Do I need a high mobile PageSpeed score? – Plug In Useful

The short answer is no.

While getting a high mobile score may seem like a worthwhile objective it may cost your business more than it’s worth.

The standard that Google set for mobile with their updated PageSpeed scores is incredibly high.

While it may be possible to reach a score of over 80 or 90 on mobile it is not common. We have tested out hundreds of active shops and not one of them has achieved a mobile score above 70.

In fact, the average mobile score that we see is between 22-24.

Does a very low mobile score mean my shop will load very slowly for my customers if they are on their phones?

Not necessarily.

First of all, PageSpeed Insights simulates 3G speeds when measuring your mobile speed.

If your customers access your site using 4G or LTE then they will have a much faster experience. Additionally, if your customers are connected to wifi when browsing your shop they will most likely have a faster experience.

Additionally, Google’s score is only based on what they predict will help your shop load faster.

There are so many factors that influence how fast your shop will load and it is extremely difficult to measure these altogether accurately. In practice, your shop may load much faster than predicted by Google.

Will having a high mobile score help my business be more successful?

Probably not.

We measured the scores of many successful Shopify stores and found that their average mobile score is 31.

You can view these scores here: What are the PageSpeed scores of successful shops?

What mobile score should I aim for?

Given the data that we have seen for Shopify stores, above 50 is an exceptional mobile score.

A score in the 30s or 40s is also a great mobile score.

If this is you, your mobile speed is above average and it is unlikely that you will see any notable gains in sales or conversions by trying to increase this number.

If your score is below 30 it may be worthwhile to increase your score.

However, you should first ask yourself, “why do I want to increase my PageSpeed score?”

As noted above, a low mobile score does not always mean that your customers will experience your shop as slow on mobile. And even if they do, this may not necessarily impact the success of your shop.