What does the overall load time of a web page encompass?

The overall load time of a web page includes the total time taken from the moment a user requests the page, until it is fully rendered and interactive. This encompasses various phases of loading, such as DNS lookups, connection establishment, request and response times, downloading all of the resources (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images), processing the resources, and rendering the content to the user's screen.

By considering the sum of all individual timing measurements, one captures every component that contributes to the total time it takes for a web page to load fully. This comprehensive view is crucial for performance analysis and optimization, as it allows developers and stakeholders to identify bottlenecks and improve the overall user experience.

In contrast, focusing only on specific aspects, such as processing time, request and response times, or cache time, does not provide a complete picture of the user's experience with page loading. Each of these components plays a role, but understanding the total load time requires accounting for all individual timings contributing to the full loading process.