Shopify’s success (and its trade-offs)

Shopify is an online behemoth. It powers around 25% of active e-commerce websites, serving over 850 million shoppers annually. In the UK alone, there are more than 200,000 active stores using the platform, many drawn to the ‘cookie-cutter’ approach that has delivered significant success for high-end brands.

Many well-known brands also credit Shopify for turning them into serious contenders. Gymshark, for example, was founded in Ben Francis’s parents’ garage in 2012. Today, thanks in part to Shopify, they sell in over 230 countries and have a market valuation of over a billion dollars. Shopify removes much of the technical headache of e-commerce and provides security and scalability, allowing business owners to focus on selling rather than server maintenance.

That said, it is not without issues. Critics point to its rigid URL structure and limited product variants. Another common complaint is cost, as even relatively basic functionality often requires monthly app subscriptions. And it’s those apps that deserve closer attention.

Where the problems really start: apps

Shopify’s app ecosystem follows the same model used by Apple and Google: modularisation. The core platform stays relatively lean, while third-party developers provide additional features that merchants can add as needed. This keeps Shopify simple enough for beginners while still powerful enough for global brands.

It’s a system that benefits Shopify and app developers alike, creating a large economy of add-on functionality. But those apps are not always built well — or built with performance in mind.

What happens when apps pile up

We recently analysed a client’s Shopify setup with a specific focus on apps. Over seven years of using the platform, they had accumulated 58 installed apps. General best practice recommends around 10-15, although it does depend on your shop requirements.

Digging deeper, we found several cases where two apps were doing the same job. We also discovered that 22 of the 58 apps were actively injecting scripts into the site. In total, these added over 10MB to the website’s page weight. One app alone — Yotpo Loyalty and Rewards — contributed 2MB by itself.

Why this hurts performance

When large apps add script files to the head of a website, they can significantly affect key performance metrics such as Start Render, Largest Contentful Paint, and Time to Interactive. These scripts are often render-blocking, meaning the browser must load them before it can display the page.

Some apps attempt to reduce the impact by using ‘loader’ scripts that delay loading until after the page has rendered. However, they still tend to pull in large amounts of content, which slows the site overall.

The result is a longer, more frustrating journey for customers — and lower performance scores for your site.

The fix: regular app audits

The main takeaway we shared with our client was the need for a regular app audit. This should be done at least quarterly to ensure that:

• You aren’t using multiple apps to perform the same task
• The apps you rely on are well-reviewed and well-maintained
• Every app installed is genuinely essential to your business

This process alone can dramatically reduce page weight, remove unnecessary scripts, and improve overall site performance.

How Fabric helps

Regularly reviewing and pruning your apps keeps your Shopify site lean, fast, and highly functional — and with careful management, you may even improve your Core Web Vitals.

If you’d like to learn more about how Fabric Analytics helps clients improve site speed and performance, get in touch with us today.