How to Audit Your Apps and Actually Fix Your Slow Store

You’ve got 23 apps installed on your Shopify store.

You know you’re using about 6 of them. You have no idea what the other 17 do. You’re paying for all of them anyway.

Meanwhile, your store is slow. Your pages take 4-5 seconds to load. You know this is costing you sales.

The problem isn’t usually your theme or your images. It’s your apps.

Every app you install adds code to your store. Some apps are lightweight. Some are monsters. Most store owners have no idea which is which.

Here’s how to audit your apps, identify which ones are actually worth keeping, and fix your speed problem.

Why Apps Slow You Down

When someone visits your store, your page has to load HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Most of that is your theme.

But then every app you installed adds its own JavaScript. One app adds 50KB. Another adds 100KB. Another adds 200KB.

By the time the page finishes loading all the app code, it’s taken 5+ seconds.

On mobile with a 4G connection? 8+ seconds.

People leave. You lose sales.

The apps themselves aren’t necessarily broken. But the cumulative effect of too many apps is a slow store.

The Audit: What to Do This Week

Step 1: List every app.

Go to your Shopify admin. Click Apps and sales channels. Write down every single app you’ve got installed.

Most stores have between 15-35 apps. If you’ve got more than 35, you definitely have bloat.

Step 2: Rate each one.

For each app, ask yourself:

• Am I actively using this app this month? (Yes/No)
• Would my business be worse if this app disappeared today? (Yes/No)
• Am I paying for this? (Yes/No/Free)

If the answer is “No” to the first two questions, or “Yes” to the third while the answer to the first is “No,” mark it for deletion.

Step 3: Check speed impact.

Use Google PageSpeed Insights. Run your homepage.

Now go uninstall 3 apps that you’re not using. Wait 24 hours (apps sometimes take time to fully uninstall).

Run PageSpeed again. Is it faster?

If yes, those apps were hurting you. Keep them off.

Step 4: Identify the heavy hitters.

Use a tool like Google Chrome’s DevTools or Lighthouse. Look at your network requests when your page loads.

You’ll see third-party scripts. Some are from apps.

Are any individual apps adding more than 100KB? Or loading more than 20 scripts?

Those are your speed killers. Consider replacing them.

Apps You Can Probably Delete

Upsell/cross-sell apps if you’re using a theme with built-in upsell features.

Apps like Bold, Rebuy, and Justuno are powerful but heavy. If your theme has upsell built-in, you don’t need the app.

Review apps if you’re getting very few reviews.

Apps like Judge.me and Yotpo are great. But if you’ve got fewer than 100 reviews, the app is adding weight for minimal benefit.

Wait until you have more reviews before adding it.

Chat apps if you’re not answering them.

If you’ve got a chat widget but nobody’s ever actually responded to a customer, delete it. It adds weight and hurts UX (customers expect a response).

Add it back when you have bandwidth to actually use it.

Email capture apps if you have email marketing built into your email platform.

Klaviyo, Substack, and other email tools have pop-up builders. If you’re also using a separate pop-up app, you’ve got redundancy.

Delete the redundant one.

VirtualTry-on, AR, or “try before you buy” apps if they’re not getting used.

These are cool but they add substantial code. If you’re not getting engagement with them, they’re dead weight.

Multiple email platforms.

If you’re using both Klaviyo and Mailchimp, or Privy and Klayvio, you’ve got redundancy. Pick one and delete the other.

Apps That Are Usually Worth Keeping

Email marketing (one, pick the best for your business):

• Klaviyo for higher-end, more automated marketing
• Substack for newsletter-first brands
• Shopify Email for basic, simple campaigns

Inventory management (if you’re managing inventory manually):

• Shopify’s built-in inventory is usually enough
• Only upgrade if you’re across multiple channels and need real-time sync

Customer service (if you need it):

• Gorgias is the most powerful
• Zendesk is good for larger teams
• Shopify Inbox is fine for basic email support

Accounting/tax (one):

• Not always necessary but helpful if you’re tracking complex finances

Analytics (GA4 is usually enough):

• Don’t need Mixpanel or other advanced tools unless you’re analyzing user behavior in detail

The Alternatives to Apps

Before you install an app, ask: does my theme already have this feature built-in?

Most modern Shopify themes include:

• Email capture forms
• Product recommendations
• Discount code pop-ups
• Newsletter signups
• Basic reviews

You probably don’t need an app for these.

Also, some things that look like they need an app can actually be done with Shopify’s built-in automation:

• Welcome emails after purchase
• Abandoned cart reminders
• Upsell sequences

Check what your theme can do first. Check what Shopify can do natively.

Then install an app to fill the gaps.

The Speed Targets After App Audit

After you’ve cut the bloat, here’s what you’re aiming for:

• Homepage: under 3 seconds to load
• Product pages: under 3.5 seconds
• Checkout: under 2 seconds

If you’re not hitting these after cutting apps, the problem is images or hosting, not apps.

The App Maintenance Schedule

Once you’ve done this audit, commit to a quarterly check:

Every 3 months, go through your apps and ask: Am I still using this? Is it earning its cost?

Delete anything that’s not. Your store will stay lean.

Your app stack is probably costing you 10-15% of your revenue through slow page speeds. Most store owners don’t realize it because they added apps over time and never looked back. One quick audit could speed up your store by 30% without spending a dime. If you want help identifying which apps are worth keeping and which ones are just slowing you down, let me do that for you.