |
One caveat: removing a chat script or ad pixel can improve INP by 150 ms, but the decision must be made with marketing. The audit should price the performance cost of each third-party tool.
Mini case study
Sanne, managing director of a 30-employee SME distributing medical equipment (examination tables, autoclaves, clinic furniture) from Amsterdam, gets 9,000 visits a month, 65% on mobile. The site takes 5.4 s to load and converts 1.2% of visitors into quote requests, 108 requests a month.
Her 6-year-old site runs on a heavy page builder, so she chooses a performance-first rebuild at EUR 9,500 and hosting at EUR 50 a month. Mobile LCP drops to 1.6 s, about 3.8 s saved. Using a cautious +12% conversion per second instead of 15 to 25%, the rate rises to about 1.7%, 153 requests a month. With 10% of quotes signed and EUR 900 margin per order, the 45 extra requests bring about EUR 4,000 in monthly margin. The rebuild pays for itself in under 3 months.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
FAQ
How much does Core Web Vitals optimisation cost for an SME site in 2026?
Between EUR 1,200 and 3,000 to optimise an existing site, depending on the number of templates and third-party scripts. A full performance-first rebuild costs EUR 7,000 to 12,000.
How long before Google sees the improvement?
Chrome data covers a rolling 28 days: the Search Console report turns green 4 to 6 weeks after fixes go live.
Does speed really improve rankings?
Core Web Vitals are a secondary ranking factor, mostly decisive between pages of similar relevance. The strongest effect shows in conversion and bounce rate.
Is EUR 5 per month hosting enough?
Rarely for a B2B site with a catalogue: TTFB often exceeds 1.5 s. Hosting at EUR 30 to 80 a month with a European CDN cuts that time by two or three.
Should every image be converted to AVIF?
Yes for content images, with a WebP fallback for the rare unsupported browsers. Weight savings reach 40 to 60% compared with JPEG.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL: we will measure your Core Web Vitals and price the right option, optimisation from EUR 1,200 or a performance-first rebuild between EUR 7,000 and 12,000, with a 2 to 12 week timeline. 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.
