Why Performance Matters to Binaery and Our Clients
At Binaery, we're a Shopify Plus Certified growth agency dedicated to maximizing performance for our clients through rigorous experimentation and optimization. A/B testing isn’t just another buzzword—it's the cornerstone of how we deliver tangible growth results. Optimizing conversion rates, enhancing user experiences, and fine-tuning marketing funnels through precise split testing directly translates to increased revenue and brand growth for our clients.
Our ability to deliver exceptional performance hinges significantly on the reliability and speed of the tools we use. Any lag, inefficiency, or false promises from a platform directly impacts the outcomes we achieve for our clients. This is why the performance of an A/B testing app isn't merely technical—it’s critical to the success and reputation of the brands we serve.
The Need for a Better Solution
We initially trusted Visually.io’s performance claims, but in practice the platform underdelivered. Our clients’ sites suffered from slow loading times and noticeable flicker—issues that not only frustrated our team but also eroded shopper trust and invalidated our experiment data. In true A/B testing, inconsistent load speeds break your test: if one version drags, that delay—not your design—becomes the deciding factor for users.
| Variant | Load | Flicker | Shopper experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variant A (Control) | ~1.2 s | none | smooth, immediate render |
| Variant B (Visually.io) | ~2.8 s | ~300 ms visible redraw on first paint | blank screen and jumpiness, skewing every engagement metric |
Amazon’s own study shows that every extra 100 ms of page load time costs them 1 percent in lost sales on Amazon.com—meaning even a small lag can translate into huge revenue hits. That level of unpredictability can turn million-dollar decisions into guesses based on flawed data. We needed something rock-solid.
That’s when we found Shoplift. The contrast was immediate: Shoplift delivered faster, smoother, flicker-free page loads—engineered by experts who know exactly what matters. Fast. Clean. Quiet. It just works.
Making the Switch: Why Shoplift Stood Out
When one of our Shopify Plus clients, a rapidly-growing ecommerce brand, required a more reliable A/B testing solution, we decided it was time to test Shoplift. The contrast was immediate and striking. Shoplift proved to be not just a slight improvement but a dramatically superior alternative.
A Side-by-Side Comparison: Shoplift vs. Visually.io
To ensure an unbiased comparison, we conducted comprehensive split tests comparing multiple methodologies: Template-level tests, Theme-level tests, Redirect (URL swap) tests, and full-page theme tests.
The data clearly showed Shoplift's dominance:
| Test Type | First Contentful Paint (FCP) | Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | Speed Index | Fully Loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoplift – Template-level test | ⭐ 0.37 s | ⭐ 0.38 s | ⭐ 2.70 s | ⭐ 10.09 s |
| Shoplift – Theme-level test | 0.81 s | 0.81 s | 3.18 s | 10.60 s |
| Visually – Redirect test | 1.34 s | 1.32 s | 4.59 s | 11.32 s |
| Visually – Theme-level test | 1.66 s | 1.45 s | 5.31 s | 12.05 s |
⭐ = Fastest metric
Shoplift’s Template-level testing approach consistently delivered much faster load times, dramatically enhancing user experience, reducing bounce rates, and driving conversions.
The Real-world Impact of Speed
Site speed isn’t a vanity metric; it directly affects user perception and revenue. Faster sites enjoy higher engagement, improved conversion rates, and better SEO performance. Shoplift’s dramatically quicker load times mean visitors experience immediate engagement, significantly reducing frustration and bounce rates.
| What we timed | Everyday meaning | What it measures | Why a merchant should care |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Contentful Paint (FCP) | When anything—even a logo—first appears. “The lights come on.” | Time until the first text/image is painted. | The instant a shopper sees anything—lower FCP = faster perceived loading. |
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | When the biggest thing above the fold (usually the hero image) finishes. “Window display is ready.” | When the largest above-the-fold element finishes rendering. | Core Web Vitals milestone. Google labels ≤ 2.5 s “good,” > 4 s “poor.” |
| Speed Index | How quickly the page fills in overall, not just the first piece. “Does the store look stocked yet?” | How quickly the visible portion of the page is populated (weighted by film-strip). | Captures overall “how fast it looks,” beyond the first element. |
| Fully Loaded | When background scripts, ads, and trackers stop downloading. “All deliveries are done; nothing else to unpack.” | When the network and JS have gone idle for ≥ 2 s. | Good proxy for when third-party tags, analytics, etc. finish—important for ad-tech and tracking. |
| Total Blocking Time (TBT) | How long the checkout counter is blocked by heavy tasks. Lower = snappier clicks and scrolls. | Cumulative main-thread tasks > 50 ms between FCP and Time-to-Interactive. | High TBT = sluggish inputs, affects the new Interaction to Next Paint metric. |
Google’s ranking guidelines say both FCP and LCP should be under 2.5 s. All four versions pass comfortably, but faster still wins on user perception.
Why Shoplift Won Decisively
Shoplift’s engineering prioritizes genuine performance improvements. Their Template-level tests deliver a smaller download payload (8.4 MB) and lighter CSS/JS footprints, accelerating frontend speeds substantially. Conversely, Visually.io struggled with larger payloads and heavier requests, directly impacting user experience negatively.
| Key takeaway | Details |
|---|---|
| What’s fastest—and why it matters |
Overall winner: Shoplift Template Testing leads six of the seven comparable metrics (FP, FCP, LCP, Speed Index, Fully Loaded, Page Load Time).
|
| Backend vs. frontend |
|
| Fastest interactivity metric | Visually Redirect posts the lowest Total Blocking Time (185 ms). Its lighter main-thread load outweighs the fact that slower paints (1.3–1.6 s FCP/LCP) still mean users wait longer to see usable content. |
| Slowest variant | Visually Theme Testing ranks last in five metrics—extra redirects, larger HTML/JS payload (HTML up to 816 KB, JS up to 3.8 MB), and the highest request count (median ≈ 350) all stretch paint and fully-loaded times. |
Our Trusted Recommendation
At Binaery, trust and transparency matter deeply. Shoplift didn’t just outperform Visually.io—it did so transparently and without false promises. We actively recommend Shoplift because it delivers real, measurable results that genuinely enhance the brands we support. If you’re still relying on Visually.io, it’s time to reconsider. The data clearly points to Shoplift as the superior choice for serious growth-focused Shopify Plus brands.
Ready to speed things up?
We’re offering a FREE Visually → Shoplift migration for a limited time. Move your store onto our optimized Shoplift template and see instant performance gains.
Claim your free migration →
