Speeding up your Shopify store

Is your Shopify website slow?

I’d like to guide you through the basics of optimizing shopify stores for speed. Put your seatbelt on, useful knowledge coming in hot.

Test your speed

 Knowing where you are is always a good start. Google has a free service called PageSpeed Insights (https://pagespeed.web.dev). This will give your website a score for performance on mobiles and laptops/desktops.

This score is made of different factors, but the loading time of your website is the heaviest one. 

Google Consumer Insights found that 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load​. 

Slow website will hurt your page views and conversion rate. 

A slow website will cost you revenue.

PageSpeed Insights also provides details on what causes slow speed. Have you had a plugin, that you no longer use? There could be some wasted transfer on that. Are all your images correctly sized?(What is a correctly sized image?) Maybe you are just giving your speed away for nothing? Look through the list of opportunities. If you developed your theme yourself, you will be familiar with JavaScript and CSS files your website is using.

In extreme cases, an additional second of loading time can triple user bounce rate.

Shopify stores are often much more complicated than anyone actually needs. This is because Shopify is a service that is aimed to serve everyone.
While some of issues with speed can’t be remedied (usually a large DOM size, some .js libraries, slow response from the server), but many can and should.

Why care about website speed? There are only 3 reasons (that block your cashflow):

Page Views

Bounce rate

Conversion rate

They also say that 79% of people say they’re more likely to revisit and/or share a mobile site if it is easy to use.

(https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/mobile-site-load-time-statistics/)

Ok, I know all this, how do I fix it?

There is an easy way and the long way:

1. Check your “Apps”

Have you tried this awesome app for doing X when you initially set up your store?
Is it still there, but you are long past using it? Uninstall it!

2. Check your Developer Console

When you are on your website press F12 on your keyboard and open the Developer Console. This tool is incredibly useful for diagnosing issues related to website performance. Pay special attention to the ‘Network’ tab. Here, you can see each file that loads when someone visits your website. Look for any files that take a long time to load or are larger in size than they should be. These are prime targets for optimization.

3. Optimize Your Images 

One of the most common causes of slow website performance is large image files. Ensure your images are no larger than they need to be and are compressed for the web. Tools like TinyPNG or Shopify’s own image resizer can significantly reduce file sizes without compromising on quality.

4. Use AMP

Mobile Users Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a Google-backed project that enables fast mobile browsing. Implementing AMP for your Shopify store can significantly improve loading times on mobile devices.

5. Limit External Scripts and Iframes

External scripts like ads, font loaders, and widgets can slow down your website. Limit their use and only include necessary external resources.

6. Optimize CSS and JavaScript Files

 Minify and combine CSS and JavaScript files. This reduces the number and size of files that need to be downloaded when a user accesses your site.

7. Defer Loading of JavaScript

 Where possible, defer the loading of JavaScript until after the rest of the page has loaded. This ensures that the rendering of the page isn’t blocked by JS files

8. Prioritize Above-the-Fold Content (Lazy Loading)

 Implement lazy loading for images and videos, and focus on loading above-the-fold content first. This means the user sees a fully loaded page faster, even if the rest of the content loads in the background.

Common website optimizations that can’t be done for Shopify Stores

If you are scrouging the web in the search for remedies, you need to realize that Shopify is a SASS (Software-As-A-Service), therefore you can’t do anything about the back-end of your website. Time-To-First-Byte, hosting provider or  the database optimization are beyond th reach of Shopify customers. There is therefore a bottomline for Shopify stores performance, however it is much better than many solutions on the market anyway.

The easy way to excellence

We can help.

Unlock the full potential of your online presence with our expert assistance. At the heart of our philosophy lies a commitment to not just meet, but exceed industry standards, elevating your website to new heights of quality and performance.

We specialize in supercharging your website’s speed, ensuring lightning-fast load times that captivate your audience from the first click. Our approach is meticulous and all-encompassing. We delve into the minutiae of website optimization – from streamlining code for peak performance to employing cutting-edge practices in file hosting. Our goal is to not only attract visitors to your site but to create an immersive experience that retains them.

But our expertise doesn’t end there. We offer comprehensive analytics to understand user behavior, tailoring our strategies to meet your specific audience’s needs. Our solutions are crafted to boost your website’s performance significantly, enhancing the overall user experience. We ensure that every page, every image, and every line of code contributes to a fluid, seamless, and engaging digital journey.

By partnering with us, you’re not just speeding up your website. You’re embracing a philosophy of digital excellence. Say goodbye to the frustrations of slow-loading pages. Welcome a new era of swift, efficient, and highly optimized web experiences that not only keep your audience engaged but also convert their clicks into loyal customers.

Experience the pinnacle of digital efficiency and quality with us. Let’s redefine what it means to have a powerful, impactful online presence.