How To Speed Up A Shopify Website (Lightning-Fast Solutions)

Site speed is a critical factor for any eCommerce store.

Studies show that even a 1-second delay in page load time can cause a 7% reduction in conversions.

For Shopify stores specifically, site speed impacts:

• Search engine rankings – Google uses page speed as a ranking factor. Faster sites tend to rank higher.

• Bounce rate – Slow sites lead to higher bounce rates as visitors quickly leave. Fast sites keep visitors engaged.

• Conversions – Quickly loading pages encourage visitors to explore the site and make purchases. Slow sites frustrate shoppers and lose sales.

• Mobile experience – Over 60% of shopping traffic comes from mobile devices. Fast mobile speeds provide a smooth experience.

• SEO – Speed is a factor in search engine optimization. Fast sites are seen as of higher quality.

• Trust and credibility – Visitors expect eCommerce sites to load quickly. Slow sites seem unprofessional.

The good news is there are many ways to improve your Shopify site speed.

Optimizing images, enabling caching, upgrading hosting, and streamlining code can all speed up page load times.

This guide will walk through the top methods to analyze and improve your Shopify website speed.

Faster speeds lead to more traffic, greater engagement, and higher conversions.

Optimize Images

Images can significantly slow down your Shopify website if they are not properly optimized.

Here are some tips for optimizing images:

• Compress images – Use an image optimization tool like TinyPNG to compress image file sizes without sacrificing quality. Compressed images load faster.

• Resize images – Don’t just upload huge images without resizing them for the page. Resize images to the exact dimensions needed for the space on the page. Larger images take longer to load.

• Use Shopify’s CDN – Shopify automatically uses a content delivery network (CDN) to cache and serve images globally from multiple locations. This speeds up image load times.

• Lazy load images – Only load images that are visible on the screen. As the user scrolls down, additional images load lazily. This reduces initial page load time.

• Reduce number of HTTP requests – Combine multiple images into image sprites to load them in one HTTP request instead of multiple requests. Fewer requests speeds up page loads.

• Use WebP image format – WebP images have better compression than JPG and PNG files. Convert images to WebP format for smaller file sizes and faster load times.

• Optimize Alt Text – Well-written alt text improves SEO but avoid keyword stuffing. Keep it concise.

Properly optimizing images by compressing, resizing appropriately, using CDNs, lazy loading, reducing HTTP requests, and employing next-gen formats like WebP can significantly improve page load speed and the overall shopping experience.

With a few tweaks, you can make image-heavy Shopify sites load blazing fast.

Minify Code

Minification is the process of removing unnecessary characters from code without changing its functionality.

This includes whitespace, new lines, comments, and other characters that aren’t essential for the code to execute properly.

Minifying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code can significantly reduce the size of your web pages and speed up page load times.

HTML

Minifying HTML code removes whitespace, newlines, comments, and optional closing tags.

This eliminates unnecessary bytes from being sent over the network without changing how the HTML is rendered by the browser.

Most HTML minifiers can reduce code size by 10-20%.

CSS

CSS files can be minified by removing comments, whitespace, and line breaks.

This condenses the size of CSS files which reduces the number of HTTP requests and bandwidth required to load the styles.

CSS minification can reduce file size by up to 50%.

JavaScript

Minifying JavaScript removes whitespace, newlines, code comments, and shortens variable/function names.

This makes the file size smaller without altering functionality.

JavaScript minification typically reduces code size by 20-40%.

Popular tools like WP Rocket which I use can minify and optimize JavaScript to reduce file size even further.

Minifying HTML, CSS, and JS is an essential performance optimization.

It reduces bandwidth usage, speeds up page load times, and improves site speed for users.

Shopify sites can leverage built-in minification or use plugins like Autoptimize for more advanced minification and concatenation of assets.

Use a Cache Plugin

Caching is an effective way to speed up your Shopify website.

Caching stores copies of your site’s pages and assets to reduce server requests and page load times.

When a visitor lands on your site, the cache will serve a pre-generated version of the page if available, bypassing unnecessary database queries and image processing.

This significantly improves site performance and load times, especially during traffic spikes.

Some key benefits of caching include:

• Faster page load times – Pages load instantly from the cache instead of needing to be rebuilt on each request. This is vital for improving conversions.

• Reduced server load – With less strain on your servers, your site can handle more visitors without slowing down. Caching limits unnecessary requests.

• Lower bandwidth usage – Serving cached pages uses less bandwidth compared to rebuilding full pages each time. This saves on hosting costs.

• Improved SEO – Google and other search engines favor faster-loading sites. Caching helps improve site speed and SEO.

I recommend enabling caching on your Shopify store using a plugin like Tiny.

This popular caching app is easy to set up and provides flexible configuration options to cache different parts of your site.

The cache can be cleared when you make changes to ensure visitors always see updated content.

Implementing basic caching is one of the quickest ways to accelerate your Shopify site’s performance.

Optimize Theme

The theme you use for your Shopify store can have a significant impact on site speed.

Many free or cheap themes contain bloated code and files that slow down your site.

Here are some tips for optimizing your Shopify theme:

• Use one of the optimized themes designed for speed. Some good options include Debut, Dawn, and Brooklyn. These themes remove unnecessary bloat and optimize assets.

• Avoid overly complex premium themes with lots of built-in apps and functionality. The more features a theme has, the larger it tends to be. Stick to a simple, lean theme.

• Make sure your theme is mobile-optimized. Mobile traffic is increasing, so a theme that scores poorly on mobile page speed will slow down your site.

• Only enable the theme features and apps you need. Often themes come bundled with many extras that you won’t use on your particular store. Disable or remove them.

• Minify and combine CSS/JavaScript files in the theme editor. This reduces HTTP requests and shrinks file sizes.

• Compress theme images or swap in more optimized assets. Large, unoptimized images significantly impact load times.

• Consider modifying the theme code yourself or hiring a developer to streamline it. Removing unnecessary code and optimizing what’s left can improve performance.

Choosing the right theme and optimizing its code are easy ways to accelerate your Shopify site speed.

A lean, optimized theme creates a solid foundation for an fast, responsive store.

Enable Gzip Compression

Enabling Gzip compression is an effective way to reduce page load times for Shopify stores.

Gzip compresses text files such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and images into a smaller file size before sending them from the web server to the user’s browser.

The browser then decompresses these files so they can be displayed properly on the user’s device.

Gzip compression can often reduce file sizes by 60-70% with just a few clicks in your Shopify admin.

This means pages will load much faster, improving visitor experience and SEO.

How to Enable Gzip Compression in Shopify

Enabling Gzip compression in Shopify is simple:

1. Log into your Shopify admin and go to Online Store > Preferences.

2. Scroll down and check the “Gzip my store’s theme assets” box under the Storefront section.

3. Click Save to enable Gzip compression.

That’s it!

Shopify will now compress your theme files before sending them to visitors.

You don’t need to modify any code or install any apps.

Gzip compression works automatically in the background to optimize your site’s speed.

Just enable it and let Shopify take care of the rest.

Monitoring your site speed will show major improvements in page load times.

Upgrade Hosting Plan

Shopify’s basic and starter plans are great for new stores.

But as your catalog and traffic grow, you may need to upgrade hosting for a faster, more powerful platform.

The main factors that impact website speed are:

• CPU cores – More cores means faster parallel processing. Upgrade to 8+ cores for complex sites.

• RAM – More RAM supports more concurrent connections and larger in-memory caches. Aim for 4GB+ RAM.

• Storage – SSD storage and redundancy for faster reads/writes. Scale up to 1TB+ for media-heavy stores.

• Bandwidth – More bandwidth supports heavier traffic. Look for upgrades to 1Gbps+ networks.

For high-volume stores, consider upgrading to Shopify’s advanced or enterprise plans. The added resources boost speed for complex themes, large catalogs, and high traffic volumes.

You may also want to evaluate optimizing servers beyond Shopify’s plans. Managed WPEngine plans offer advanced caching, CDNs, and server-level speed optimizations.

Or VPS hosting grants full server access for ultimate optimization.

The cost to upgrade hosting is easily justified by the sales boost from a faster site.

Every 100ms of improvement can increase conversion rates by 1% or more.

Compare plans and optimize hosting to support your store’s continued growth.

Reduce Redirects

Redirects can slow down your Shopify site’s performance if not properly optimized.

Here are some tips to reduce unnecessary redirects:

• Consolidate domains – If you have multiple domains pointing to your Shopify store, consolidate them into one primary domain to avoid unnecessary redirects. Redirect the other domains to the primary one.

• Remove unnecessary categories – Shopify redirects traffic from category URLs that no longer exist. Prune old and unused categories to avoid dead redirects.

• Fix incorrect links – Any broken internal links on your site will redirect to the 404 page, creating slowdowns. Audit your site to fix or remove broken links.

• Avoid chained redirects – Double redirects (A to B to C) slow things down. Have redirects go directly from A to C when possible.

• Set proper 301 redirects – Redirects should use a 301 permanent redirect for SEO purposes. Avoid 302 temporary redirects when you can.

• Limit redirect use – Lean towards updating content in place rather than setting up redirects. They should only be used when necessary.

• Remove duplicated content – If you have duplicate URLs from previous redesigns or content, do a canonical URL redirect to the primary URL to avoid duplicate content penalties.

By analyzing your redirects and removing any unnecessary ones, you can speed up your site and avoid multiple round trips during page loads.

Keep redirects limited to essential needs.

Analyze with Tools

There are several tools available to analyze the speed and performance of a Shopify website.

Using these tools provides objective data and insights into ways to further optimize the site.

Here are some recommended tools:

Google PageSpeed Insights

• Offers analysis of both mobile and desktop site performance
• Gives speed scores and suggestions to improve them
• Shows metrics like First Contentful Paint and Time to Interactive
• Available for free from Google

To use PageSpeed Insights, simply enter the URL of your website and run the analysis.

Review the speed scores and pay attention to the specific recommendations provided.

Pingdom Website Speed Test

• Provides a full performance report on page load time and size
• Breaks down analysis by element like HTML, CSS, JS, and images
• Shows overall scores for desktop and mobile
• Integrates with uptime monitoring to correlate speed with outages

Pingdom offers a free basic website speed test. Input your Shopify site’s URL and it will analyze the performance.

Check where you can make improvements based on the report details.

GTmetrix

• Offers a full page speed report and recommendations
• Provides ability to do A/B testing between two URLs
• Shows breakdown of resource loading
• Has browser extension for easy analysis of any site

GTmetrix has a simple interface for entering a URL and running the report.

It’s easy to understand and offers actionable ways to speed up the site based on the results.

The browser extension also makes it easy to quickly test any webpage.

Using these tools regularly provides the data needed to benchmark current performance, quantify improvements, and identify opportunities to speed up your Shopify website even more.

Focus on the major issues identified consistently across tools for the best optimization results.

Some Frequently Asked Questions On Speeding Up A Shopify Website

Conclusion On Speeding Up Your Shopify Website

Upgrading a Shopify website’s speed doesn’t have to be a challenging or expensive endeavor.

By following the simple tips outlined in this guide, you can achieve significant improvements through free or low-cost optimizations.

The key methods we covered included:

• Optimizing images – Compressing and resizing images for faster loading
• Minifying code – Removing unnecessary characters to reduce file size
• Implementing caching – Storing static assets to bypass server requests
• Upgrading themes – Using lightweight, speed-focused themes
• Enabling gzip compression – Reducing file sizes for faster transfers
• Upgrading hosting – More resources for faster load times
• Reducing redirects – Avoiding unnecessary jumps between pages

While these tweaks may seem minor individually, together they can potentially double or even triple your site’s speed.

Faster stores lead to improved user experience, SEO rankings, and conversions.

For further reading, I recommend exploring these additional Shopify speed optimization resources:

• Shopify’s guide to speeding up your store
• Shopify’s blog post on improving site speed
• Shopify app store speed optimization apps

With some strategic changes, you can unlock the full-speed potential of your Shopify site.

Leave a comment below if you have any questions in regards to speeding up your Shopify site.

Or just have some input.