How We Built the Fastest E-commerce Site in the Country
A deep dive into the optimization techniques and architectural decisions that made our flagship project a speed champion.
When we took on the Churus e-commerce project, the existing platform was struggling with load times exceeding 8 seconds. The client was experiencing high bounce rates and poor conversion. Our goal was ambitious: build the fastest e-commerce site in the country.
Step 1: Comprehensive Audit
We started with a thorough performance audit using tools like Lighthouse, WebPageTest, and Chrome DevTools. The audit revealed several critical issues:
- Unoptimized images accounting for 4.2MB of initial page weight
- Render-blocking JavaScript delaying first paint by 3.2 seconds
- No CDN implementation, causing slow delivery for international users
- Inefficient database queries adding 1.5+ seconds to API responses
Step 2: Image Optimization
Images were our biggest opportunity. We implemented:
- Automatic conversion to WebP and AVIF formats with fallbacks
- Responsive images using srcset for different viewport sizes
- Lazy loading for below-the-fold content
- Image compression pipeline reducing average image size by 78%
Result: Page weight dropped from 4.2MB to 850KB, a reduction of nearly 80%.
Step 3: JavaScript Bundle Optimization
We restructured the entire JavaScript architecture:
- Code splitting to load only what's needed for each page
- Dynamic imports for non-critical features
- Tree shaking to eliminate unused code
- Minification and compression (Brotli)
The main bundle size went from 850KB to 120KB, and time to interactive improved by 4.1 seconds.
Step 4: CDN and Caching Strategy
We implemented a global CDN with 15 edge locations and aggressive caching policies:
- Static assets cached for 1 year with versioned URLs
- API responses cached at the edge for personalized content
- Service worker for offline functionality and instant navigation
Step 5: Backend Optimization
Database queries were optimized with proper indexing, query consolidation, and caching layers. API response times dropped from 1.5s to under 100ms.
The Results
After implementing these optimizations:
- Load time: 0.9 seconds (from 8.2 seconds)
- Lighthouse score: 98/100 (from 32/100)
- Bounce rate: down 48%
- Conversion rate: up 35%
- Officially recognized as the fastest e-commerce site in the country
Performance isn't just about speed—it's about delivering better user experiences and driving real business results. Every millisecond matters.