A slow Shopify store costs you sales twice: visitors leave before the page loads, and Google rewards faster sites in search. For Nigerian shoppers browsing on mobile data, speed matters even more. The good news is that most slow stores are slow for the same few reasons, and each has a fix.
First, Measure It
Test your store with Google PageSpeed Insights on mobile, and check Shopify’s own online store speed report. Test your homepage, a collection page and a product page, because they often perform very differently.
8 Fixes That Make a Shopify Store Faster
1. Remove apps you do not use
Every app can add scripts that load on your storefront. Uninstalling an app does not always remove its code from your theme, so ask a developer to clean up leftover snippets as well.
2. Compress and resize images
Oversized product photos are the most common cause of slow pages. Resize images to the size they are displayed at before uploading, and avoid huge banner images. Shopify’s content delivery network helps by serving optimised formats, but it cannot fix a photo that is far larger than it needs to be.
3. Choose a lightweight theme
Heavy themes full of animations, sliders and features you never use slow every page. A modern, lean theme such as Shopify’s free Dawn theme is a strong starting point.
4. Limit sliders, autoplay video and popups
Homepage carousels and background videos add weight and rarely improve sales. Keep the homepage focused on one clear message and your best products.
5. Cut third-party scripts
Chat widgets, tracking pixels, review widgets and social feeds each add requests. Keep the ones that earn their place and remove the rest.
6. Trim collection pages
Showing too many products per page forces the browser to load too many images at once. Use sensible page sizes and let customers load more.
7. Limit custom fonts
Each extra font file adds load time. Stick to one or two fonts and load only the weights you use.
8. Keep your theme code tidy
Years of edits, app leftovers and duplicated code build up. A developer can audit your theme, remove dead code and fix issues PageSpeed flags.
How to Know It Worked
Re-test the same three pages on mobile after each change, and compare your results. Make one change at a time so you can see which fix made the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does store speed really affect sales?
Yes. Shoppers who wait for a page to load are more likely to leave, and slow mobile pages are especially costly when many customers browse on phones.
Is Shopify slow by default?
No. Shopify’s platform is fast. Stores usually become slow because of heavy themes, too many apps and large images added on top.
Will deleting an app remove its code?
Not always. Some apps leave snippets in your theme after you uninstall them, which is why a theme clean-up is worth doing.
Can a developer speed up my store without changing its design?
In most cases, yes. Image optimisation, app clean-up and script reduction improve speed while keeping the design you have.
Want your Shopify store audited and sped up?
See our Shopify developer services or book a consultation.