Every Millisecond Matters: How to Optimize Page Load Time for Ecommerce Websites

Learn what it takes to reduce page load times for your ecommerce site. Understand metrics, factors, and actionable steps to optimize your site.

With modern ecommerce websites, keeping page load times fast can be a big headache. Today’s buyers demand robust, interactive shopping experiences driven by high-res images, videos, reviews, recommendations, timely promotions, and more. While these functions and capabilities are key for ecommerce success, they each have ways to slow your page load time down.

The more successful your ecommerce site becomes, the more it can start to slow down. Product catalogs grow, more customer data enters your system, new capabilities are developed, and new third-party resources are integrated—and all of this demands more from the servers and networks your site is hosted on.

Keeping page load times fast as your storefront scales requires a significant and ongoing investment in global infrastructure, high speed connectivity, database optimizations, and performance monitoring. However, there are alternatives that are far simpler and more cost-effective, such as partnering with providers like Cloudflare and Shopify, that we’ll talk more about later on.

In this article, we’ll discuss what it takes to reduce page load times for your ecommerce site. We’ll also look at metrics to review, factors that influence page load times, actionable steps you can take to optimize your site.

How is web page speed measured?

Page load time is how long it takes for a web page to fully load and become completely interactive in the browser. Page load time starts being measured when a user clicks a link or enters a URL, and ends when the entire page is rendered and ready for use.

Throughout the loading process, there are several metrics to keep in mind. Each of these metrics is included in Google’s PageSpeed Insights tools. Key metrics related to page load time and web page speed include:

• Time to First Byte (TTFB): TTFB is how long it takes for a browser to request a webpage, and the server to respond and send back the first byte of data from the responding server. This should be one of the shortest metrics, as the first byte is the very first step in the loading process.
• First Contentful Paint (FCP): FCP is the time it takes for any content from the DOM to be “painted” on your website. A DOM is a “tree” of objects created by the browser, defining all the elements on the page that need to be rendered. FCP measures how long it takes for the first bit of content (usually text or images) from the DOM to be rendered by JavaScript or HTM.
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Similar to FCP, LCP is the time it takes to render the largest content element above the fold on a website.
• Total Blocking Time (TBT): TBT is how long a user is “blocked” from their input (such as clicks) being responded to by the browser. Websites with a lot of script calls and background tasks that have to load before a user can click or interact have long TBTs.
• Speed Index: By using a video to “see” how a page visually loads, then comparing it to benchmarks set by real websites, Google uses this metric to measure how fast content is visually displayed during page load.

Other performance measurement tools can use other metrics as factors in understanding overall page load time, so this is not an exhaustive list. But it is important to understand these key measurements, as each can be optimized and improved to lower overall page load speeds.

How fast do users expect pages to load?

According to a recent analysis of the top 100 most visited websites, the average web page load time is 2.5 seconds on desktop and 8.6 seconds on mobile. Using the metrics we defined previously, Google defines a fast user experience on a website as:

• A TTFB score of less than 800 ms
• An FCP score of less than 1.8 seconds
• An LCP score of less than 2.5 seconds
• A TBT score of less than 200 ms
• A speed index of less than 3.4 seconds

Given these benchmarks for a good experience, it’s clear that today’s users expect pages in ecommerce websites to load incredibly fast. With the rise of broadband access and optimized hosting, most customers expect sites to load practically instantaneously. Otherwise, you risk users bouncing or taking their business elsewhere.

Why does a fast website matter in ecommerce?

Today’s users have incredibly high expectations for how fast an ecommerce website should load. When you meet (or even exceed) those expectations, even by milliseconds, the benefits can be significant. Let’s look at a few reasons why a fast website matters in ecommerce:

Fast ecommerce stores convert better

Shopify recently analyzed data from Google, and found that reducing your site speed by just a half second can significantly increase conversion rates. Other studies have shown the same increase for mobile buying as well. The faster your page load times are, the easier it is for your customers to browse, select, and checkout products without frustration.

Sites with fast page load times have lower bounce rates

People can’t make purchases if they only visit a single page on your website and leave. Google found that users are 32% more likely to bounce from your website if your page loads in three seconds instead of one. Shaving just a second off your load times can significantly lower your bounce rate.

Search engines rewards low page load times

When your pages load fast for users around the world, major search engines like Google reward your site for it. You can boost your SEO strategies simply by reducing your page load times. To increase brand visibility and attract new customers, make sure your site is fast enough for Google to give your site the ranking it deserves.

Fast page load times provide a good user experience

Google defines a good page experience as meeting several key requirements—following security best practices, having the right mix of ads and content, displaying well on mobile, and more. However, the first factor they list is a good Core Web Vitals Score. Page load time metrics make up a good chunk of a good Core Web Vitals score, showing the importance of site speed on providing a good user experience. Today’s buyers definitely want rich media and personalization, but they also don’t want it to slow their shopping experiences down.

What ecommerce platform has the fastest page load speed?

After analyzing data points from nearly 200,000 websites, we found that Shopify stores render up to 2.4x faster and 1.8x faster on average than stores on other platforms.

The average Shopify store has a site speed that is nearly a second faster than the average store on other ecommerce platforms: a Shopify store renders in 1.2 seconds, stores on other platforms render in 2.17 seconds. Here’s how the other major platforms stacked up.

On average, Shopify stores are:

• 1.4x faster than BigCommerce stores 
• 1.5x faster than Salesforce stores
• 2x faster than Adobe Commerce (Magento) stores
• 2.4x faster than WooCommerce stores

By moving to a platform that continually grows their server footprint and optimizes for site speed, you can eliminate a lot of work and worry of slow page load times. When air purifier retailer Molekule replatformed to Shopify, their load times went way down, and the results were significant. They saw a 75% increase in device conversion rate, a 7% growth in net subscribers, and an overall 10% increase in website traffic.

What are reasons for slow load time?

Slow page load times can be caused by several factors—the power and resources available on your hosting servers, how your ecommerce website is coded, the number of integrations and plugins your site has, and much more. We’ll look at three of the most common reasons for slow page load times.

Uncompressed rich media, coupled with a lack of CDN

Today’s buyer wants to know a lot about their items before purchasing, and incorporating high quality images and videos can boost conversions. But providing multiple views and videos for every item in your catalog can easily slow down your page load time. 

For large ecommerce websites that offer interactive media for every product, a content delivery network (CDN) is a must-have. A CDN stores your static images in servers that are globally distributed, allowing your customers’ browsers to retrieve them faster. It’s also critical to compress and optimize your image and video files, and make sure you are showing just enough media to encourage conversion, but not so much that it slows your page load time down.

Unoptimized code and architecture

It’s not difficult for ecommerce websites, especially those with headless, modular, or other complex architectures, to suffer from code sprawl that slows their site down. Many ecommerce sites suffer from unnecessary poorly structured code and redundant processes, or they rely on numerous integrations and frameworks. 

All of those issues can create excessive HTTP requests and database queries, while requiring significant processing power from the server. Overloaded servers struggle to respond to requests quickly, creating slow page load times. Ecommerce retailers should regularly audit and optimize their code to ensure their sites stay fast as they add new features and functionality.

Inefficient and overloaded infrastructure

It’s not uncommon for your ecommerce platform or hosting provider to be the root cause of your slow page load times. Some hosting providers overload their servers with customers, or don’t invest heavily in having a fast, global, footprint of servers. In these instances, your page load time could be slowed down by a lack of physical resources to process and respond to requests.

Latency is another issue that can come up at the infrastructure level. High latency, more commonly referred to as lag, happens when the networks become overloaded and can’t transit data quickly enough. Inefficiency in your architecture can lead to excessive calls to databases, third-party resources, and other services. As each request and call travels across a network, it adds to your page load time—so if you include too many, your site slows down. Plus, if your provider doesn’t have distributed infrastructure, customers in certain areas might have slow load times due to the distance their requests must travel over the network. 

Learn more about the differences between dedicated and cloud server infrastructures.

How to evaluate your page load time

It’s a good best practice to regularly monitor performance and evaluate your page load times, especially as your ecommerce website evolves and changes. A quick way to see several metrics related to page load time is by using browser-based speed tests like Google’s PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom, or GTmetrix. Each tool provides reports that give you overall scores, how their metrics were determined, and tips for improving your score.

For a more in-depth analysis of your ecommerce website’s performance and how it compares to industry benchmarks, you can use Shopify’s site speed audit. It’s a free resource that shows you how to improve your website, and how your site stacks up in the marketplace. In the report, you will get:

• A personalized site speed analysis
• Speed comparisons by platforms
• Insights in the impact of site speed on conversions

How to improve page load speed

Improving overall page load speed involves addressing several factors that all contribute to slow page load times. 

Use speed diagnostics tools

To identify the root causes of your slow load speeds, you can use the browser-based speed tests we mentioned earlier. Review the reports they provide to locate specific issues to address. Tools like Google Page Speed Insights are especially helpful for longer snapshots, as they combine real field data from your ecommerce website and your customers over the last 28 days.

Learn more about the top website performance monitoring tools out there.

Code for performance

We mentioned that sprawling, unoptimized code can slow your load time down with excessive requests and processing requirements. Minifying all of your CSS, JavaScript, and HTML is an easy first step. You can also set your site to “lazy load,” which means elements load as the user scrolls the page, reducing the initial amount that needs to be loaded. Be sure to eliminate any render-blocking resources or unnecessary code.

Compress your content

Compression is a great way to reduce file sizes without impacting your overall availability of images and functionality. You can compress PNG, JPEG, and other image files without compromising quality using the WebP format—and reduce file sizes by about 30%. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files can be compressed with Gzip to minimize how much data your site is transferring. 

Audit Google Tag Manager and third-party scripts 

Tools that track and analyze user behavior add tags and pixels to your site in order to function, such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, or Meta Pixel. If you include too many, it can lead to excessive HTTP requests and slow your load times down. Review Google Tag Manager and include only what is required and essential for your business operations.

Optimize TTFB

If your TTFB score is too high, any other actions you take to reduce page load time will be less effective. But the work of optimizing TTFB can be challenging without the right access and technical skills. You will need to take steps to improve your server response time, integrate a content delivery network (CDN), and optimize your database queries. Carefully review any activities that happen before page load, such as DNS lookups, robots.txt file, and redirects. Building your site on a platform with fast, distributed, and optimized infrastructure is the easiest way for most retailers to improve their TTFB score. 

Select the right theme

If you use an ecommerce platform or CMS that uses themes, you should choose one that doesn’t have excessive bloat or unnecessary features. Shopify themes are optimized for site speed and conversions, but other platforms and provider’s themes might not be. A quick way to check is to run performance tests on other sites that use your theme before you select that theme for your website.

Build your site on the fastest ecommerce platform in the world

If slow page load times are holding your business back, it might be time to evaluate your ecommerce platform. By building your site on a platform like Shopify, you are partnering with a provider that is committed to hosting the fastest stores in the world. Here’s what that means for retailers:

• Access to the fastest server speed in commerce—2.8x faster on average than other major platforms
• Globally distributed servers and partnership with Cloudflare, delivering your site resources from more than 300 server locations 
• Efficient and continually tested infrastructure that will always be ready for peak traffic whenever it comes

For Transformer Table, replatforming to Shopify delivered an immediate boost to their site performance metrics. Their results:

• 67% increase in their site speed
• Over $100 million in annual sales
• 2X conversion rate vs. pre-Shopify

Ecommerce retailers shouldn’t have to waste time at the bottom levels of their tech stack or be neck-deep in code troubleshooting page load times. Partner with Shopify to spend less time worrying about performance, and more time generating revenue.

Want to learn expert strategies for increasing your ecommerce site speed by up to 2.4x? Watch our webinar with Shopify experts to understand the significant impact site speed can have on your business. 

Page load time FAQ

What is page load time and why is it important?

Page load time is the time it takes in seconds for a web page to fully load and become completely interactive in a browser. It is a critical measure of overall website performance, and impacts everything from conversions to bounce rates. Page load times also affect SEO rankings and user experience on your ecommerce website, so it is critical to make sure to keep your page load time as low as possible.

How do you improve page load time?

There are several key ways to improve page load time, depending on where in your tech stack the root causes are. A good place to start is by compressing images, minifying code, and removing unnecessary pixels and tags. More in-depth solutions include integrating a content delivery network (CDN), reducing TTFB with infrastructure optimizations, and evaluating and possibly changing your site theme if you are on a platform that uses them. Building your site on a platform like Shopify that has a large global footprint and optimized themes and infrastructure can also help reduce page load times.

What is a good page load time?

A good page load time is very fast—under 3 seconds for an ideal user experience. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool defines a good site speed index of less than 3.4 seconds, which is a good measure of overall page load times. You can also evaluate page load times by using the Largest Contentful Paint metric. To be considered good, the largest content element above the fold on your page should load in less than 2.5 seconds.

How does page load time affect SEO?

Page load times have a direct impact on SEO. Google has confirmed several times that page speed is a significant ranking factor, and rewards sites with good Core Web Vitals. Several key Core Web Vitals metrics are related to page load times and site speed. Mobile-friendliness and speed is another key ranking factor, so you want to make sure both your desktop and mobile page load times are low.