My store loads slowly, how to fix it
Load time, or store speed, refers to the length of time required for your website to fully load all the content on your page. Various factors impact the speed of your online store, some of which you can adjust, while others are beyond your control.
In this guide, we'll provide you with tips to enhance the speed of your Ecwid store by focusing on factors within your control. Sometimes the issue may be local, such as a slow internet connection, while at other times, common factors like heavy images can cause delays. Read through this guide to learn steps you can take to identify and address these issues.
Factors that affect site load
It's important to understand the elements that can affect page load time. While you can address some of them, others, like your customers' device, network, or location, are beyond your control. Your store's loading speed may vary for different users depending on these factors.
- Server response: This refers to how quickly the server relays information. At Ecwid, we ensure that online stores are hosted on fast, globally distributed servers with no bandwidth restrictions, and we continually improve our code and infrastructure.
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Image size and dimension: High-resolution images generally tend to be larger files and can slow down page load speeds significantly. Ecwid automatically compresses the product images, so your store loads fast and fits well on both desktop and mobile. From your side, you have to make sure to use not-heavy pictures for your website theme.
Apps that run in the admin only, like the Kliken Stats app, don't affect the speed of your online store.
- Apps and customizations: Live chats, pop-ups and other customizations take some time to process depending on what information it’s calling the services which may factor into page load speed.
- Website themes: If a store’s theme uses messy or extraneous code for the page to process, it can cause slow loading times. Ecwid’s Instant site themes use a streamlined framework out of the box. If you use another platform to host your site like WordPress or Wix, make sure you use an optimized theme.
- High customer traffic: A large number of visitors on your site at one time affects the server response time.
Check your internet connection
Run a speed test to ensure your internet connection is not the cause of the slowdown. Contact your internet provider if you encounter any issues.
Check your device
Sometimes, the device you're using may impact store performance. Try reloading the page on different devices and temporarily disabling antivirus software to see if it improves loading speed. If you notice that the issue is gone, please record a HAR file. Then email us the file and the name of your antivirus system. We’ll check what’s causing the conflict and how to fix it. Disable extensions one by one to see if it makes any difference to your store loading speed.
Optimize product images and videos
Ensure product thumbnails and images are optimized for the web. Avoid using large PNG images with transparent backgrounds, as they may slow down category pages. Resize and optimize images and videos to reduce file sizes and improve loading speed, especially for mobile users.
Learn more how to optimize images for the web →
Show fewer products on the storefront
Collapsing categories and displaying fewer products on the storefront page can accelerate content download speed from your hosting server.
To collapse categories:
- From your Ecwid admin, go to the Design page.
- Scroll down to the Storefront additional settings section, then select Collapse categories.
Disable unnecessary apps
Each additional app or customization can contribute to slower loading times. Disable any unnecessary apps or add-ons to improve speed.
Learn how to uninstall apps from the Ecwid App Market →
Report a problem to the Ecwid support
If you've tried the above steps and still experience issues, contact Ecwid Customer Care for assistance, providing detailed information about your device, browser, and any antivirus software you use:
- Your device and browser info — you can copy it from this page: https://www.ecwid.com/internet
- Do you face the issue in several browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.)?
- Do you see the issue on your Instant Site?
- Can you reproduce the issue on a different device with a different internet connection?
- Do you run antivirus software? If so, what is its name?
- Provide a HAR file — this file shows the processes that happen in the browser when you open your store page. Please follow these steps to record a HAR file and attach it to the email.
FAQ
My store works fine, but the Google PageSpeed shows low results. Why so?
Google PageSpeed Insights provides a synthetic test of your site's performance, and its results may differ from actual loading speed. Try using other tools like GTmetrix or Pingdom for more accurate assessments.