Hey there, @lawrencelv
Bo here from Shopify Support!
It is great to see you be so proactive about your site's performance. While the speed test tool is super insightful, it’s easy to take Google’s PageSpeed Insights advice on your Shopify theme a bit too much to heart while also ignoring some easier ways to improve your site performance. For both desktop and mobile, it's important to keep in mind that the score Google gives you is just one factor that determines how your site is ranking and how well it performs for users and in search rankings. While it's always a good idea to what you can to improve your site speed, chasing after a 100 is not a good use of your time as a business owner. Keep in mind that most, if not all, of the elements that page testing tools flag are necessary to make it possible for your customers to browse and buy on your site.
With that said, there are plenty of ways that you can improve your site speed without needing advanced development.
- Compress your images: Compressing your images is the easiest way to speed up your page and there are plenty of tools out there to do so. Two tools that I would recommend are ImageOptim and Compress JPEG. These tools make minute changes to your JPEG images that can result in some significant speed improvements. However, keep in mind that if very high-quality photography is a must for your site, this can be one of those areas that you’ll need to decide if speed or image quality is more important.
- Cut down on the number of banner images: Slideshows on your homepage can look great, they are however one of the biggest time contributors to page load times. I would recommend restricting the number of slides to two.
- The number of images: The more images, the more time it takes to load a page. That said, product images are one of the most important features tosell online. In order to cut down on the number of images, plan out how to maximize the view in each photo. In some cases, a single shot can effectively do the job of two or more separate images. Another option is to create a standalone page for additional product photos that shoppers can click on if they need to see more visuals.
- Delete unused apps: Third-party apps can also add to your loading time, so it’s always good to avoid app overload. I would also recommend doing a speed test before and after installing any app to see if it is worth the functionality.
- Eliminate sections: Removing unnecessary text and image sections from the homepage can greatly improve your homepage. Give your shoppers a brief peek at the content and then link to a separate page that houses the actual content. Also, consider removing social media feeds and widgets as these can add significant load time.
- Fonts: Standard, ubiquitous Web-safe fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman will work pretty much everywhere and with no page speed consequences at all; however they can be a little boring, so you may want to use a more interesting third-party Web font from Google Fonts, for example. But because these fonts “live elsewhere,” using them can affect page speed because the browser often has to go and fetch these fonts before it can display them. The impact may only be slight, but it’s still a good idea to limit these third-party font styles to one or two max on your site.
All the Best,
Bo
