Ecom Today Blog | February 17, 2021

5 tips for boosting the speed of your Shopify store

5 tips for boosting the speed of your Shopify store
5 tips for boosting the speed of your Shopify store
Your website loading speed is one of the most important criteria that determine the performance of your online store. Thus, increasing your website download speed is crucial to stand among the competitors.

The present-day world has stated a certain example of a perfect website: it is quick, all the pages open almost instantly, and its loading time doesn't take more than 4-5 seconds. That is why we decided to touch upon this topic to share several ways to optimize your store to speed it up.
Your website loading speed is one of the most important criteria that determine the performance of your online store. Thus, increasing your website download speed is crucial to stand among the competitors.

The present-day world has stated a certain example of a perfect website: it is quick, all the pages open almost instantly, and its loading time doesn't take more than 4-5 seconds. That is why we decided to touch upon this topic to share several ways to optimize your store to speed it up.

Why is website speed so important?

This question is probably the most urgent, and in fact, the answer is simple. Reason # 1: Google "likes" fast pages.

If you want to gain organic traffic, you can work with content on your website. However, if you want your website to rank high on Google, page load speed is of prime importance. If the site does not appear in at least the first 10 results, you are not likely to attract organic traffic.

So why does Google "love" sites with a high loading speed?

Tip: If you have experience in eCommerce, there is a high chance that you are familiar with the term bounce rate. The bounce rate shows the percentage of all sessions on your site in which users viewed only a single page and triggered only a single request to the Analytics server. A high percentage indicates that either your page loading speed is slow, or is irrelevant.

To cut it short, Google knows what sites are loved by users and is interested in the user finding the information they need. Thus, it directs the user to the site where he/she could do it. If the user stays on the site, this means Google was right with its algorithm, and it will do it again with other users.

You may have a good site with the best design and precious information, but if your loading speed is slow, Google will not give you high traffic. Google loves fast-speed sites because it only benefits when it offers users sites with relevant content.

Thus, if your website loading speed is low, Google won't bring traffic to it. Even if you are a genius marketer, your potential customers will leave your Shopify store and not discover the product you sell if the loading takes too long.

The image below shows the likelihood of a person leaving the site as the loading time increases.
Why is website speed so important?
This question is probably the most urgent, and in fact, the answer is simple. Reason # 1: Google "likes" fast pages.

If you want to gain organic traffic, you can work with content on your website. However, if you want your website to rank high on Google, page load speed is of prime importance. If the site does not appear in at least the first 10 results, you are not likely to attract organic traffic.

So why does Google "love" sites with a high loading speed?

Tip: If you have experience in eCommerce, there is a high chance that you are familiar with the term bounce rate. The bounce rate shows the percentage of all sessions on your site in which users viewed only a single page and triggered only a single request to the Analytics server. A high percentage indicates that either your page loading speed is slow, or is irrelevant.

To cut it short, Google knows what sites are loved by users and is interested in the user finding the information they need. Thus, it directs the user to the site where he/she could do it. If the user stays on the site, this means Google was right with its algorithm, and it will do it again with other users.

You may have a good site with the best design and precious information, but if your loading speed is slow, Google will not give you high traffic. Google loves fast-speed sites because it only benefits when it offers users sites with relevant content.

Thus, if your website loading speed is low, Google won't bring traffic to it. Even if you are a genius marketer, your potential customers will leave your Shopify store and not discover the product you sell if the loading takes too long.

The image below shows the likelihood of a person leaving the site as the loading time increases.
Why is website speed so important?

How to check the website loading speed

In fact, there are many tools for testing page loading speed, free and paid ones. You can also use several services at once.

How to check the website loading speed
In fact, there are many tools for testing page loading speed, free and paid ones. You can also use several services at once.

How to check the website loading speed

5 tips for boosting the speed of your Shopify store

Now we know more about speed checking.

But what if your site is already performing better than the rest? Or vice versa, you realized that it lags behind the competitors? Either way, you need to concentrate on optimizing your website speed. Here are some tips on increasing the speed of your Shopify online store.
5 tips for boosting the speed of your Shopify store
Now we know more about speed checking.

But what if your site is already performing better than the rest? Or vice versa, you realized that it lags behind the competitors? Either way, you need to concentrate on optimizing your website speed. Here are some tips on increasing the speed of your Shopify online store.

1. Use fast themes

The first tip to speed up your site is using fast themes. If you use Shopify, you know that the platform has a store with numerous free and paid themes. In case you are just starting your e-commerce journey, we recommend using free themes:

If your online store has already started bringing in money, then we recommend switching to a paid theme. Paid themes offer more functionality and add individual charm to online stores. Study the list of the most popular paid themes to choose the one to your liking. You may not opt for just one theme, but try several, read the reviews and check their performance.

Note that if you install a theme with no errors in code, your website will show excellent speed results.
1. Use fast themes
The first tip to speed up your site is using fast themes. If you use Shopify, you know that the platform has a store with numerous free and paid themes. In case you are just starting your e-commerce journey, we recommend using free themes:

If your online store has already started bringing in money, then we recommend switching to a paid theme. Paid themes offer more functionality and add individual charm to online stores. Study the list of the most popular paid themes to choose the one to your liking. You may not opt for just one theme, but try several, read the reviews and check their performance.

Note that if you install a theme with no errors in code, your website will show excellent speed results.

2. Reduce the number of installed applications

The more apps you add to your store, the slower your store might get. The key here is to work with these apps that are actively used and provide good benefits not clogging up your store.

No doubt, we all want to get the most use out of the apps as some of them help to automate certain processes, some help to increase conversion rate, average check, etc. However, we strongly recommend using only those applications that show real results!

Open the list of all your apps. Do you really use them all? Do all of them really improve your store's performance? If the answer is no – feel free to delete it!

Also, keep in mind: if you delete the app, it is just half the battle!

There is one more important aspect when optimizing for website speed. Clicking "Uninstall" to remove an app from your Shopify store isn't always enough. While installing the app, the app code is integrated into the website ecosystem. Thus, when you delete it the code doesn't usually erase, but stays in the sore and slows down its speed. The majority of apps have included the instruction about correct uninstalling. Anyway, if you have any questions, you can always contact app support.
2. Reduce the number of installed applications
The more apps you add to your store, the slower your store might get. The key here is to work with these apps that are actively used and provide good benefits not clogging up your store.

No doubt, we all want to get the most use out of the apps as some of them help to automate certain processes, some help to increase conversion rate, average check, etc. However, we strongly recommend using only those applications that show real results!

Open the list of all your apps. Do you really use them all? Do all of them really improve your store's performance? If the answer is no – feel free to delete it!

Also, keep in mind: if you delete the app, it is just half the battle!

There is one more important aspect when optimizing for website speed. Clicking "Uninstall" to remove an app from your Shopify store isn't always enough. While installing the app, the app code is integrated into the website ecosystem. Thus, when you delete it the code doesn't usually erase, but stays in the sore and slows down its speed. The majority of apps have included the instruction about correct uninstalling. Anyway, if you have any questions, you can always contact app support.
Reduce the number of applications

3. Compress media files

You can also increase the speed of your Shopify store by optimizing the website media files: images, videos, GIFs.

When you upload the photos of products provided by the suppliers, some of them may reach several gigabytes in size. Such files are not necessary, to say nothing that they slow down your website speed.

The good news is that there are numerous websites that allow you to compress images without losing that much of their quality. You may use the free TinyPNG or ILoveIMG, download the images in PNG and JPEG and easily compress them.

Try to keep the images no more than 300KB for better site performance.
3. Compress media files
You can also increase the speed of your Shopify store by optimizing the website media files: images, videos, GIFs.

When you upload the photos of products provided by the suppliers, some of them may reach several gigabytes in size. Such files are not necessary, to say nothing that they slow down your website speed.

The good news is that there are numerous websites that allow you to compress images without losing that much of their quality. You may use the free TinyPNG or ILoveIMG, download the images in PNG and JPEG and easily compress them.

Try to keep the images no more than 300KB for better site performance.

4. Use Google Tag Manager

Another tool for optimizing your store's loading speed is Google Tag Manager. It allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags used on certain pages without having to modify the code.

If you use various eCommerce tools, you know that many of them provide the lines of code to put on your site. As a rule, you copy and paste them into a file called "theme.liquid".

Thus, the more codes you add, the slower your Shopify site will load. Then it turns out that you have a large "queue" of lines of code loading which slows down your site.

Google Tag Manager is a free tool that allows you to choose the codes you want to display on your website. Let's say you're using a tool that you only want to apply to a specific page. Google Tag Manager will apply this code only to certain pages to save the loading time of other pages to let you control which tags, and when are triggered. Another benefit of Google Tag Manager is that all your tags are stored in one place.

Tip: do not use GTM to install the Google Analytics code or Facebook pixel. There are fields in the Preferences section of your Shopify dashboard.
4. Use Google Tag Manager
Another tool for optimizing your store's loading speed is Google Tag Manager. It allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags used on certain pages without having to modify the code.

If you use various eCommerce tools, you know that many of them provide the lines of code to put on your site. As a rule, you copy and paste them into a file called "theme.liquid".

Thus, the more codes you add, the slower your Shopify site will load. Then it turns out that you have a large "queue" of lines of code loading which slows down your site.

Google Tag Manager is a free tool that allows you to choose the codes you want to display on your website. Let's say you're using a tool that you only want to apply to a specific page. Google Tag Manager will apply this code only to certain pages to save the loading time of other pages to let you control which tags, and when are triggered. Another benefit of Google Tag Manager is that all your tags are stored in one place.

Tip: do not use GTM to install the Google Analytics code or Facebook pixel. There are fields in the Preferences section of your Shopify dashboard.

5. Use AMP pages

The next tip will be relevant for those who already generate organic traffic and want to improve the website performance. We suggest using Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP.

AMP is a third-party accelerated mobile page technology promoted by Google in its search engine. The tool converts the pages of your Shopify store to AMP and provides almost instant page loading on the mobile site. We recommend the Shop Sheriff app to integrate this feature into your Shopify store.
5. Use AMP pages
The next tip will be relevant for those who already generate organic traffic and want to improve the website performance. We suggest using Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP.

AMP is a third-party accelerated mobile page technology promoted by Google in its search engine. The tool converts the pages of your Shopify store to AMP and provides almost instant page loading on the mobile site. We recommend the Shop Sheriff app to integrate this feature into your Shopify store.
Use AMP pages
If you are just starting your eCommerce experience and launched a first Shopify store, this option might be optional. However, if you desire to become the leader in your niche in terms of site loading speed, we highly recommend trying it.

To sum up, we have offered you the best ways of increasing the loading speed of your Shopify store. If you want to optimize it and stand among the competitors, start implementing them and the results will please you!

If you have any questions wondering this or any other topic, you are free to ask them in our Telegram. Our specialists will provide fast help to solve your problem and offer the solution.
If you are just starting your eCommerce experience and launched a first Shopify store, this option might be optional. However, if you desire to become the leader in your niche in terms of site loading speed, we highly recommend trying it.

To sum up, we have offered you the best ways of increasing the loading speed of your Shopify store. If you want to optimize it and stand among the competitors, start implementing them and the results will please you!

If you have any questions wondering this or any other topic, you are free to ask them in our Telegram. Our specialists will provide fast help to solve your problem and offer the solution.
Start your 14-day free trial to test all Shopify features today!
Start your 14-day free trial to test all Shopify features today!
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Useful links

ecomlife.pro/services – prebuilt dropshipping stores, Shopify store development, store review, video editing and other services.

@shopifyeasy – our fast-growing Ecommerce & Dropshipping community.

@ecomtoday_en – information channel with useful articles and topical news.
Useful links

ecomlife.pro/services – prebuilt dropshipping stores, Shopify store development, store review, video editing and other services.

@shopifyeasy – our fast-growing Ecommerce & Dropshipping community.

@ecomtoday_en – information channel with useful articles and topical news.

In our Ecommerce Community, we unite everyone who shares an interest in selling items online and wants to enhance knowledge in this area.
In our Ecommerce Community, we unite everyone who shares an interest in selling items online and wants to enhance knowledge in this area.