Kill App Bloat: 20 Built‑In Shopify Theme Features That Replace Common Apps and Improve Speed
Speed converts and bloat kills. Shoppers abandon slow sites quickly, and every script you add makes the page a little heavier. The stakes are real. The mobile benchmark from Think with Google shows the probability of bounce rises 32 percent when load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. In a joint study, Deloitte and Google found that a 0.1 second improvement in mobile site speed lifted retail conversion rates by 8.4 percent. If you can replace third party apps with native, theme powered features, you reduce JavaScript, network requests, and DOM overhead that slow down renders.
Shopify’s own guidance acknowledges the tradeoff between features and speed. The Shopify web performance overview explains that stores must balance fancy functionality with page performance, while the web performance reports help you monitor loading speed and stability over time. With Online Store 2.0, Shopify introduced theme app extensions and app embeds to reduce code editing, yet Shopify’s theme docs still recommend keeping things lean because every embed and block can add weight.
So here is the opportunity. Most modern Shopify themes include a surprising number of conversion features that used to require apps. If you choose a theme with these capabilities and configure them well, you can cut app subscriptions and improve speed.
If you are researching themes, ThemeProbe makes it easy to see which theme a Shopify store uses. Paste any store URL to identify its theme instantly. You can also learn how to use theme detection for research in this walkthrough on Shopify competitive benchmarking with theme detection. Once you find a look you love, you can spin up your own store using this Shopify free trial.
20 built in Shopify theme features that can replace common apps
Below are twenty theme based features that frequently replace dedicated apps. Where useful, we include links to Shopify docs and theme store pages that show the feature is native.
1) Predictive search with rich suggestions
Predictive search improves findability by showing results as shoppers type, without a full page reload. According to Shopify’s predictive search guide, native search can surface products, collections, pages, and articles. Developers can also target endpoints directly via the Predictive Search API. Most OS 2.0 themes already ship with predictive search templates, replacing many search enhancement apps.
2) Faceted product filtering and sorting
Category filtering no longer needs an app. Themes integrate storefront facets powered by the Shopify Search and Discovery configuration. The official filtering documentation explains how themes render filters for price, availability, variant options, vendor, and more, while Shopify’s Search and Discovery help shows how merchants choose which filters to expose.
3) Product recommendations that personalize discovery
Themes can display algorithmic related items out of the box. The product recommendations docs cover native recommendation endpoints and how to render them on product pages and collections. You can fine tune sets or pin specific items using Search and Discovery’s recommendations controls.
4) Complementary products for built in cross sell
Cross selling is built into modern themes through a product information block. Shopify explains placement and behavior in the complementary products tutorial, and the feature is configured in the Search and Discovery app to keep logic out of your theme code.
5) Mega menus and clean navigation
You can ship large catalog navigation without a menu app. Shopify’s guidance on drop down menus covers multi level menus, while the Shopify blog on mega menus explains UX best practices for merchandising within menus. Many paid themes include image tiles and promotional blocks in the header.
6) Quick view and quick buy from listings
Shoppers can add to cart without leaving collection pages using native quick actions. The Local theme lists both Quick buy and a slide out cart as built in, while the Release theme highlights Quick view. These features replace typical quick view or quick add apps.
7) Slide out cart with mini cart upsells
A drawer cart improves speed to checkout and can host small promotions, notes, or shipping estimates. Many themes include it by default as shown on the Local theme features page. A native drawer also means fewer full page cart reloads and less reliance on heavy cart widgets.
8) Sticky add to cart for constant purchase access
Sticky purchase controls reduce friction on long product pages. The Impact theme page calls out sticky add to cart as a performance minded conversion feature, and the Enterprise theme page highlights sticky Add to Cart as well. Since it is native, you avoid extra scripts that many sticky bar apps inject.
9) Color swatches for variant pickers
Color swatch apps are often unnecessary because modern themes implement swatch components natively. Shopify’s partner tutorial on getting started with swatches outlines recommended approaches using theme settings and Liquid, which many theme vendors already adopt.
10) Product badges for sale, new, and custom labels
Labels can be displayed with theme logic using compare at price, tags, or metafields. The Release theme lists built in product badges among its features, removing the need for a labeling app for common cases like sale or new.
11) Image galleries, zoom, and responsive images
High quality media is core to conversion, and themes ship with the fundamentals. The Dawn theme page lists image galleries, image zoom, and image rollover as standard. For performance, Shopify recommends responsive srcset markup via the image_tag filter, and Shopify explains how lazy loading improves theme performance. When your theme handles these correctly, you can retire third party image zoom or gallery apps.
12) Announcement bars for promotions and shipping cutoffs
Most themes include a configurable announcement bar. Shopify’s help article on adding an announcement bar shows how to enable it in the theme editor, which often replaces announcement or banner apps for simple messages.
13) Promo popups and in menu promos
If you need a lightweight promo modal or an in menu banner, many themes include them. The Concept theme lists promo popups and promo banners, and several modern themes include in menu promos for header navigation. Since these are native, you keep control of timing and frequency without extra app JavaScript.
14) Tabs and collapsible content for product details and FAQs
Structured information improves scannability. Themes frequently ship product tabs and collapsible content blocks, as called out on the Multi theme page and Enterprise theme page. Many themes also include an FAQ page template, which the Release theme highlights, removing the need for separate FAQ apps.
15) Size charts and fit guides
Clothing brands usually add size guides without an app. The Enterprise theme feature list includes a Size chart block, and many themes let you link size charts through metafields or templates so that different products pull different charts.
16) Store pickup availability on product pages
Shopify’s native pickup option is well integrated with themes. The pickup in store help page notes that compatible themes can show local pickup availability before add to cart, and the pickup availability developer guide details the section and component needed. This replaces a range of pickup or store availability apps.
17) 3D models and product videos with AR support
Product media is first class in Shopify. The product media types help page confirms themes can display 3D models and videos, and Shopify XR enables augmented reality previews on compatible devices. That means no separate video or 3D viewer app for many catalogs.
18) Recently viewed products for re engagement
A common cross sell pattern comes built in to many premium themes. The Release theme and Prestige theme both include Recently viewed sections, usually implemented with local storage to avoid heavy app code.
19) Structured data for SEO out of the box
Well coded themes output JSON LD schema for products, breadcrumbs, and articles. The Shopify editorial on ecommerce schema notes product schema is built into many themes including Dawn. This removes the need for a basic structured data app, though you can extend it with metafields for richer markup.
20) Multi currency and language selectors for international growth
Selling across borders can be theme native. Developers are guided to add country and language selectors in the multiple currencies and languages tutorial, while Shopify’s multi currency help explains how Shopify Payments handles conversions. Themes that ship with selectors reduce the need for separate geolocation or language selector apps if you prefer a simple approach.
Why this approach boosts speed and cuts costs
Every time you install an app, you risk extra script tags, network requests, and DOM elements that impact Core Web Vitals. Shopify urges merchants to balance features with speed in the web performance overview, and the same page explains why excessive client side code slows down First Contentful Paint and Time to Interactive. Even with Online Store 2.0’s safer theme app extensions and app embeds, lighter is still faster because there is less JavaScript to parse and execute.
Theme features also benefit from native performance patterns. Shopify’s best practices recommend responsive images via image_tag srcset and cautious lazy loading that respects Largest Contentful Paint, which many theme developers implement by default. That means you start with well optimized UI and fewer moving parts.
How to find themes that already include what you need
- Start by identifying sites you admire and run them through ThemeProbe to discover the theme. No login, no friction, and your history is stored locally on your device. If you plan to benchmark multiple competitors, this guide on Shopify competitive benchmarking with theme detection outlines a simple workflow.
- Check the theme’s listing page for a feature matrix. For example, the Dawn page lists color swatches, filtering, image zoom, and recommended products. Other theme pages cited above call out sticky add to cart, quick view, promo popups, and more.
- Ask yourself which apps you can uninstall if the theme covers the need. Prioritize built in search, filtering, recommendations, quick add, image features, and navigation.
- If you are spinning up a new store, try the core flows in a dev test shop using this Shopify free trial. A clean theme plus judicious apps will outperform a plugin laden build.
Implementation tips to keep it fast
Use what is in the box and trim the rest. A few practical habits go a long way:
- Avoid duplicate features. If your theme includes predictive search or promo popups, do not also enable the app version. Fewer scripts means faster execution.
- Remove unused apps completely. Code left behind is less of a problem in OS 2.0 thanks to theme app extensions, but it is still good housekeeping to uninstall apps and disable app embeds you no longer need.
- Optimize images the theme way. Follow Shopify’s performance guidance for images, prioritize LCP images, and leverage srcset to avoid over serving large files.
- Test in the right tools. Shopify’s web performance reports show real user metrics, and lab tests in Lighthouse help you catch regressions before they hit production.
- Make incremental changes and measure. The evidence is clear from Deloitte’s research that even small speed wins can move conversion rates, so chip away at bloat.
If you want a larger punch list, the ThemeProbe playbook on Shopify theme speed and SEO with 30 fixes offers a step by step approach you can implement over a weekend.
App bloat is not inevitable. With a thoughtful theme choice and a preference for built in features, you can deliver a store that loads fast, looks polished, and converts better. Keep your toolkit simple, use your theme’s capabilities to the fullest, and reserve apps for true edge cases. If you need a clean slate to explore, start your next build on a Shopify free trial. ThemeProbe keeps your research private by default and discloses affiliate relationships in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, so you can evaluate options with confidence.