Shopify handles hosting, caching and its CDN for you, so slow stores are almost always slowed down by apps, theme code and images. Test a product page and your home page, then use the fixes below.
Runs Google Lighthouse on mobile and desktop at the same time, plus real-user Chrome data. Takes about 20–40 seconds.
On Shopify you don’t control the server, but you fully control the theme, apps and media, and that is where most of the weight comes from. Each fix below lists the metric it usually moves; check that metric in your test result to pick where to start.
Many apps inject JavaScript into every page. Uninstalling an app doesn’t always remove code it added to your theme, so check theme.liquid and snippets for leftovers after removing it.
Apps built on Online Store 2.0 app blocks and embeds load their code through Shopify and are removed cleanly. Favour them over apps that ask you to paste code into your theme.
Use the image_url filter with a width and image_tag (which outputs srcset) so the CDN serves each image at the right size and in WebP/AVIF where the browser supports it. Avoid uploading huge originals for small slots.
Don’t lazy-load the first slide or hero image; add fetchpriority="high". Replace auto-rotating hero sliders with one strong image, since they load several large images and often delay LCP.
Shopify’s own free themes, such as Dawn, are built to be light. Heavily featured premium themes can add a lot of JavaScript. Test the theme demo before buying.
Reviews, chat, upsell pop-ups, loyalty and tracking pixels add up. Keep the ones that earn money, and load chat on interaction.
Announcement bars, review stars and “buy now pay later” messages that appear late push content down. Give them a fixed height.
Use Shopify’s font library or system fonts, with one or two weights only.
For platform-independent fixes, see the speed optimization checklist, and check page weight with the page size checker.
In most stores the main cause is JavaScript from apps and the theme, followed by large images and hero sliders. Shopify’s servers and CDN are rarely the bottleneck.
Run the speed test on your home page, a collection page and a product page, since each uses different templates and apps. Look at real-user Core Web Vitals first, then the lab diagnostics.
Some help with image compression, but apps that promise instant scores by delaying all scripts can break tracking and checkout features, and they add their own code. Removing unused apps and theme code is more reliable.