Why did my website speed score drop dramatically?

[MNG_091]

Hi! Help, please. Our speed score dramatically decreased from 70/71 to 42 😞

I already deleted unused apps. These are the remaining apps that we really need:
Online Store
Customify - Customize Product
Printify: Print on Demand
17TRACK Order, PayPal Tracking
qikify Sales Pop up
Inbox
Bundler
Klaviyo: Email Marketing & SMS
Email
Shop

Majority of the photos are from Printify. Do we need to adjust the file size of those to regain the speed?

Thank you!

[JoesIdeas]

For any apps you deleted, if those apps were store facing, make sure there isn't any leftover code (like if an app showed something on your site, make sure there aren't scripts that got installed in your theme that are still there). You can check theme.liquid, that file is usually where those end up.

Aside from that, you can use the Shopify Analyzer to see what performance issues your site has, and how to fix them.

For photos, I recommend Crush Pics to automatically optimize your images site-wide.

I would not delete apps because of an arbitrary score with any tool, just maximize what you can (that tool will help you) and focus on actual speed + conversion rate. I've optimized hundreds of sites in the past (I used to run an agency, but do not do this type of work any more), most successful Shopify stores don't have a high score, because with ecommerce the goal is conversions, not having the fastest site. There is usually a tradeoff, if you have more customer facing features, those take up bandwidth, so just maximize what you can without sacrificing the user experience.

[MNG_091]

Thanks so much, @JoesIdeas I'll try all your suggestions! 

[Lana]

Hello, @MNG_091!

Could you please share a link to your store here? I could browse around and let you know if the current speed is negatively affecting the user experience. 

When we are looking at site speed as a whole, we take into consideration several factors, some of which can be controlled, and others that cannot. 

For example, product images - if the images are high quality large files, then it is completely normal to experience slower loading times. If you're finding that the image load times are affecting the user experience negatively, then you may need to consider optimizing the images. I would recommend trying an app like LoyaltyHarbour Image Optimizer to do this.

Examples of factors that cannot be controlled include the customer's device, their network connection and their location - which can all contribute to a slower site speed.

I have a full guide on this for you in our help doc on improving your site speed here. 

If leftover app code is causing this, and you're having problems removing it, I would recommend either looking into it with the specific app developers (they know their code best and could help remove) or working with a Shopify Expert. 

Experts are freelancers that charge their rates based on the work that they do, but they can help you further investigate some factors that you may not be fully comfortable looking into yourself, such as diving into the code of your theme.

Have you experienced any section of your store as being particularly slow since you saw the score go down? 

[INA_MSWEB]

Hi @MNG_091 

I hope you are doing good and welcome to the Shopify Community!
I am San from MS Web Designer.

For the Shopify Speed Issues on your store, you need to Speed optimization.

Few Tips to Speed Up Shopify Site-
1. Use compressed images
2. Optimize use of Shopify apps
3. Implement AMP
4. Consider Professional Help
5. Use a single Hero Image
6. Minify Js/Css files

Regards,

San