I’m always a little skeptical about adding an app to improve store performance because often, simply reducing your app load can improve performance, but in this case, I’ve made an exception. Why? Well, typically it’s been challenging to improve the speed of Shopify websites beyond the basic tweaks.
But when this app was promoted by the clever guys at Ethercycle, I was all ears. The Core Web Vitals release is not too far away and the key metrics Google has put forward as Core Web Vitals make complete sense for the user. But this post isn’t about Core Web Vitals, so back to the app.
This store performance app I refer to is Core Web Vitals Booster by Speedien and the Wordpress changelog shows it was first released on 24 March 2021 with a couple of iterations since.
Here’s the low down:
Release: March 2021
Platforms: WooCommerce, Wordpress & Shopify
Cost: $9-$19pm USD (Info varies depending on where you look at the moment).
Other apps by developer: None
What’s it do: Improves Key Core Web Vital metrics by adjusting the load order of various javascript files.
Support: 24/7 (via email)
User knowledge required to configure: Novice.
Like:
Uninstall instructions have been provided (oh how I wish all Shopify App developers were required to provide this detailed information.)
Free trial - 7 days
24/7 Support (handy for those of us over here in the Southern Hemisphere). My outreach to the developer was met with a super-fast response.
$9 per month. Core Web Vitals likely to be huge and will likely be the thing SEO’s talk about for the back half of 2021. The ability to grab some speed gains in key areas of the Core Web Vital metrics means your site can load faster for the elements that matter.
Ease of use. Install and job done. Suitable for Novice level users.
Dislikes:
I can’t find any history of this developer having developed apps for Shopify before
It’s newly released. They are still working out a few bugs, so early adopters need to be ready to troubleshoot & test.
The App sales page says ‘Never worry about Image sizes again’ but in my tests, large sliders and oversized images still cause site issues that could be rectified by the site owner. This app isn’t a one-click fix-all - it should be used in conjunction with other measures to improve speed such as clean app profile, clean code, reducing image sizes, and reducing call requests to 3rd party sites.
Changelog has been provided for WordPress but I could not locate one for Shopify.
Summary
I feel confident that the app will improve over time with further updates, but this may also see the monthly price increase, particularly as we move closer to the release of Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor.
If you’re non-techie and have done everything else possible to improve your Core Web Vitals (and overall load speed) then I’d consider trying this out. It seems to solve some problems attributed to delaying 3rd party javascript which has previously been problematic to rectify in Shopify stores.
The app offers 7 day free trial and full uninstall instructions so really a no brainer. Test your speed metrics via page speed insights, install the app and recheck results. You’ll know if it’s worth it for you or not.
Get the Core Web Vitals Booster App for Shopify
Test Results
Site 1 (Flex theme)
Pre app install: Mobile 17, Desktop 64
Post app install: Mobile 30, Desktop 79
Site 2 (Minimal theme)
Pre App install: Mobile 40, Desktop 67
Post App Install: Mobile 77, Desktop 96
Site 3 (District theme)
Pre App install: Mobile 26, Desktop 48
Post App install: Mobile 43, Desktop 85
Site 4 (Providence theme)
Pre App install: Mobile: 47 Desktop: 95
Post App install: Mobile: 44, Desktop: 78
If you’re after some support to help optimise your Shopify website site for Core Web Vitals book a free 15 minute chat with us.
FYI this is not sponsored and I have no affiliation with the app or the app developers
