Why is my store speed score low and conversions not improving?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

A store owner reports low speed scores and poor conversions, with visitors not progressing beyond the homepage or signing up for email despite running TikTok ads. The text appears corrupted/reversed in places, making some content difficult to parse.

Speed Optimization Recommendations:

  • Target 2-4 second load times for homepage content
  • Reduce image quality/file sizes on the homepage
  • Use system fonts available in Theme Editor
  • Remove unwanted application features
  • Consider installing a performance-optimized theme
  • Compress files using SEO tools like SEOKart
  • Remove unused JavaScript/CSS code
  • Implement lazy loading for ads
  • Utilize CDN (Content Delivery Network)
  • Implement AMP for mobile pages

Conversion Improvement Suggestions:

  • Optimize site structure for strong first impressions
  • Use clear headings to organize content for easy scanning
  • Select appropriate theme and color palette for professional appearance
  • Add clear CTAs with urgency (e.g., “buy now for 15% discount,” “free shipping”)
  • Use Google Analytics to track traffic sources, revenue channels, and campaign performance

Additional Notes:
Several responders recommend third-party apps (Flash Speed, SEOKart) or hiring a Shopify Expert for personalized analysis if the owner is uncomfortable modifying theme code directly.

Summarized with AI on November 15. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I am having trouble with my store speed score as well as conversions. I have a quite a few visits everyday but it doesn’t seem like anyone is going past the front page and none are signing up for email. I am currently running a ad on TikTok so I am not sure if it is bots or my site is just that bad. PLEASE HELP! The site is www.themossymagnolia.com

2

Hi @Mossymagnolia ,

Thank you for reaching out! We understand it is not a simple task running a business so we commend you on how far you’ve come!

In regards to your query here, there is definitely a link between your store speed and customer conversion. The faster your website, the more customers you are likely to convert.

When a customer loads your online store, you want all of the content on the homepage to be loaded within 2-4 seconds. This is the ideal time frame to keep your customers’ attention and focus. So focusing on your store speed first and foremost is a great start.

When it comes to improving your online store speed there are factors that you can and cannot control. Here is a couple of suggestions to increase your online store speed:

  • Reduce the quality of images that are displayed on your online store homepage.
  • Removing unwanted application features.
  • Use a system font that is available in your Theme Editor.
  • Consider installing a theme that’s optimized for performance.

Each case is unique, so if you’re not comfortable making changes to the coding of your theme, or if you’d like a more personalized report on how to improve then we’d recommend reaching out to a Shopify Expert.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.

3

Hi @Mossymagnolia there are several apps helping to improve the page speed as well, such as Flash Speed which can be installed here: https://apps.shopify.com/pagespeed-javascript
Let me know if you need any specific support

4

Focusing on the page speed is a good way to attract customers to the store, as everyone prefers a fast-loading page. Here are some tips to improve the speed of your page:

  1. Compress large files on the website. You can use SEO tools, like SEOKart, which helps reduce the file size of the images without hampering their visual quality.
  2. Reduce the number of redirects on the page
  3. Remove unused or dead JavaScript and CSS from the website
  4. Implement AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), which is an open-source HTML framework that can help Google store the cached versions of the pages in the mobile server to reduce their loading time on mobile devices
  5. Implement lazy loading for the advertisements, which is a technique that is associated with identifying the resources on the pages and increasing their waiting time to load to allow other resources on the website to load quickly
  6. Utilize CDN (Content Delivery Network), in which proxy servers are created across the globe to reduce the distance between servers and user browsers to reduce the waiting time for the users

Furthermore, to improve the conversions on the page, you can follow the below-listed suggestions:

  1. Optimize Site Structure: It gives the first impression of the website; thus, optimize the site structure to give a good first impression.
  2. Use different heading tags to organize the content to make it easy for the users to scan through the website
  3. Ensure the consistency of the font format of different heading tags
  4. Select the right theme and color palette for the website to ensure that the website has a professional look1. Clear CTA: Clear call-to-actions are important to create a sense of urgency among the users to motivate them to complete purchases. You can add ‘buy now to get a 15% discount’, ‘buy now to get free shipping’, etc.
  5. Use Google Analytics: It can help the users to get quantifiable data regarding the website, like the channels generating the most traffic or revenues, or the most successful campaigns. Such data can help the users to make actionable decisions for the growth of the website.

Hope it helps!

Leesha

SEOKart