Loading… Loading… and still Loading…
Does your Shopify store sound and seem like this? This blog is the only thing you need to focus on!
If the Shopify store takes forever to load, be careful. It could be due to the high abandoned cart rate, high bounce rate, or low customer retention ratio.
Don’t worry if your Shopify store so slow and takes forever to load. Our Shopify experts team can fix it in less time. Because having a slow-loading Shopify store can create uncontrollable damage. One element can trigger many factors that can result in a negative profit for the store.
Yes, one factor can have an impact on multiple things. To stop the chain reaction, the best practice is to get things right from the first step itself. Tick the box right from the beginning, and the store’s speed will always put you in awe!
Don’t believe us? Let us take you through a quick and error-free funnel that will mend the Shopify store’s speed.
Why Speed Matters for Shopify Stores?
Has it ever appeared to you that the speed of the Shopify store matters so much? How does it contribute to changing or enhancing the user experience?
The speed of the online store depends on many factors. Therefore, if the speed of the eCommerce store is taking more time than usual to load, there could be an error in one or more of those factors.
Therefore, understanding relevant factors is essential to conclude why the loading speed of the slow Shopify store matters.
User Experience (UX)
How long would you wait for the website to load as a user or customer? A few seconds! If it takes more than a minute – customers will get frustrated immediately.
The longer the site takes to load, the higher the chance customers lose interest in ordering from your website, resulting in a low customer retention ratio.
Besides, the loading speed has a direct impact on the bounce rate. If the Shopify store slow, customers may leave the cart at the end or may add a few products to the cart and leave the site before completing the checkout process. That indicates a high cart abandonment rate.
The third concerning factor is the high bounce rate. If the customer swipes back before the website loads completely, it is considered a bounce rate.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The organic Google ranking will be in trouble. Yes, a slow or not-so-high-performing website is not in Google’s favorites list of Google. To rank a website organically, there’s a checklist that needs to be checked, and one of the criteria is a high-speed Shopify store. If the Shopify store loads quicker, the chances of ranking the website organically on Google increase.
Search engines have a pre-defined method of working. The bots need to scan the website to study its index. With a slow-loading website, the process will either remain incomplete or will hinder the entire process of scanning the website.
Mobile Dominance
A red flag is if the website or online store is not mobile-optimized. Immediately take action and get it done because there is a high possibility that the person is visiting an online Shopify store from a mobile device.
Slow loading times on mobile are even more detrimental due to limited data plans and slower connection speeds.
Professionalism
If you visit an online store that is not reacting at 5G speed, what impression would you have of it? Likely, the store is not professional or not updated. Therefore, a slow website can directly impact the Shopify store’s trust, credibility, and professionalism.
A slow-loading Shopify store can impact user experience and sales. Shopify’s official guide on Shopify speed optimization and improving web performance offers actionable insights to optimize speed, enhance performance, and keep your customers happy. Start improving your store today.
Common Reasons for a Slow Shopify Store
Many reasons govern the loading speed of the website and Shopify store. If the speed of the Shopify store is slow or the website is taking too long to load, there is a high chance that one or more issues will prevail.
What those issues can be? Let’s take a look
Unoptimized Theme: The theme plays a significant role in deciding the outlook of the website. If the theme is heavy, i.e., if it has complex codes, large images, or multiple elements, it will take more time to load. Also, if you are using an outdated or older theme, it will directly impact the website’s loading speed, outdated themes usually take more time to load.
Too Many Apps: Everyone wants their Shopify store to look cool and attention-grabbing, and in the urge to look the best, sometimes they mistakenly overstuff the website. Overstuffing could be due to multiple unnecessary apps, elements, or content.
Every element displayed on a store or website takes time to load the more you add, the longer it will take to load the website.
Large Images and Videos: HD images are necessary to give a proper impression of the products, but if it takes too much time to load, the purpose will remain unsolved. Therefore, use HD or high-quality images after optimizing them.
Slow Server Response Time: It is essential to ensure the server does not take too long to load. The longer it takes, the fewer customers will wait.
Excessive Redirects: Redirecting is brilliant, but using it too often can lead to disinterest. If every click redirects customers to another window, they will feel irritated and lose interest.
Liquid Code Issues: Liquid is Shopify’s templating language. Inefficient or poorly written Liquid code can significantly slow down your store.
Proven Tips to Boost Your Shopify Store Speed
Now that we know the issue, we have to find a solution that works in the best interest of the Shopify store and its performance – explicitly targeting the loading speed of the Shopify store.
The following tips can help optimize the Shopify store’s loading speed.
1. Image Optimization
Use the image format that loads faster and upload high-quality images after optimizing it.
While adding images, remember that you should not over-stuff the website with photos, videos, or content or add too little.
Add an adequate number of images that make your website look good and feel good.
2. Theme Selection
Choose a trending theme that is not very heavy in terms of elements. Select the theme that’s quick to load and pick a fast-paced loading method. The theme should be trendy but not have too many elements that add to the loading time.
3. Minimize HTTP Requests
Combine and minify CSS and JavaScript files: This reduces the number of files the browser needs to download.
Use a sprite for small icons: Combine multiple icons into a single image to reduce HTTP requests.
4. Minimize Redirects
Adding too many redirects on the website can spoil the entire essence of browsing the website and create a disturbing visual experience. It may impact the buying decision, as too many redirects can create hindrances.
5. Optimize Your Code
Creating and decluttering is a crucial thing to be considered. The first step is to generate the essential codes for the website to load quickly and make it look good. The second step is to remove the codes that are not necessary. Unnecessary codes consume a lot of speed and time to load.
6. Monitor Your Store’s Speed
It is crucial to note that the website’s speed matters to sustain the competition. Therefore, regularly testing the website’s speed, i.e., Shopify store, is advised. Using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights will make the process easier. The results can help you to improve the areas that need explicit attention.
Regular Maintenance Tips
Regular Backups
Backups at regular intervals help prevent the loss of essential data. While taking backup, ensure elements like themes, apps, and content are included.
Backups can help retrieve the essential details and data in case of any performance.
Performance Maintenance
Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix can help keep the online store’s loading speed in check. Performance can be monitored and maintained with the help of the tools.
Cache Management
Maintaining the cache memories is vital. It is advisable to clear the cache memories regularly is essential.
You can do it manually or use an app to do what is needed.
The Final Statement
A slow-loading website and Shopify store can steal the show for all the wrong reasons. These are steps one has to take to set things in the right place, and if you wish to have a fast-loading Shopify store, here’s a magic wand.
Softpulse Infotech is a professional platform that helps to cater to the needs of online store owners to maintain a high-speed Shopify store, beat the competition, grow sales, and upscale the business.
