Alexander LamLooking for the fastest review app for your Shopify store? Look no further! We’ve run speed audits of the top options for review apps on Shopify to determine which one takes the crown as the speediest.
Whether you’re looking to improve customer trust or boost sales, finding a fast and efficient review app is essential. Join us as we dive into the world of Shopify review apps and discover which one can power up your online business in record time.
Before we jump into it, please read this very important disclaimer: speed isn’t everything.
Yes, you read that right.
While speed is super important, it’s not the be-all and end-all of review apps. The more features a review app has, the slower it can potentially be. It’s essential to strike a balance between speed and the specific features you need for your business.
Prioritize your requirements, and choose the fastest app that fulfills your needs without compromising crucial functionalities.
Shopify Review App Criteria: Understanding the factors to consider when evaluating review apps for speed
Today, we’re diving into the exciting world of review apps for Shopify and taking a closer look at what factors you should consider when evaluating their speed. After all, we all want our online stores to be lightning-fast, right?
What metrics should we consider?
So, let’s get right to it and talk about the main factor that should be on your radar when it comes to the speed of those third-party apps: Total Blocking Time (TBT). Now, you might be wondering, “What in the world is Total Blocking Time?”
Total Blocking Time refers to the amount of time your website is held back from being interactive and responsive due to scripts and other elements loading in the background. In simple terms, it’s like waiting on a highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get where you’re going. Nobody likes being held back, and your website visitors are no exception!
When you add new scripts to your store, they can have a significant impact on your Total Blocking Time. The more TBT you have, the slower your entire site becomes, and we all know that speed is key in the online world. So, naturally, it’s crucial to aim for less Total Blocking Time to keep your site zooming along.
Now, let’s move on to the second factor worth considering: the Speed Index. The Speed Index provides us with a nifty way to gauge the overall speed of your store. But wait, what exactly is this mysterious Speed Index?
Well, my friends, the Speed Index is the best metric we have to get a birds-eye view of speed. It gives us an average measurement of how fast your store is, taking into account various elements and interactions. It’s like stepping back and looking at the big picture, getting a holistic view of your store’s speediness. It’s not just about one or two quick interactions; it’s about the entire user experience.
So, when evaluating review apps for speed, we’re going to be focusing in on Total Blocking Time and the Speed Index. Of course, we’ve done the legwork and checked for impact on other metrics. Important Core Web Vitals like Largest Contentful Paint and First Contentful Paint were largely not impacted by these apps or were changed as a result of TBT, so there isn’t much to gain from considering these metrics.
How fast is your Shopify store?
Compare how fast your store is to a huge sample of other stores. Get benchmarked and find out where you can improve your speed to make more sales.
What pages should we measure?
Now that we have a good understanding of the factors to consider when evaluating the speed of review apps, let’s talk about which specific pages you should focus on when conducting your speed audit.
First up, we have the homepage. Ah, the gateway to your online store, the first impression your visitors get. It’s no surprise that this page plays a crucial role in the success of your business. And guess what? It’s also the place where review apps often add their widgets.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The homepage is where you want to showcase your social proof, those glowing testimonials from satisfied customers that build trust and credibility. Review apps often provide nifty testimonial carousels that allow you to display those raving reviews, making your homepage shine brighter than a supernova.
Now, let’s shift our attention to the product pages. These are the real stars of your store, where the magic happens. And yes, you guessed it right, review apps have their role to play here too. On the product page, you’ll typically find the list of reviews from happy customers, sharing their experiences and insights.
Top Contenders: A look at the leading review apps available for Shopify
When it came to picking the review apps for our big audit, we weren’t just throwing darts blindfolded! Nope, we took a super careful approach, combining what people were raving about and our own experience working with tons of Shopify stores.
We scoured the Shopify app store to find those shining stars – you know, the ones with consistently glowing reviews and top-notch ratings from happy users. And guess what? We found some real contenders, including AliReviews, Loox, Judge.me, Opinew, Rivo, Rivyo, Shopify’s Review App, Stamped, and Yotpo.
But we didn’t stop there! Oh no, we also tapped into our own expertise, gained from working closely with all sorts of e-commerce businesses. We wanted to make sure we included review apps that had a proven track record of delivering results. Our goal? To pick apps that people loved, that boosted customer engagement, built trust, and helped rake in those sweet conversions.
Product Page Deep Dive: How do review apps impact the Shopify product page?
First we’ll take a look at the Speed Index of apps on the product page. Remember, this stat gives us an overall view of how fast a page us. It’s a measure of how quickly visual content gets shown.
Product Page Speed Index
This chart shows us the Speed Index measured with the review app vs. the Speed Index measured with no additional third party content on it. In this chart, 0% would mean there is no impact from the review app.
Additional scripts will impact the Speed Index negatively, so it’s no surprise that every app has hurt the Speed Index.
Our winner here is JudgeMe! With a 12% impact, JudgeMe has the least impact on your product pages’ overall load.
Our honourable mentions here are Opinew and Yotpo – both apps have a minimal impact on the Speed Index relative to other apps on the Shopify app store.
Product Page Total Blocking Time
Next, We’ll check out the Total Blocking Time (TBT) that review apps add to Shopify. In the background, your site is like a one lane highway. More blocking time from scripts is like a slow car holding up traffic on that highway, stopping other cars from getting to their destination.
We have a tie – ours winner here are Stamped, Rivyo and JudgeMe! These three apps actually had no impact on blocking time in the tests that we ran. The lack of impact here goes to show that these apps really focused on their optimization.
Honourable mention? Loox had a low impact on blocking time as well, meaning they won’t clog up your site’s digital highway.
Homepage Deep Dive: How do review apps impact the Shopify homepage?
Homepage Speed Index
The homepage is the second location we’re considering for review apps. Reviews can add testimonial carousels to the homepage. As you can see, of the apps we audited, only these 5 offered homepage carousels that we were able to test.
When we compared the impact of these carousels, we found JudgeMe was the Shopify review app with the lowest impact on the Speed Index! In second, we have Opinew and then Stamped.
Final Verdict: Revealing the fastest review app for Shopify based on our comprehensive analysis
Alright, buckle up, folks! We’ve been on a wild ride, thoroughly analyzing the top review apps out there for Shopify. And guess what? We’ve reached a final verdict on the ultimate speed champion! After countless tests and rigorous evaluation, we can finally spill the beans and reveal the app that takes the crown as the absolute fastest! Drumroll, please…
JudgeMe takes the crown with the best mix of speed on both product pages and the homepage! Stamped and Rivyo are also great options with no Total Blocking Time impact on product pages. We can also recommend Opinew as a great option for both the homepage and on product pages.
And if you’re looking to speed up your Shopify store, don’t just stop at picking the right review app. Try out our app Hyperspeed to make sure everything is as fast as possible! We’ve engineered Hyperspeed to work with every theme – try Hyperspeed free for 7 days here.
How fast is your Shopify store?
Compare how fast your store is to a huge sample of other stores. Get benchmarked and find out where you can improve your speed to make more sales.
