Most Shopify stores get slower every year, and the apps are usually the reason. Each paid app you add ships its own JavaScript, its own stylesheet, and its own admin surface. By year two, the storefront drags, the design fights itself, and the app bill is north of a thousand dollars a month. This service fixes both problems at once: a faster store and a smaller monthly bill.
Who this is for
You run a Shopify or Shopify Plus store, your pages feel slow on mobile, and your app subscriptions keep climbing. You suspect some of those apps could be native code, but you are not sure which ones are safe to remove or what the rebuild costs. That is exactly what I sort out.
What I do
I audit every paid app and every Core Web Vitals number, then replace the apps that are really just a bit of theme code with native components. The result is a leaner store that loads faster and costs less to run each month.
- A full Lighthouse pass and an app-by-app audit, so you can see what each app costs and what it actually does.
- A prioritised fix list, ranked by impact, so the biggest wins come first.
- Native rebuilds of the apps that do not need to be apps, from size charts and trust badges to wishlists and mega menus.
- Core Web Vitals work on LCP, CLS, and INP, the three metrics Google now scores you on.
- A before-and-after report so the gains are measured, not guessed.
Real numbers from real stores
On one storefront I removed 16,800 dollars a year of recurring app spend and dropped Largest Contentful Paint from 4.3 seconds to 1.6 seconds. On another, I cut 480 dollars a month from the app bill while the site got faster, not slower. These are not theoretical figures. They are pulled from production work, and you can read the full breakdowns in the case studies.
See the method in replacing five Shopify apps with native code, or start with a free Shopify app spend audit to see your own number.
How I work, step by step
- Audit and report. A Lighthouse and app audit with a prioritised fix list and a clear savings estimate. About 3 days.
- Replace one or two apps. Swap the highest-cost replaceable apps for native theme code and apply quick wins. About 2 weeks.
- Full performance pass. Replace up to 5 apps, run a complete performance pass, and hit your Core Web Vitals targets. About 4 weeks.
What you walk away with
At the end you have a faster store and a smaller bill, both measured. A before-and-after report shows the movement in LCP, CLS, and INP and the exact monthly spend you cut. You also get clean, documented native components in your theme, so the features you used to rent are now yours to keep, with no black boxes left behind.
Just as important, the store is easier to live with. Fewer apps means fewer dashboards, fewer surprise price hikes, and fewer scripts loading on every page. The work is built to hold, so you are not back in the same place a year from now paying twice for the same features.
Frequently asked questions
Will removing apps break my store?
No. I rebuild the features you actually use as native code before anything is removed, and I test on a copy of your theme first. For apps that hold data, like reviews or wishlists, I run an export and import dry run before the cutover.
Does a faster site really change sales?
Yes. A store that loads in one second converts far better than one that loads in five. Most stores see a 0.4 to 1.5 second LCP improvement after a 4 to 5 app swap, and that speed lift compounds with every ad click you are already paying for.
Which apps are worth keeping?
Some apps do genuinely hard things, like subscription billing, tax compliance, or carrier-integrated shipping. When the cost to rebuild is more than a year of subscription, I tell you to keep them. The audit is honest about that.
How is this priced?
A typical engagement runs $4,000 to $8,000. That covers an audit, a native rebuild of four to six apps, theme integration, and two weeks of support after launch. You can start with just the free audit and decide from there. Either way, you get a fixed quote within 24 hours.
How you’re protected
You pay in milestones as the work ships, not all of it upfront. You own every line of code, clean and documented, with no lock-in. And you can start small, with a scoped first step like an audit or a single section, that credits toward the full build if you go ahead.
Start with the numbers
The fastest first step is a free app spend audit. Add your apps, see the estimated savings, and book a 20-minute call to turn it into a real plan. Or tell me about your store and I will send a quote in 24 hours.
