My Shopify store scores 30 on mobile PageSpeed — what actually moves the needle?

Speed-booster apps rarely help and often add their own JavaScript, so no surprise there. The real wins on Shopify are almost always the same handful of things. First, images: serve modern formats (AVIF/WebP), size them correctly, and lazy-load anything below the fold — usually the biggest single gain. Second, third-party scripts: reviews, chat, popups, analytics each cost you; defer or remove the ones you don't need. Third, the theme: render-blocking CSS/JS and oversized hero sections hurt LCP. Fourth, fonts: preload the one or two you use and drop the rest.

Ignore the overall number for a moment and look at Core Web Vitals — LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, responsive INP. Fix those and the score follows. A focused sprint usually takes a store from the 30s to mobile 90+ in 7–10 days.