What Is an HTTP Request &
How To Make Fewer of Them in Shopify

HTTP requests could be causing you to miss out on site sales every day, but most store owners don’t even know what they are. These requests are the foundation of your site and optimizing for them can decrease bounce rates and bump up your conversions.

Explore exactly what is an HTTP request, and what actions you can take today to start improving your site loading times and provide a better customer experience.

Understanding the Basics: What Is an HTTP Request?

A Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, is the foundation of data transfer and communication on the internet. An HTTP is any request your browser, otherwise known as the client, makes to a server.

When you type Shopify.com in your browser and hit Enter, an HTTP request is sent to a server, which retrieves the site and displays it in your browser. HTTP requests are also made when you  submit a form or upload files to a website.

Key Components of an HTTP Request

You can get a better understanding of an HTTP request by breaking it down into its four major components.

Request Methods (GET, POST, OPTIONS, TRACE)

Request methods define what type of actions you, as the client, want the server to perform. Here are the four major kinds:

1. GET: Retrieves data from the server to load pages or retrieve resources. GET and POST are most relevant to Shopify HTTP requests.
2. POST: Sends data to the server and is commonly used for submitting forms or data.
3. OPTIONS: Requests information about the server’s capabilities
4. TRACE: Echoes request back to the client and is often used for diagnostics or debugging.

Request Headers and Request Body

The HTTP request will pull headers and body while retrieving the website. Headers contain metadata like content type and authorization details. The request body carries the actual data sent to the server.

Target Resource & Response Body

The target resource specifies what the client is seeking like a web page or an image. Once the server receives the request, it processes it and returns the requested content in the response body. This can include HTML, images, or other data formats.

Application Layer Protocol

An application layer protocol is a set of rules that governs how data is transferred over a network, and HTTP is the most widely used protocol for web applications. It defines the rules for how messages are formatted and transmitted.

Request Methods & Status Codes

Like all other websites, Shopify uses HTTP requests to transfer the data and elements you see on the page.

POST requests are used primarily for checkout processes, where they allow customers to submit cart information and complete purchases. GET requests are used to load your store and retrieve product data.

Status codes accompany all HTTP requests and indicate their status. For example, status code 200 signals a successful request, 404 signifies a missing resource, and 500 indicates a server error.

Why HTTP Requests Matter for Shopify Store Performance

Because HTTP requests transfer all the data of your store to your customer’s computers, it has a major impact on your site’s performance.

Impact on Page Load Speed

An HTTP request that takes an excessive amount of time to complete will increase the time it takes to load your Shopify pages. Every image request, CSS reading, or JavaScript loading adds to the total load time of your page.

Your site’s bounce rate can increase 32% if your page load time increases from one to three seconds. Visitors become frustrated by the experience and will look to competitors with a better online experience.

Server Resources & Bandwidth

If your Shopify store has a ton of third-party apps or large media files, it puts a strain on server resources and bandwidth. Every HTTP request consumes a portion of bandwidth and processing power, so too many requests slow down the server’s ability to respond. The numerous requests could be causing a performance bottleneck.

Strategies To Make Fewer HTTP Requests in Shopify

The good news is there are a few easy and straightforward methods for reducing your HTTP requests to speed up your site performance.

Consolidating and Minifying Files

The first step to minimizing requests is consolidating and minifying your files in Shopify. The minifying process means minimizing your code and markups. One way to do this is by combining separate CSS and JavaScript files into one so your browser doesn’t have to send as many requests to the server.

Shopify even has a built-in feature to minify your CSS and JavaScript files, making them smaller and faster to load.

Optimizing Images & Media

Another huge drain on HTTP requests is images and other media. Compress all images to decrease their size without losing significant quality. Shopify makes it easy by providing built-in image optimization tools to resize your media automatically.

Also, always use lazy loading, which delays the loading of non-essential images until the visitor scrolls to them.

Leverage Browser Caching

Browser caching will store your site’s files on your visitor’s device locally, so their computers don’t have to make as many requests. The next time they visit, the browser loads the files directly from their computer, making load times faster.

Remove Unnecessary Apps and Features

Every app you add to your store introduces more JavaScript and CSS files, bloating your site and increasing requests. Uninstall any unnecessary apps and plugins that aren’t critical to streamline your store’s backend.

How to Minify CSS and JavaScript Files in Shopify

Here’s a step-by-step guide to minifying your CSS and JavaScript files using the built-in Shopify tools:

1. Combine files: Merge multiple CSS or JavaScript files into a single file to reduce HTTP requests.
2. Minify files: Use Shopify’s built-in minification or third-party apps to remove unnecessary spaces and characters.
3. Use apps: Non-developers can try apps like MinifyMe or Boostify for an easy solution.

Advanced Tips for Reducing HTTP Requests

Until now, you’ve learned foundational ways to reduce your HTTP requests, but there are advanced techniques that can make an even bigger impact.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN distributes all your site’s resources like images and CSS files across multiple servers all over the globe. This helps by reducing the physical distance between the server and your visitor’s computer, making it faster to retrieve all the information.

Shopify includes a built-in CDN to request content from the nearest server instead of Shopify’s main server, helping to boost your site speed for visitors from different regions.

Defer Non-Essential Scripts

Deferring your non-essential scripts means only the elements above the fold on a web page will load, while any JavaScript that isn’t required right away will load later. This helps reduce the initial number of HTTP requests and improves your site’s loading speed.

Implement Lazy Loading for Videos & Other Heavy Media

As mentioned earlier, lazy loading only loads the media that the user sees on their screen instead of loading the entire page at once. You can use the same technique for videos and other larger images or animations. Loading times will be reduced and users will have a better overall experience.

Enabling Lazy Loading in Shopify

Enabling lazy loading on your Shopify store requires some technical coding knowledge. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide:

1. Edit your code by navigating to Online Store > Themes > Edit Code
2. Locate image or video elements in theme files
3. Add loading=”lazy” attribute to the <img> and <video> tags

There are also Shopify apps to help make the process easier if you don’t have experience with code.

Tools To Help You Monitor and Reduce HTTP Requests

While everything mentioned so far is possible to complete on your own, it may take a considerable amount of time to learn and implement. Use the tools below to make the job more efficient.

Chrome DevTools

Anyone using a Google browser can access Chrome DevTools, which allows you to access backend information for your Shopify store. Here are steps to using Chrome DevTools to analyze HTTP requests:

1. Open Shopify store in Chrome and right click, select Inspect to launch DevTools
2. Navigate to Network tab
3. Reload your page to see all HTTP requests
4. Use filters to analyze specific requests like images or scripts

Third-Party Shopify Apps

TinyIMG is a popular third-party app in Shopify that compresses your images and reduces their size to maximize your loading times.

Another helpful tool is PageSpeed Optimizer, which analyzes your site’s performance and recommends actions to optimize site speed.

Why Reducing HTTP Requests Boosts Shopify Store Success

Going through an optimization process to reduce HTTP requests can decrease your page loading times and provide a better site experience. Customers will stay on the site longer, leading to more opportunities to convert visitors into paying customers.

Contact BLiNK ViTALS’ Shopify experts, who can minimize your HTTP requests in a fraction of the time and get you closer to more sales.