How to Speed Up Your Shoptet E-shop: Specific Advice and Common Mistakes

A fast website isn't just a technical novelty; it's a business necessity. Customers abandon slow sites faster than you can say "goodbye", and Google simply isn't fond of sluggish websites.

Research by Portent reveals that with a 1-second page load time, the average conversion rate is nearly 40%. At 2 seconds, it drops to 34%, and at 3 seconds, to 29%. A speedy site brings conversions, increased traffic, cheaper PPC, and has many other benefits.

If you're running an e-shop on Shoptet, you've got a solid foundation, but even the best e-shop requires regular care when it comes to web speed.

Shoptet's inherent speed is very good, but beware of template modifications#

On e-commerce platforms like Shoptet, you don't have direct server access, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The server response time (TTFB, Time To First Byte) is usually excellent with Shoptet.

Shoptet is certainly among the technically proficient e-commerce platforms, with servers running like clockwork.

Problems begin on the frontend, the part of the site visible to customers. When developers significantly alter the original template's appearance, they often resort to using a lot of JavaScript.

Shoptet provides you with a quality engine, but how fast you go depends on what you load into the car.

Users are interested not just in the server's response but in the overall impression they get directly in their browser. We measure web speed with a set of user experience metrics known as Core Web Vitals.

Core Web Vitals are crucial numbers because if a page meets their recommended values, users are 24% less likely to leave before loading. (Source)

• The loading speed (LCP) and layout stability (CLS) will be excellent thanks to the very good servers. However, problems arise with custom modifications.
• Interaction response speed (INP) is also excellent as a Shoptet baseline (thanks in part to our help), but issues can occur with web modifications or the addition of third-party components.

Take a look at the Core Web Vitals values for several reference sites we monitor:

Most e-shops on Shoptet have very good Core Web Vitals values, but there are exceptions, so be mindful of speed.

The primary goal is "green" Core Web Vitals values for the entire domain, and to have everything green in Google Search Console.

A fast Shoptet does exist. You just need to set it up correctly and not spoil it with unnecessary bloat.

Five common pitfalls when modifying Shoptet#

Every web modification is like adding luggage to a car. Beyond a certain number of changes or if done clumsily, the speed starts to lag.

1) Inept design modifications#

When you want to significantly change the template's appearance, it often means rewriting the original code with JavaScript. Discuss with designers whether you really need to change everything. Sometimes, subtle tuning of default templates, such as Classic, is sufficient instead of a complete overhaul.

Image: the layout can break unpleasantly during loading on Shoptet.

The next step is to ensure developers avoid negatively impacting Core Web Vitals when implementing these changes. Metrics like LCP (loading speed) and CLS (layout stability) are particularly at risk.

2) Adding plugins and third parties without monitoring speed impact#

Each new plugin or JavaScript component is another suitcase in your car's boot. Before implementation, ask yourself: "Do I really need this?"

External services embedded via Google Tag Manager (a tool for managing analytics codes), marketing scripts, or advertising systems can create "long tasks" (measurable synthetically by TBT metric or for real users by JS Long Tasks (JSLT)), slowing down the site's response and worsening the INP metric.

The main rule for adding new components to the site: always monitor speed to understand the impact on performance.

3) Non-optimized images#

Modern formats like WebP or AVIF can save tens of percent in size compared to older formats like JPEG or PNG.

Ask Shoptet support to enable storing images in WebP format, which is significantly more data-efficient.

Equally important is lazy loading – deferred loading of images that aren't immediately visible on the screen. Why download photos from the bottom of the page if the user might never see them? However, Shoptet must solve this for you, as you can't access the HTML code.

4) Unhandled image sizes#

Every asynchronously loaded element on the page should have a defined size. This could be an image, video, iframe, or another web component.

In this e-commerce platform, it's mainly about images. Shoptet won't help you here, as it's not possible to edit the HTML source of the site except in specific places. However, there are ways to achieve the same effect in CSS:

img {
  min-height: 200px;
}

There are more options. Check out our article on maintaining element heights for the needs of the CLS metric.

5) Poor choice of web modification provider#

Look for verified, communicative developers with quality references. Prefer larger studios and be cautious with cheap freelance coders. You might be surprised, but focusing on the technical knowledge of a person or company isn't necessary.

The key is communication. At PageSpeed.ONE, we often find that development and optimization don't go as planned due to insufficient communication from developers.

Choose people who communicate well, are approachable, and proactive. You can spot these qualities early in the development phase.

How PageSpeed.ONE assists Shoptet e-shops#

Speed is always the result of systematic collaboration among multiple parties. PageSpeed.ONE acts as a speed guarantor. We assist each Shoptet client in three different areas.

1) monitoring PLUS: Speed guardian of your e-shop#

Speed optimization isn't a sprint with a finish line, but an endless marathon. A website needs constant care and regular monitoring.

Our monitoring PLUS functions like an alarm. The Watchdog alerts you to problems before customers notice them.

With the Watchdog, you can somewhat let go of worrying about speed.

The service provides continuous insights into your Shoptet's performance, guidance on specific areas for optimization, and timely warnings when metrics deteriorate.

2) Optimization of your Shoptet's speed#

We've completed dozens of optimizations across various platforms. Our analyses uncover specific "low-hanging fruit", issues that can be quickly resolved with a significant impact on speed.

Optimization of Core Web Vitals on Shoptet sped up the deNatura.cz e-shop and +17% traffic from Google.

We also assist other Shoptet clients like Brainmarket.cz, Olivie.cz, or ČistéDřevo.cz.

The portal Srovname.cz saw a 25% increase in conversions thanks to our recommendations. A faster site also means better Google rankings and lower advertising costs.

3) Collaboration with Shoptet itself#

Our collaboration directly with Shoptet developers has improved INP for all e-shops, placing most in the green range of Core Web Vitals ratings and likely improving SEO positions as well.

Improved interaction response (INP metric) following joint optimization by PageSpeed.ONE and Shoptet.

Most Shoptet sites were in the non-optimal, orange range for this metric according to Google's methodology. This not only sometimes meant a poorer user experience but possibly also lower SEO or PPC ratings.

We hope to continue this collaboration because the impact of speed optimization on 40,000 e-shops is enormous, and the mission of PageSpeed.ONE is to speed up websites for everyone.

Conclusion: Shoptet has potential in speed, use it#

Shoptet gives your e-shop a very good technical foundation – the server runs quickly and reliably, and the default templates meet Core Web Vitals metrics.

It's clear that most e-shops won't suffice with just the basics, but with the right approach, enabled monitoring, and good developers, it's possible to manage even the growing complexity of an e-shop.

If you're unsure where to start or looking for specific solutions for your Shoptet, at PageSpeed.ONE we're ready to help. Speed is our business.