Performance Lab

Apps I replaced with Shopify's own features, measured before and after.

Each build does a paid app's job without loading the app's code on your pages. Builds that need Shopify Plus run on a Plus developer test store, and each of those has a walkthrough video. The rest run on this site, which is on Shopify's Basic plan. None of them is a client store. I can build these in your store and measure them the same way.

I measure every build's effect on page speed before I hand it over.

The builds

What each build gives you, what it costs you, and how I measured it.

Was here and is gone
Code I wrote
An app does this job
Shopify does this itself

Built on this site · Basic plan

Review display

Reviews show on the page without the review app's code.

Replaces: A review app's on-page display
You get: No review-app script on product pages
Trade-off: New reviews show up after the next sync. The store decides how often it runs: hourly, daily or weekly. My standard build leaves out photo and video reviews and your replies, opens the review form in a new tab, and runs the sync on GitHub, in an account your store owns. I can build any of those in, quoted separately.

0 external requests

The review app I tested made 54. Measured October 25, 2026, on one product page.

See it working

Built on this site · Basic plan

Store locator

Your store list lives in your own Shopify admin.

Replaces: A store locator app
You get: Locations stored in Shopify, no app code on the page
Trade-off: Locations are edited in the Shopify admin. If your team wants its own editing screen, I can build one, quoted separately.

Not measured yet

See it working

Built on a Plus developer test store · needs Shopify Plus

Bundle discounts

Shopify prices the bundle at checkout.

Replaces: A bundle app's widget and cart pricing
You get: No app code on the page, and no calls to an outside company
Trade-off: I set up your bundle rules as part of the build. New rules, or a screen your team uses to change them, I can build too, quoted separately.

0.8% of Shopify's limit used on one cart, so big carts stay well inside it

From Shopify's own log of one cart, October 27, 2026.

See it working

Built on this site · Basic plan

Page builder pages

Landing pages built from your theme's own sections.

Replaces: A page builder app
You get: No page builder code in the theme
Trade-off: Your team builds new pages from the sections I make. A section you need that isn't there yet, I can build, quoted separately.

Not measured: no page builder was installed for this demo, so there's no before.

See it working

Client work

Client stores, with the numbers.

A store I worked on · Consumer Electronics Retailer · Shopify Plus

Three apps and their leftover code removed

Fully loaded time1.5swas 37.3s · 96% less

Files loaded33was 227 · 194 removed

Page size847 KBwas 4.98 MB · 83% smaller

GTmetrix gradeA (95%)was D (64%)

Three apps came out and I rebuilt what they did in the theme. Code left behind by apps the store had already uninstalled came out too.

Measured with GTmetrix, a page-speed testing tool: one report before and one after.

Read the full breakdown →

A store I worked on · Global Crafting Supplier · Shopify Plus

Pricing work taken off the team's week

Weekly admin time87% lessclient-reported

I built a discount engine that works out and shows the quantity-based price tiers automatically.

Read the full breakdown →

More client work

Other stores I've worked on

Ergonomic DTC Brand · Shopify Plus

Store rebuild and tracking cleanup

I rebuilt the main parts of the store's design and removed duplicate tracking code that was conflicting in the store's header. I also linked the main store to its sister site with a bar across both.

Move to Shopify Plus, store locator and group discounts

I moved the storefronts to Shopify Plus, built a store locator for the retail stores, and wrote the discount rules for military, first responder and employee customers.

Have an app you'd like replaced?

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What I build →