If you're running a Shopify store, you know speed and performance are key to your ultimate success. In this case, technical SEO is what you need in your league. Do not get away with the name, it is much simpler and easy to do and achieve greater benefits out of it.
In this blog, we're going to explore how to make your Shopify site faster and smoother, with some secret top-notch technical SEO tips for Shopify. Ready to speed things up? Let’s get started!
Understanding Site Speed and Performance
Site speed and performance are important elements since they not only influence search engine rankings but also user experience and conversion rates. Site speed refers to how quickly your web pages load when someone visits your Shopify store. Fast-loading pages contribute to a smooth, enjoyable shopping experience. It encourages the visitors to stay longer and explore more of what you have to offer.
The performance of your website includes how quickly it responds to user interactions. It includes the stability of content as it loads, and the consistency of the user experience across different devices and network conditions. A high-performing Shopify store not only loads quickly but also operates smoothly. It ensures that customers can browse and shop without any glitches or delays.
Common factors affecting shopify site speed
Several factors can affect the speed of a Shopify site. Apart from the technical aspects of the website design the types of content also matter. But what exactly slows down a Shopify site
ECommerce theme selection
The choice of theme is foundational to a Shopify store's speed. Some themes are generally faster. It’s because of their cleaner, more efficient code, and a focus on speed optimization. For instance, Shopify professionals and users recommend the Dawn theme. The theme has an emphasis on speed, characterized by its minimalist design and efficient code structure.
Themes with heavy visual elements, complex layouts, and excessive JavaScript can slow down a site. A study by Shopify revealed that switching to a speed-optimized theme could significantly enhance site performance.
No image compression
Unoptimized images are one of the most common reasons for slow Shopify site speed. Large image files take longer to load. Shopify automatically compresses images and converts them to the WebP format for better performance. Further optimization, such as resizing and cropping images before uploading them, can lead to even faster load times. For example, a Shopify store reduced its average page load time by 2 seconds after optimizing all product images.
Excessive use of apps
Shopify apps add functionality to a store. Each installed app can introduce additional code that needs to be loaded, which leads to slowing down the site. According to Shopify professionals, stores with a high number of installed apps have slower load times compared to those with fewer apps. It's recommended to regularly audit installed apps and remove any that are not essential to store operations.
Use of third-party scripts
Third-party scripts for analytics, chatbots, etc can impact site speed. Each script adds to the total number of HTTP requests a page makes, increasing load times. For instance, a Shopify store reported a 1-second improvement in load time after minimizing the use of third-party scripts.
Server response time
Server response time also affects site speed. Shopify uses a global network of servers to ensure fast response times. Still, factors such as the customer's location relative to the server impact the loading speeds. Shopify's use of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) helps mitigate this by storing site content on servers around the world, ensuring faster access regardless of the user's location.
Liquid code efficiency
Shopify themes are built using Liquid. It’s Shopify's templating language. Inefficient or excessive use of Liquid code can slow down a site. Optimizing Liquid code by reducing complexity and removing unnecessary loops can improve site speed. For example, a Shopify Plus merchant saw a 20% improvement in site speed after optimizing their Liquid code.
Lack of mobile optimization
A significant portion of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. That’s why mobile optimization is crucial for site speed. A mobile-optimized site with responsive design and optimized images load faster on mobile devices. It will be providing a better user experience. Google's mobile-first indexing further underscores the importance of mobile optimization for SEO and site performance.
Technical SEO Tips for Shopify Site Speed Improvement
Technical SEO for eCommerce is a must. To optimize your Shopify site and bring it at the best speed to achieve a complete height of user experience, here are some effective technical SEO basic practices for your Shopify store.
Optimize images
Shopify Image optimization is a crucial aspect of enhancing the speed and performance of Shopify stores. High-quality images are essential for showcasing products effectively. But they can slow down a website if not properly optimized. For example, heavy images add a 75% slowdown to the speed of the site load.
Optimizing images involves compressing them to reduce file size without quality compromisation. Also, ensure images are correctly sized for their intended use on the site. This process not only improves page load times but also contributes to a better user experience and higher search engine rankings, as Google considers page speed a ranking factor.
Generally, a Shopify store has thousands of product images. Doing all image optimization one by one could be a huge hassle. But with the right tools, you can do it all within a blink of an eye. Tools like StoreSEO can compress images, bulk image optimization, and check other SEO factors for your Shopify store to make it 100% search engine friendly and well optimized.
Minimize the use of shopify apps
Shopify apps can significantly enhance the functionality of an online store, offering features ranging from marketing and sales enhancements to customer service improvements. However, the overuse of apps can have a detrimental effect on site speed, which is a critical factor for user experience and SEO. Slow-loading sites can lead to higher bounce rates, reduced engagement, and lower conversion rates. Therefore, it's essential to strike a balance between functionality and performance.
Each app installed on a Shopify store can potentially add extra code that needs to be loaded and executed. This can include JavaScript, CSS, and other assets that increase the number of HTTP requests and the overall page size. Apps that load code as the page loads can particularly affect the time it takes for a page to become interactive.
Choose a fast and mobile-friendly theme
A theme is essentially the backbone of your store's design. It gives the visual layout, user experience, and to a large extent, the loading speed of your store. A well-coded, lightweight theme can quickly reduce page load times. As a result, it increases the site speed and SEO scores. Choose themes that are optimized for speed. Some of them are known for their fast loading times and are highly recommended for Shopify stores.
Also, look for themes that adopt a mobile-first design approach. Mobile-first themes ensure that your store is accessible and user-friendly on smartphones and tablets. Themes like "Zest" are examples of mobile-first designs that cater to the growing number of mobile shoppers.
Themes with fewer animations, sliders, and complex features tend to load faster. The "Craft" theme, for example, offers a minimalist design that focuses on speed and simplicity, making it an excellent choice for stores prioritizing performance.
Examples of Fast and Mobile-Friendly Shopify Themes
- Zest theme: A mobile-focused theme that provides a high-quality modern mobile shopping experience with its fast loading times and responsive design.
- Dawn theme: Known for its speed and efficiency, Dawn is a versatile theme that offers a clean, modern design optimized for all devices.
- Responsive theme: As the name suggests, this theme is built to offer a seamless shopping experience across all devices, with a focus on mobile users.
Implement AMP for Shopify
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) can significantly improve loading times for mobile users by creating lightweight versions of web pages. While Shopify doesn't support AMP natively, third-party apps can be used to implement AMP in Shopify stores. It's essential to look for the benefits against potential drawbacks. Such as limited functionality and the impact on the user experience.
Use browser caching
Browser caching stores certain elements of a website locally in the visitor's browser. It helps in reducing load times for repeat visits. Shopify enables browser caching by default, but further optimization can be achieved through apps or manual adjustments to the theme's code. So, enabling browser caching can not only lead to faster page load times for returning visitors but also enhance the overall user experience.
Minify CSS and JavaScript
Minification is the process of removing all unnecessary characters from the source code without changing its functionality. It is one of the technical SEO best practices to achieve a better site speed. These unnecessary characters include white spaces, line breaks, comments, and block delimiters. They are useful for human readability but are redundant for browsers to execute the code. The primary goal of minification is to reduce the size of the CSS and JavaScript files, thereby decreasing the load time of a website. Shopify automatically minifies JavaScript, but additional optimization can be done manually or through apps for CSS and HTML.
Sitemap optimization
A well-optimized sitemap helps search engines more efficiently crawl and index a Shopify store. Ensuring that your eCommerce store sitemap is up-to-date and free of errors can improve SEO performance. Shopify generates sitemaps automatically, but it's crucial to monitor and adjust them as your store evolves.
Reduce redirects and fix broken links
Excessive redirects and broken links can slow down your site and negatively impact user experience and SEO. Regularly auditing your Shopify store to identify and fix these issues can improve site speed and search engine rankings. Tools like Google Search Console can help identify and address these issues.
Advanced Performance Optimization Techniques
Optimizing the speed of your Shopify store is crucial for enhancing user experience, improving search engine rankings, and increasing conversion rates. Here are some advanced technical SEO techniques to consider for boosting your site's performance. They’ll be very handful for your further jump technical SEO optimization for the Shopify store:
Implement lazy loading
Implementing lazy loading in a Shopify store is a strategic approach to enhance site speed, and boost SEO rankings. When a user accesses a web page, the browser requests and downloads all resources from the server, including images and videos that might not be immediately visible. This can lead to longer page load times. Now comes the technique of lazy loading.
It delays the loading of non-critical resources (like images, videos, and iframes) until they are needed. It means that instead of loading all page resources at once when a page is ready, only the essential elements are loaded initially.
Other elements are loaded as the user scrolls down the page or interacts with the site. Implementing lazy loading in a Shopify store can be done. You can either manually enable lazy loading on your store or use a lazy loading app to enable it on your website.
Conduct a Shopify Site Speed Audit
Source: StoreSEO
Conducting a Shopify site speed audit is a critical step for any Shopify store owner. A comprehensive site speed audit involves analyzing various elements.
Here's a detailed guide on how to conduct a Shopify site speed audit.
Use speed testing tools
Several tools are available to measure your Shopify store's speed. These tools analyze your website's loading time and provide insights into areas that need improvement. Some popular tools include:
- Google PageSpeed Insights: Offers both mobile and desktop performance analysis and provides suggestions for improvement.
- GTmetrix: Provides detailed reports on your website's performance, including fully loaded time, total page size, and the number of requests.
- Pingdom: Offers insights into your website's load time and performance grade, along with actionable recommendations.
Analyze the reports
After running your Shopify store through these tools, you'll receive reports highlighting various performance metrics. Key areas to focus on include:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB): Measures the time it takes for a user's browser to receive the first byte of data from your server.
- Fully Loaded Time: The total time it takes for your page to fully load.
- Page Size: The total size of your page, including all images, scripts, and CSS files.
- Number of Requests: The total number of HTTP requests made to load your page.
Identify areas for improvement
Based on the reports, identify areas where your website's performance can be improved. Common issues include:
- Large Images: Oversized images can significantly slow down your website. Consider compressing images or using next-gen formats like WebP.
- Unoptimized Code: Bulky or unnecessary JavaScript and CSS can increase loading times. Minify and combine files where possible.
- Excessive Shopify Apps: Each app adds additional code to your website, which can impact speed. Evaluate the necessity of each app and remove any that are not essential.
- Server Response Time: A slow server can increase your TTFB. Consider upgrading your hosting plan or optimizing server settings.
Implement changes
Based on your audit findings, start implementing changes to improve your Shopify store's speed. This might involve:
- Optimizing Images: Use tools like StoreSEO to compress images without losing quality.
- Minifying Code: Use apps or Shopify's theme editor to minify JavaScript and CSS files.
- Reducing Redirects: Too many redirects can slow down your website. Eliminate unnecessary redirects.
- Leveraging Browser Caching: Configure your server to enable browser caching, which can help load your website faster for repeat visitors.
Monitor performance
After applying changes, continuously monitor your website's performance using the tools mentioned earlier. Site speed optimization is an ongoing process, and regular monitoring will help you identify new areas for improvement over time.
Consider professional help
If you're not comfortable making these changes yourself or if you find that the issues are beyond basic optimizations, consider consulting a Shopify expert who specializes in website performance optimization.
Improve Your Store Performance and Boost Growth
Improving the speed performance of your Shopify store is a continuous process. Finding out issues can help you to solve them. To get the most out of it, you must keep an eye on your Shopify store. Since SEO trends are always changing, your Shopify store should be well aligned with it to keep your potential customers happy and generate more sales. SEO growth comes with consistency. Make sure you always follow the best practices and keep your store fresh.
