A Shopify store using the Dawn theme is experiencing a critical mobile slider issue on product pages. Mobile users can only swipe through 2-3 product images before the slider becomes unresponsive, forcing them to use arrow buttons instead.
Impact observed:
Additional concern:
Current status:
Hi All,
My store (www.wen-kelli.com) is having trouble on it’s product page for mobile users. They can swipe through 2-3 pictures before the slider gets stuck and they are forced to use the arrows buttons. I’ve got clarity (session viewer) installed and can see that a lot of visitors leave after this occurs and that it’s causing great friction.
Can someone please help me?
extra info | Theme = dawn
The problem with your product pages is that you’re not being careful with your videos.
For example, Gina Bangle – Wen-Kelli
There are 32 videos on this page and many of them are set to autoplay even when not visible.
This page consumes over 200MB of data in just a couple of minutes.
No wonder that less powerful devices on slower networks choke under this load.
If your visitors are on the metered cell connection you can easily leave them offline in just several minutes.
Looks like these sections from Sections store simply load whatever you want and do not control these videos…
You need to raise this issue with them.
Or hire someone to write a code to pause off-screen videos…
Hii, @user2395
I had a look at your website and totally get where the frustration is coming from having the image slider freeze like that can really hurt the browsing experience especially for mobile users who naturally swipe more than click. You can do few things like:
Identify what’s breaking the slider
Disable one app at a time especially image related or analytics tools and recheck the slider.
If you’re using the default slider inside the theme, check if any custom JavaScript or app scripts are overriding it.
Optimize the product media settings
Go to your theme customizer - Product Information - Media Settings, and ensure the media gallery type is set to Slider or Thumbnails below depending on your theme.
If your theme supports lazy loading for product images, turn it on this ensures only the first few images load initially, which also reduces lag on mobile swipes.
Compress large product photos to under 200 KB each.
From your PageSpeed test, the main issue is high image weight over 6 MB and some render blocking scripts.
Resize hero and gallery images properly before upload.
Move any non-essential scripts tracking pixels, chat widgets, etc. To load after the main product content.
Keep your total product page apps to the minimum every extra script adds milliseconds that stack up.
If your theme hasn’t been updated recently, install the latest version. Most theme updates now include improved mobile sliders that use native swipe gestures instead of JavaScript-heavy versions.
If you’d rather not handle the manual optimization yourself, you can also try to look into the Website Speedy App. It automatically improves store performance optimizing images, deferring scripts, and fixing mobile rendering issues without changing your theme.
Hi @user2395,
From your description, it sounds like the product image slider is experiencing a performance or script conflict on mobile devices, which is preventing smooth swiping after a few images. This is likely caused by one of the following:
Suggestions to fix or improve it:
Addressing these usually restores smooth swiping and reduces friction for mobile visitors.