App Speed Report ยท Updated March 2026

Does Gorgias Slow Down Your Shopify Store?

Speed impact analysis of Gorgias (Customer Support & Helpdesk) โ€” how much it affects your page load time, what scripts it loads, and how to mitigate the performance cost.

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Gorgias Speed Impact Summary

Speed Impact Level Medium Impact

3

Scripts Loaded

195KB

Total Script Size

200-380ms

Avg. Load Time Impact

App Name

Gorgias

Category

Customer Support & Helpdesk

Impact Level

Medium

How Gorgias Affects Your Store Speed

Gorgias is a customer support helpdesk that includes a live chat widget, help center widget, and self-service order management. Its chat bubble loads on every storefront page.

When a visitor lands on your store, Gorgias loads 3 JavaScript files totaling approximately 195KB. These scripts need to be downloaded, parsed, and executed by the browser โ€” all of which takes time and competes with your core page content for network bandwidth and CPU resources.

The measured impact is 200-380ms of additional page load time. To put that in perspective: Google research shows that each additional 100ms of load time reduces conversion rates by up to 7%. If Gorgias adds 200-380ms to your page load, that's a measurable impact on your bottom line.

Gorgias's medium impact means it's contributing noticeably to your load time but isn't the worst offender. Combined with other apps, however, the cumulative effect can be significant.

What These Scripts Do

Gorgias's scripts handle its core customer support & helpdesk functionality on your storefront. This typically includes:

  • โ€ข Core functionality script โ€” The main JavaScript bundle that powers Gorgias's features on your pages
  • โ€ข Tracking/analytics script โ€” Monitors user interactions and behavior for Gorgias's dashboard and reporting
  • โ€ข UI/widget scripts โ€” Renders visual elements like popups, widgets, or embedded components on your storefront

The problem isn't that these scripts exist โ€” it's that they often load synchronously and on every page, even pages where Gorgias's functionality isn't needed. A visitor browsing your blog doesn't need Gorgias's full customer support & helpdesk scripts loading and executing.

How to Reduce Gorgias's Speed Impact

You don't have to choose between Gorgias's functionality and a fast store. Here's how to minimize its performance impact while keeping the features you need:

1

Defer Gorgias chat widget loading by 3-5 seconds โ€” immediate chat availability is rarely necessary

2

Use Gorgias's 'Contact Form' mode instead of live chat if you don't staff real-time support โ€” it's lighter

3

Disable the Gorgias widget on mobile if mobile chat usage is low โ€” significant mobile speed improvement

4

Limit Gorgias to key support pages (contact, FAQ, product pages) instead of loading store-wide

5

Disable Gorgias's self-service order tracking widget if you use a separate tracking app like AfterShip

6

Use Gorgias's help center as a standalone page rather than an embedded widget to reduce per-page script load

๐Ÿ” SEO impact: Reducing Gorgias's speed impact helps your store pass Core Web Vitals โ€” Google's official ranking signal since 2021. Better speed = higher rankings = more organic traffic.

Quick Optimization Checklist for Gorgias

Complete these steps to minimize Gorgias's speed impact

The Bigger Picture: App Bloat on Shopify

Gorgias is just one app on your store. The average Shopify store has 15-25 apps installed, and each one adds its own JavaScript and CSS to your storefront. The cumulative effect is what really kills your speed score.

Think about it: if Gorgias adds 200-380ms and you have 10+ other apps each adding 100-400ms, your total third-party script overhead could be 2-5 seconds. That's the difference between a store that converts and one that loses visitors before the page even loads.

Manually optimizing each app's loading behavior is time-consuming and requires technical knowledge. You'd need to edit theme files, understand JavaScript loading patterns, and constantly monitor for regressions when apps update their scripts.

This is exactly the problem Thunder was built to solve. Thunder automatically scans every app on your store, measures each one's actual speed impact (including Gorgias), and optimizes how they all load โ€” deferring non-essential scripts, reducing blocking time, and ensuring your critical page content loads first.

โšก See How Gorgias Affects Your Store

Thunder scans your installed apps โ€” including Gorgias โ€” and shows you exactly how much each one impacts your speed. Then it fixes them automatically.

Install Thunder Free โ†’

Free plan available ยท Scans all your apps ยท No code changes required

What Merchants Say

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"Our PageSpeed score went from 34 to 82 without removing a single app. Thunder handled everything automatically."

James M.

Fashion & Apparel

โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…

"We were about to uninstall half our apps to fix speed. Thunder saved us the hassle โ€” all apps running, score above 80."

Sarah K.

Health & Beauty

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"Setup took 30 seconds. Our LCP dropped from 4.2s to 1.8s. Best $20/month we spend."

David R.

Home & Garden

Read all 59 reviews on the Shopify App Store โ†’

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Gorgias slow down Shopify stores?

Gorgias has a medium speed impact on Shopify stores, typically adding 200-380ms to page load time. It loads 3 scripts totaling approximately 195KB. While this isn't negligible, you can mitigate the impact by deferring its scripts, limiting which pages it loads on, and using a speed optimization app like Thunder to manage its loading behavior.

How much does Gorgias affect my PageSpeed score?

Gorgias typically reduces your PageSpeed Insights mobile score by 3-10 points depending on your store's baseline performance and other installed apps. The 195KB of JavaScript it loads contributes to longer Time to Interactive (TTI) and potentially affects Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) if scripts block rendering. The actual impact varies โ€” stores with fewer apps will notice it more.

Should I uninstall Gorgias to improve speed?

Not necessarily. Gorgias provides valuable functionality (customer support & helpdesk) that likely benefits your store. Instead of uninstalling, optimize how it loads: defer non-critical scripts, limit it to pages where it's needed, and use Thunder to automatically manage its loading priority. Only uninstall if you're not actively using the app or if the speed cost outweighs the business value.

Can I use Gorgias and still have a fast Shopify store?

Yes. Many high-performing Shopify stores use Gorgias successfully. The key is optimization: don't load Gorgias's scripts on pages where they're not needed, compress your images to offset the script overhead, and use a tool like Thunder to defer Gorgias's JavaScript until after your critical content has loaded. A well-optimized store with Gorgias can still score 80+ on PageSpeed mobile.