Key takeaways 

• Multiple font families make sites sluggish 
• Avoid too many third-party scripts, ex. analytics, chatbots
• Consider upgrading to a better-performing hosting provider 
• Failing to cache static files efficiently can impact load time 
• PageSpeed Insights provides a speed score and suggests fixes. 

Custom web fonts enhance brand identity, but they can also increase page load times. Many eCommerce sites use multiple font families and weights, leading to excessive HTTP requests.

To speed things up, limit font variations and use modern formats like WOFF2, which compress better. Additionally, preload critical fonts to ensure they load quickly.

Too many third-party scripts

Many eCommerce sites rely on third-party scripts for analytics, chatbots, tracking pixels, and marketing automation. Each script requires a request to an external server, adding delays. Loading the script using the defer or async attribute is a fix to avoid blocking document parsing. Consider self-hosting it if the third-party server is slow and all else fails.

The role of the server 

A slow time to first byte (TTFB) indicates delays in server processing before the first byte of data is sent. Poor database optimization, overloaded servers, or inefficient backend code can contribute to this. To get faster TTFB, you might consider upgrading to a high-performance WordPress hosting provider. 

Unnecessary CSS and JavaScript 

Many eCommerce platforms and themes come with unnecessary CSS and JavaScript, which can slow performance. Unused features bloat the code. Minifying and combining CSS/JS files, as well as removing unused code, can dramatically improve site speed. Tools like PurifyCSS and Google’s PageSpeed Insights can help identify unnecessary code. PageSpeed also provides a speed score and suggests fixes. GTmetrix offers server response times, scripts, images, and more information in a detailed report on what’s slowing your eCommerce site down.

For more advanced testing, WebPageTest will reveal how long each section of your website takes to load. Run these tests regularly to notice and resolve speed issues before they harm the user experience.

A badly configured CDN

The Content Delivery Network market is projected to grow from $25.8 billion to $30.11 billion between 2024 and 2025, or 16.7%. This growth is attributed to internet service globalization, internet traffic growth, user experience optimization, mobile internet usage, and security concerns. A CDN distributes your site’s assets across multiple servers worldwide, ensuring users get content from the nearest location. If it’s poorly configured, it will slow things down. Failing to cache static files or use edge servers efficiently can impact load times. Varnish, Redis, or another form of server-side caching stores precomputed pages, reducing the need for real-time database queries. Regularly test CDN performance and tweak settings based on user geography. 

Stylesheets and scripts that block rendering 

Many eCommerce sites have scripts and stylesheets that block the browser from rendering content until they are fully loaded. This can create a noticeable delay before any visible content appears. To fix this, defer or asynchronously load JavaScript where possible and move non-essential scripts to the bottom of the page.

Failure to optimize database queries

eCommerce sites query their databases for product listings, customer details, and transactions. Unoptimized queries can take longer to execute, slowing the site down. Query execution times increase as databases accumulate unnecessary information. You can improve performance by implementing proper indexing, cleaning old data, and using database caching.

Excessive redirects

Tests with PHP scripts reveal that Google Chrome allows a maximum of 20 redirects. The number is the same for Firefox 32-bit, 64-bit, and Microsoft Edge. The latest IE version allows up to 110 redirects. While redirects are required to restructure URLs or migrate pages, an excessive number creates additional HTTP requests that slow down page load time. It helps to audit redirects and eliminate unnecessary chains.

Final thoughts

Third-party scripts, database inefficiencies, and caching misconfigurations are frequently overlooked factors that impact site performance. The conversion rate for websites that load in one second is three times higher than for ones that load in five seconds. When load time increases to 10 seconds, the conversion rate drops fivefold. Regular speed audits and proactive optimizations can ensure a seamless shopping experience, leading to higher conversions and customer satisfaction.