Azizul Islam
Quick answer: most slow Shopify stores are slowed down by too many apps, oversized images, heavy page builders and third-party scripts, not by Shopify itself. Measure your store with PageSpeed Insights, remove what you do not need, compress your media and keep important content free of heavy scripts.
Shopify’s servers and CDN are fast. When a Shopify store feels slow, it is almost always because of what has been added on top. Here is how to find the cause and fix it.
How to measure your Shopify store speed
- Shopify admin: check the web performance report in Analytics. It uses real visitor data.
- Google PageSpeed Insights: test your homepage, a collection page and your best-selling product page on mobile.
- Core Web Vitals: Google’s targets are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint (INP) under 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) under 0.1.
Always test product pages, not just the homepage. That is where shoppers decide.
1. Too many apps (and leftover app code)
Every app can add JavaScript and CSS to every page. Uninstalling an app does not always remove the code it added to your theme.
- List every installed app and ask: does this make me money? Remove the rest.
- After uninstalling, check your theme files and app embeds for leftover snippets.
- Replace several small apps (badges, timers, size charts) with native theme sections.
2. Large, uncompressed images
- Upload product photos at a sensible size, around 2000 pixels wide is plenty for zoom.
- Use Shopify’s built-in image handling so the right size is served to each device.
- Lazy-load images below the fold, but never the main hero or product image, which should load first.
3. Heavy page builders and sliders
Drag-and-drop page builder apps are convenient but often load large libraries on every page. Homepage sliders and autoplay videos add even more weight. Native Online Store 2.0 sections or custom Liquid sections do the same job with a fraction of the code. This is why I build stores with hand-coded sections instead of page builders.
4. Third-party scripts
Chat widgets, review carousels, heatmaps, popups and multiple tracking pixels all compete for the browser’s attention.
- Keep one analytics setup, not three.
- Load chat widgets on interaction or after the page has loaded.
- Install tracking through official Shopify apps and customer events instead of pasting scripts into the theme.
5. Too many fonts
Each font weight is a separate download. Stick to one or two font families and only the weights you use. System fonts are the fastest option of all.
6. An outdated or bloated theme
Older themes built before Online Store 2.0 often load more code than needed. If your theme is several years old and heavily patched, moving to a modern, lightweight theme can fix many problems at once.
Speed checklist
- Remove unused apps and their leftover code
- Compress and resize images
- Replace page builder pages with native sections
- Remove sliders and autoplay video above the fold
- Limit fonts to two families
- Audit third-party scripts and duplicate pixels
- Re-test product pages on mobile
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify speed affect SEO?
Yes. Core Web Vitals are part of Google’s page experience signals, and slow pages also lose visitors before they convert, which hurts sales directly.
Will a speed optimisation app fix my store?
Sometimes a little, but many speed apps add their own scripts. Removing the cause (extra apps, heavy media, bloated code) works better than adding another app.
What is a good PageSpeed score for Shopify?
Focus on passing Core Web Vitals rather than a perfect score. Most real stores with reviews, tracking and chat will not score 100 on mobile, and that is fine if real visitors get a fast experience.
Want a faster store without losing features?
Speed optimisation is part of my Standard and Premium Shopify packages, with Core Web Vitals work in Premium. View packages or send me your store link on WhatsApp.