Does anyone know why our store suddenly dropped 30 in speed score on May 24? We have not made any huge changes.
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Hi @Dogleg ,
Thank you for reaching out to the Community. I’m happy to provide some assistance with improving your site speed, to ensure this gets resolved.
To get started, I’ve gone ahead and made a few suggestions that may help improve your site speed. There are 4 main reasons customers will experience slow loading times including:
- Too many apps trying to load at one time: The more apps that are running at once, the longer the loading times will be. Determine if you really need all those apps and If you’re not using them at all, then you should remove them. I know you mentioned you’ve recently added some new features, are these with the help of apps?
- Theme customizations: When you edit or customize themes, file sizes can increase and affect your store speed. If you have a heavily customized theme, this may be something to take into consideration.
- Image sizes: The larger the image size and the more videos and slideshows you display, the longer it will take to load. We also have a great blog article with 10 Must Know Image Optimization Tips.
- The end-user/customer browser, device, and internet connection: This is something you won’t have control over of course, but it is good to keep in mind.
Additionally, I recommend checking out our Improving Your Online Speed Score document as it touches on a few more tips and suggestions. If you are using a Free Shopify Theme, we may be able to investigate further to provide basic performance improvements. You can learn more about the support available, in our Support For Themes document.
You may also consider hiring a Shopify Expert. They are trusted third-party agencies and freelancers that work to help improve your business! To learn more, you can check out our Expert Marketplace.
Please let me know if there’s anything else I can assist with.
Hello @Dogleg ,
Good day! Gina from flareAI app helping Shopify merchants get $6Million+ in sales from Google Search, on autopilot.
Experiencing a sudden decrease in speed for your Shopify store can be worrisome, as it has the potential to impact user experience and even affect your sales. Numerous factors may contribute to this decline in speed.
Below are a few actions you can perform to identify and address the problem.
- Check your internet connection
Ensure you have a stable internet connection and not experiencing any slowdowns. Also, test the speed to rule out any issues on your end.
- Analyze recent changes
If you haven’t made any significant changes, small modifications like adding new apps, themes, or updating code can impact performance. Review the recent changes made to your store and consider rolling back any recent updates to see if it resolves the speed issue.
- Review third-party apps
Disable or uninstall any recently installed apps one by one and check if there’s any improvement in speed.
- Optimize theme and code
Inefficient or excessively bulky code can impact the speed of your store. Take the time to assess your theme files, eliminate any unnecessary code or apps, and enhance image performance by compressing them without sacrificing quality.
- Monitor resource usage
Check if any specific resources, such as images or scripts, are causing performance issues. Use developer tools in web browsers (e.g., Chrome DevTools) to analyze network requests, page load times, and resource utilization. Identify any bottlenecks and optimize accordingly.
- Consider caching
Shopify has built-in caching mechanisms, but you can further optimize performance by leveraging caching apps or a content delivery network (CDN). Caching helps store static content closer to the user, reducing load times.
- Contact Shopify support
If the speed issue persists, reach out to Shopify’s support team. They can investigate the issue further and provide specific guidance based on your store’s setup and configuration.
Ensure that you frequently check your store’s speed and performance to promptly identify any problems. Furthermore, staying updated on Shopify’s latest recommendations and best practices will aid you in maximizing your store’s speed and delivering a smooth shopping experience to your customers.
You can refer to this guide on how to speed up your online store in Shopify.
Let me know if you require any further guidance.
Gina