Optimizing Shopify Store for Speed and User Experience

Shopify Discussion
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What are the best ways to optimize my Shopify store for faster load times and better user experience?

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Hi there, @madbrain .

Welcome to the Shopify Community!

There are many ways in which you can optimize your store for faster loading times and helping to improve the customer experience.

  1. First, you’ll want to ensure you are using an up-to-date, optimized Online Store 2.0 theme. These themes are designed for better performance and are available for free from Shopify.
  2. Next, limit installed apps. Evaluate the apps you have installed. Remove any that are not providing significant value, as they can slow down your site.
  3. Use images that are resized and compressed to keep file sizes small. Aim for images no larger than 200 KB to improve loading times.
  4. Audit any additional third-party code you’ve added, including tag managers, to ensure they are not negatively impacting performance.
  5. Take advantage of our built-in web optimization features, such as the content delivery network (CDN) that helps load your store quickly around the globe.
  6. Use tools to test your store’s performance and identify areas for improvement. You can view your Web Performance report to see how your store performs against industry standards.

Let us know if you have tried any of these. Feel free to share any additional questions you may have.

1 Like
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Thank you for the tips! I’ve recently updated to an Online Store 2.0 theme, and I’m already noticing an improvement in performance. I’ve also started optimizing my images and reviewing the apps I have installed.

I’ll look into auditing third-party code and using Shopify’s built-in web optimization features next. I’ll keep an eye on the Web Performance report to track my progress.

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Optimizing a Shopify store is not just about compressing images. Adding critical CSS at the top, preloading critical images and fonts, and deferring non-critical scripts made a big difference to me. I also swapped heavy trackers with light trackers. Since I have used thecarbonfootprint.ai, I could detect hidden slowdowns and view the carbon footprint of my store.

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Hi @madbrain

Quick Tips to Speed Up Your Shopify Store & Improve UX

  1. Use a lightweight theme like Dawn or Prestige.
  2. Compress and resize images, use WebP, and enable lazy-loading.
  3. Remove unused apps and theme sections to reduce script bloat.
  4. Limit external scripts (Google Fonts, tracking tools).
  5. Preload key assets (fonts, hero images).

Core Web Vitals

  • Optimize Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):
    • Make hero banners load fast.
    • Avoid massive sliders above the fold.
  • Reduce Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):
    • Set fixed sizes for images, fonts, and embeds.
  • Reduce Total Blocking Time (TBT):
    • Avoid large JavaScript libraries; split scripts.
    • Defer or load scripts after interaction.
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Go with a fast, lightweight themeCompress all images before uploading. This enhance the site performance limit third-party apps and make use of shopify in-built features beforehand as much as possible. Consider using lazy loading, minimizing bespoke JavaScript and preloading vital assets. Regularly test your performance with tools such as PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to find out what you can fix.

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Of course, a fast theme is very important, but it’s not enough on its own. This is because even if a theme is very lightweight in its core structure, it’s all too easy for you to make it much more bloated with the plugins, visuals, and other elements you add. A mistake you make or an integration can cause this.

Here is what you can do:

  • First of all, you absolutely must use the Google PageSpeed tool and, in general, check your homepage, category pages, and product pages. https://pagespeed.web.dev/

  • Optimize your theme or have it optimized.

  • Use image compression and WebP images.

  • Use caching.

  • You can use Cloudflare or a different type of CDN, but you need to be a professional on this topic.

  • Finally, use a PageSpeed Monitor for one check per day. If your PageSpeed score suddenly drops, it will give you a warning, and you can learn where you made a mistake. For this, you can use this free tool

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Reduce unnecessary codes and explain what you sell in detail in the eye of customers, this can help optimize the store in a better way.