Page speed isn't just a ranking factor — it directly impacts conversion rate. A 1-second delay reduces conversions by 7%. A store doing £50k/month loses £3,500/month for every second of unnecessary load time.
The Checklist (Ordered by Impact)
1. Remove Unused Apps (Highest Impact)
Every installed Shopify app — even disabled ones — can inject JavaScript into your storefront. Audit your apps. Uninstall anything you're not actively using. We routinely find 15–20 unused apps adding 2–4 seconds of load time.
2. Compress & Convert Images to WebP
Images typically account for 60–80% of page weight on Shopify stores. Convert all product images to WebP format and serve them at the correct display size. This alone dropped load time by 1.8s on our benchmark store.
3. Defer Non-Critical JavaScript
Most Shopify themes load everything in the
, blocking render. Move non-critical scripts to deferred or async loading. This includes chat widgets, analytics (except GA4 which should stay in head), review apps, and loyalty widgets.