# Points to follow

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Your store's performance might deteriorate over time, even with the optimized code. The following tips should be followed to maintain the store's good performance.
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Always use optimized images. Many merchants upload very heavy images. 99% of the time, images are the only performance issue you should be concerned with. So, optimize your images before uploading them to Shopify to achieve better performance.

Be cautious when using large images. It can be tempting to upload 3000 pixels wide or larger pictures to get the best quality. However, it will take longer to load an image the bigger it is. Consider uploading a 2000px wide image for your slideshow rather than one that is 3000px wide. It is probably a wise trade-off if the quality is acceptable to you. Consider the fact that most of the customers won't zoom into most of the images.

Apps are great, but we recommend eliminating the apps you don't use or aren't necessary. They can quickly add a variety of exciting features to your shop. But many apps also add their code (JavaScript, CSS, etc.), which can negatively impact performance. You should regularly audit all your installed apps and eliminate any that you are not using.

Limit the number of installed apps; as a general guideline, you should aim for no more than three apps that impact the storefront. Undoubtedly, you can install additional apps (some apps do not impact storefronts and have no impact on performance, like financing apps).

Always contact the app developers before uninstalling an app to find out if there are additional cleanup techniques. Even after being uninstalled, sometimes apps leave behind code (also referred to as "dead code") that, over time, can build up and affect performance.

Some Shopify features also may impact performance. For example, the "dynamic checkout button," which enables customers to purchase a product with just one click, affects performance. You might think about attempting to turn off this feature.

Be careful how you set up your pages; even though it may seem appealing to display many products on the home page with many sections, keep in mind that this is not free. Your performance will be slower the more content you add because it will take Shopify longer to generate your page. Aiming for only 4-6 sections on one page is a good trade-off.

Try to ignore the "Map" section if at all possible. Although convenient and widely used by everyone, this section uses the Google Map API, which is very performance intensive (they require many scripts to be loaded to do the work). You could, for example, move your maps from the home page to a content page where performance is not as important.

Try to keep the number of videos you use to a minimum. Although using numerous videos is alluring, doing so always has a price. One video is acceptable to display, but uploading too many could slow things down. If at all possible, you should refrain from using video on lengthy pages (like videos), as it could negatively affect how quickly those pages load.

Lastly, don't spend too much time trying to improve your score. As long as you heed the previous advice, you shouldn't need to. On Shopify, there are a lot of outside factors that are out of your control. You cannot have a super lightweight store due to the nature of e-commerce (nobody will buy products if the store does not show images, videos, rich content etc.). Performance is primarily a trade-off; while it is significant if something feels quick, it probably is, and you shouldn't spend much more time on it.
