The fastest Magento 2 themes. Test & Compare.

Your speed doesn’t matter. Forward is forward. Sounds motivational, but not the case with the speed of e-commerce websites. At EDIY we help SMB owners think about how they might improve their e-business. And since I believe that the website template is one of the factors that affect page speed, this article will show the top 9 fastest Magento 2 themes. 

Imagine for a moment that users are waiting for the page to load and are counting one, two, three, four, and five. I’d be tired by now. Either the website visitors. A delay in download matters. It may result in frustration and site abandonment. Yet it costs the time and money you have invested in your business. So, try to think: do you need this?

I feel you don’t, and this is why I love consulting. Today I am going to help you avoid slow-loading websites based on Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce. We’ll do it together by analyzing things that affect site speed and choosing the template with the best speed results.

Of course, not everything is so elementary, and it wouldn’t be just a simple list with themes. I am gonna give you an outline of speed metrics, and a strong understanding of how they can improve a site’s performance. You will see samples of businesses that achieved success by improving only some page speed metrics. Next, there will be shown the speed test results for popular Magento themes’ performance. My post today will highlight 6 Luma-based templates and 3 alternative frontends. Besides, we’ll compare all solutions. Welcome to read. 

Metrics matter

TCP, SSL, FCP, NBT, LCP, CLS. Someone will say what a mumbo-jumbo. With EDIY you will say “I understand the importance of performance metrics.” You need to really be a reader of it, first.

There are over 40 metrics to estimate web performance. In the article today, I will focus on only some of them. Primarily, we (aka me and SMB owners) are interested in key metrics that will be mentioned later in the fastest Magento 2 themes block.  

• TBT (Total Blocking Time) is a metric that measures the total amount of time your webpage was blocked that didn’t allow users to interact with your page. Remember, we have to improve the chances for users to interact with your site. Interacting means that clients could be buying your products. A good TBT score is recommended to be 200 milliseconds.

• TTI (Time to Interactive) is another metric you must consider. It reflects the time until the page will be visually rendered and ready to respond to user input quickly. The TTI score is a comparison of the TTI time of your store page and the TTI times of high-ranking websites. Do you want Google also love your site? You have to achieve a Time to Interactive of less than 3,8 seconds.

Metrics to appear in speed test results for the fastest Magento themes

• Total Page Size. The name speaks for itself. The webpage size (downloaded file size of a given web page) has a significant effect on site speed. Therefore, focus on the average webpage size should be around 2.2 MB for desktop sites and 2 MB for mobile sites. 

• Fully Loaded Time is the time that takes a page to be fully done loading all assets on a webpage. The metric shows the time it takes to load not only what users see on the screen, but still, what is being loaded down below in case they scroll down on the page. An ideal score is 0-4 seconds of load time.

• Total Page Requests is the general count of every request on the domain. If a browser makes a high number of HTTP requests, it makes your site load longer. It definitely has a bad effect on user experience and increases the bounce rate. Plus HTTP requests can affect other key metrics that determine how engaged customers are with your business. There is only one conclusion: the less requests, the better. To minimize the number of requests, reduce the files on your website or use a ready-made template. You will see enough worthy solutions among the fastest Magento 2 themes later in the post. 

In addition, I suggest measuring HTTP requests because this affects Core Web Vitals, particularly the Largest Content Paint (LCP) metric. And later in the post, I will show you how many HTTP Requests your page calls for. We both would be able to test it by using tools.

The next paragraph will reveal more about Core Web Vitals benchmarks. You must pay attention to it as it defines your store as fast and successful with a high search ranking.

The Core Web Vitals assessment

First, back to metrics. 

You need to optimize three Core Web Vitals: LCP, FCP, and CLS. The one more metric making up the Core Web Vitals standard is FID. It is this benchmark that is a good indicator of the first impression your website makes. For that reason, I will show you an assessment of each factor separately when testing the fastest Magento 2 themes. Keep reading.

• FID (First Input Delay) tracks the time from when a visitor first interacts with a web page until the browser starts processing the interaction. FID’s good score is estimated by Google as a small ranking factor. It should be of 100 milliseconds or less.

The main CWV metrics for the fastest Magento 2 themes

• LCP (Largest Content Paint) determines how quickly the meaningful piece of the main web page content appears within the viewport. This is the time from when the visitor initiates loading the page until he could perceive the main content. A good LCP score is useful for measuring site usability speed. The Largest Contentful Paint time is recommended to be 2.5 seconds or less.  
• FCP (First Contentful Paint) is the time from the beginning of the page load to the first bit of content ( header, navigation bar, search form, or anything else) becoming visible. The metric is useful for reassuring impatient visitors. A good First Contentful Paint score should be 1.8 seconds or less.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) measures how often a webpage unexpectedly shifts altogether with the changes in user experience. For instance, you start exploring an already loaded page, and oops – a banner (or a slowly loading advertisement, or video) appears, and the page content leaps. According to SEO standards, the metric is useful for determining how well your store does in search. The CLS score should be 0.1 or less.

All right, I have tried to explain why meeting Core Web Vitals standards is important for your visitors. They will value the fast and smooth feel of web pages. And in case your pages pass the Web Vitals test, Google will consider your store fast and love it, for it was he who included the mentioned above metrics into the Google core algorithm update in 2021. 

Core Web Vitals test declares speed as an essential ranking factor. For this reason, many site owners strive to meet the CWV standards to work with. 

How do Core Web Vitals affect the next businesses?

As I have said at the beginning, I show you here some global brands that succeeded by improving only some page speed metrics. Saying it is one thing, but proving it with real-life case studies is another. Look:

• Vodafone improved LCP by 31% to complete 8% more sales.
• Flipkart achieved a 2.6% reduction in bounce rate by improving CWV metrics.
• AliExpress improved CLS by 10 times and LCP by double and this resulted in 15% lesser bounce rates.
• The online retailer for goods and services Cdiscount improved 3 Core Web Vital metrics to get a 6% revenue uplift in their Black Friday sale.

My art is not about metrics, though. Let’s proceed to speed test results for the best Adobe Commerce templates and frontend themes for Magento.

Top 9 fastest Magento 2 templates

As you may know, Magento Open Source is a one-stop free e-commerce platform that’s perfect for small, medium, and large online stores. So many businesses have chosen their future with Magento/Adobe Commerce. In my previous article “What brands use Magento 2 websites?” I introduced you to 14 world brands using Magento. When reading you could see Adobe Commerce opportunities for your business, so to speak, illustrative examples of sites’ functionality. 

Today I will try to answer the question: “Which is the fastest theme in Magento 2?” Let me make it clear that my list doesn’t include popular PWA templates. Surely they can compete in terms of performance, and still, this is a topic for a separate discussion.

I start with testing 6 Luma-based templates. To analyze the load speed of templates and receive a detailed report, I chose Google Pagespeed Insights and GTmetrix tools. You can also try more website speed tests such as  Google Lighthouse, WebPageTest, or Pingdom.

Porto

Magento 2 Porto theme is available on Themeforest since 2014 and is still considered to be the second most popular on the Entire Internet in the Magento Theme category according to https://trends.builtwith.com/. If we talk in figures, Porto offers 30 prebuilt demos, 

25+ homepage layouts which are used at more than 20 000 sites. Porto includes RTL support, unlimited color and skin customizations, and lots of other valuable features.

To obtain a performance grade, I focused on the next demo: Demo URL: https://www.portotheme.com/magento2/porto/demo1_en/ 

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 18
• Desktop score 72

GTMetrix

• Performance 71%
• Structure 89%
• Fully Loaded Time 3.4s
• Total Page Size 1.40MB
• Total Page Requests 266

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Eren

Eren theme by Blueskytechco is the second in the list of 15 top-rated Magento 2 e-commerce themes. It is presented at ThemeForest as a highly extendable template that fits fashion store requirements. If we talk in figures, Eren offers 10+ designs, 20+ extensions, and 6+ layouts options. There is also RTL support, ajax layered navigation, product video, a Quick View option, and a mega menu. 

Demo URL: https://blueskytechmage.com/eren/en3

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 65
• Desktop score 94

GTMetrix

• Performance 62%
• Structure 72%
• Fully Loaded Time 2.0s
• Total Page Size 805KB
• Total Page Requests 57

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

The Fastest

The Fastest theme by Codazon offers more than 10+ layouts to take advantage of for your fashion, jewelry, pharmacy, handbags and accessories, sportswear, outdoor gear, or food business. It is ajax powered Magento theme that includes layered navigation, Ajax add-to-cart, and infinite Ajax scroll features. There are also implemented Google AMP technology and 12 Magento 2 modules integrated.

Demo URL: http://magento2-fastest.codazon.com/garden_en 

The Fastest template is represented as a multi-purpose premium responsive Magento theme as well as the fastest. At least we can see it from the title. Still, it seems like speed and Core Web Vitals metrics need to be met to improve organic ranking.

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 43
• Desktop score 73

GTMetrix

• Performance 58%
• Structure 51%
• Fully Loaded Time 28.8s
• Total Page Size 3.50MB
• Total Page Requests 317

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Pearl 

The Pearl theme by Weltpixel is another Magento 2 multipurpose template. If we talk in figures, Pearl allows for choosing from 14 homepages, 8 catalog templates, 4 product page templates, 4 pre-built footers, 4 custom headers, and 30+ smooth animations. Among features, you may see OWL slider and carousel, social login option, Ajax Cart, Quick View, and Google Analytics e-commerce Tag Manager. 

Pearl template proves to be the best Magento theme for many fashion, furniture, accessories, apartment, and cosmetics brands. And this is natural, the SMB owners can be understood just because this theme has a much higher performance grade on desktop than its predecessor. As a result, the theme offers a faster page speed which is a deciding factor in purchasing decisions.  

Demo URL: https://pearl.weltpixel.com/v14/ 

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 44
• Desktop score 91

GTMetrix

• Performance 93%
• Structure 98%
• Fully Loaded Time 7.5s
• Total Page Size 1.29MB
• Total Page Requests 103 

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Jet 

Jet theme by Amasty is one more premium Magento theme. The template is quite new. It offers 3 editions, and depending on the version, you can choose fewer or more built-in features. The Jet template includes a layout switcher and 5 color scheme presets, a Sticky header option, a11y standards support, a floating cart widget, and some options for optimizing web page performance. I mean the Lazy Load and Image Optimizer.

Despite the template coming with 5 beautiful demos, its performance grades leave much to be desired. However, more than 800 stores use Jet for their sites. Maybe it is about trusting the Amasty provider. This experienced Adobe Exchange Partner powers over 120.000 businesses and has annual revenue of $17.5M.

Demo URL: https://jet-theme-ee-m2.magento-demo.amasty.com/ 

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 32
• Desktop score 56

GTMetrix

• Performance 21%
• Structure 59%
• Fully Loaded Time 37.8s
• Total Page Size 3.51MB
• Total Page Requests 324

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Argento

Argento theme by SwissUpLabs can be called a provider of responsive templates for Magento. It offers 9 custom designs and the possibility to change layouts, template files, Javascript, CSS styles, and more. 24 Magento 2 extensions come to the package. If we talk in figures, the Argento theme is the 4th most popular on the Entire Internet in the Magento Theme category and the 4th most popular in the top 10k sites powered by Adobe/Magento. That’s a good predictor of what you can expect from the fast and best theme for mobile and desktop users.

Argento theme helps to build super-fast loading websites which are the perfect choice for apparel, books, medicines, hardware, electronics, sports goods, watches, and jewelry stores. The developer regularly updates its template to be compatible with the latest Magento (Adobe Commerce) versions. 

Furthermore, the Argento theme is also compatible with Breeze – a drop-in replacement of the Magento JS stack. Breeze integration was added to all Argento themes and bundled modules. Here I’d like to test the Argento Breeze Force theme. It is a lightweight Magento template with only 1.6 seconds of load time. A stunning result, isn’t it?

Demo URL: https://argento-m2.swissupdemo.com/force_breeze 

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 82
• Desktop score 98

GTMetrix

• Performance 99%
• Structure 99%
• Fully Loaded Time 1.5s
• Total Page Size 0.98MB
• Total Page Requests 36

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

What’s your choice? Did any theme catch your eye? Actually, that’s not all for today. There is still an alternative for everything. You just have to stay with EDIY posts to find one.

I will continue to talk about building a faster Magento 2, this time on the base of the next-generation front-ends. They are much simpler to customize, more performant, and considered to be alternatives to headless PWA.

Alternative frontends for the fastest Magento 2 stores

Here I would like to make a small “comparative” retreat. The fact is that returning to Magento 2 PWA themes is in my plans for the next month. I want you to address them because they do offer fast loading of web pages – the primary emphasis in my article today. The only thing: focusing on PWA solutions requires a very complex routine and is affordable for large eCommerce players like LANCOME, OLX, Adidas, Nike, AliExpress, JUMIA, and Starbucks.

And that is why I offer you to examine first the alternative fronts instead of PWA, especially if you are a small or medium-sized merchant. 

Right now, let’s see the pros of starting with the fastest web-based frontends for Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source in comparison to PWA.

• Less development time for creating custom Magento 2 fronts.
• Less complexity and easier technologies to develop features. 
• Smaller code base.
• The lower cost of development from the scratch.

So, who’s in the line for the velocity cup?

Breeze

The Breeze is a free frontend released by the Magento development agency in Geneva, Switzerland. Since its release in 2021, it is picking up as a high-performance frontend for Magento 2. The stores built on Breeze themes have amazing performance grades on both desktops and mobile devices. 99 Mobile score and 100 Desktop score look perfect. What is the secret of this front’s success? 

Breeze takes a different approach than the Luma technology. The template is based on Breeze – a drop-in replacement for the Luma js stack. The developers removed built-in JavaScript files and replaced them with their own implementation. Still, there was no need to rewrite all of the original Magento JS logic. Also, Breeze themes CSS were written from scratch using LESS that kept CSS as small as possible. The layout and template files were inherited from Magento core modules. All these details should help you understand two things. First, it is the possibility to pass the Core Web Vitals test. Second, Breeze Front is easier to integrate with Magento 2 products.

There are 5 designs built on top of the Breeze Blank theme whereas 3 themes are free. All themes include:

• Single Page Application (SPA) support
• Image preload
• Built-in critical and deferred CSS splitting
• Razor-sharp responsive images for all devices
• RTL support
• Keyboard navigation,
• Tailwind 3.0 color palette
• A11y (It refers to how accessible software is to everyone, including those with disabilities)

No license cost per project. For many, that’s reason enough to choose Breeze Blank or Breeze Evolution as the fastest Magento 2 themes. It is no wonder that 317 websites are Breeze front customers for now. 

Demo URL: https://breeze.swissupdemo.com/breeze_evolution/  

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 99
• Desktop score 100

GTMetrix

• Performance 100%
• Structure 98%
• Fully Loaded Time 700ms
• Total Page Size 583KB
• Total Page Requests 29

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Whereas some people are more likely to buy a product if their friends recommended it, others come to Google to discover new solutions.

The positive effect of the Google advertisement is felt everywhere, so when you browse for the fastest Magento 2 themes, Hyva jumps here already.

Hyva

The Hyva is positioned to be a solution that supports PWA standards. However, in fact, it is one more alternative front end for Magento 2. Just like Breeze, Hyva’s Front was launched in 2021 according to the idea of its creator Willem Wigman.

The Hyva is based on the Magento PHP framework but the developers removed RequireJS, Knockout, and UI components. Instead, Hyvä themes are built with Tailwind CSS and Alpine.js. Using the Alpine.js library helped developers reduce the number of JS files that need to be loaded per page. It resulted in minimizing network requests. We have spoken above about the importance of the Total Page Requests metric. Meanwhile, let us remember – the less, the better.

What else do we know about the Hyva front end? The developers stand for its reduced complexity, greater reliability, less development time, and simplicity. After all, they refer to it as one of the fastest Magento 2 themes.

Lastly, you might ask, where are the features? I guess users will be able to request needed functionality in the web studios later. To start, the license should be paid. This is a one-time payment of €1,000.

Demo URL: https://demo.hyva.io/  

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 98
• Desktop score 100

GTMetrix

• Performance 98%
• Structure 97%
• Fully Loaded Time – 1.4s
• Total Page Size – 237KB
• Total Page Requests – 16

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

Alpaca

The Alpaca is an open-source Magento 2 frontend built by Snowdog. A creator took as a basis the principles of Magento’s SASS-based blank theme, and that is why this frontend is compatible with the majority of Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce features. 

A custom Alpaca JS format was implemented. There were removed HTML, CSS, and JavaScript used in the Luma theme. Then, in return, the developers replaced them with their own CSS (SCSS, Atomic Design) and FractalJS components. 

And, the Alpaca front already has third-party modules supported out of the box. 

I’d like to pay attention to Alpaca a11y support and WCAG AA level compliance, which makes Alpaca-based stores more accessible to people with disabilities. On the Medium platform, I found a case study about the Alpaca theme. It was truly impressive to read about Snowdog company’s experience when testing Alpaca-based websites. The team invited a user who is blind into the office to check the web accessibility in terms of a11y. Are you interested in reading? Have a look here, it may be useful. 

Demo URL: https://alpaca-community.snowdog.dev/  

Speed test results

Google page speed insight scores:

• Mobile score 77
• Desktop score 100

GTMetrix

• Performance 71%
• Structure 91%
• Fully Loaded Time – 4.7s
• Total Page Size – 0.99MB
• Total Page Requests – 29

Here are how Core Web Vitals scores:

What’s more?

As I have said we would discuss 6 Luma-based templates and 3 alternative frontends. Therefore, we reviewed some features available for each one from the fastest Magento 2 themes and their speed test results. It’s actually a big piece of content to analyze, so I offer to briefly compare Adobe-powered templates and find the theme that makes your store faster.

It’s time to compare

Equally important, it is necessary to understand by what criteria it is best to choose the best Magento themes for your eCommerce in 2023. I propose looking at the performance desktop score, the Good score on Core Web Vitals, and the license cost. A brief reminder: there are Poor, Need improvement, and Good scores across Core Web Vitals standards. Achieving a “Good” score for all metrics means beating competitors in the general ranking for having fast loading time, interactivity, and strong visual stability.

Here is an interesting picture: Breeze and Hyva, as well as Argento and partly Pearl themes, are the leaders as they pass the Core Web Vitals assessment. You have to pay attention to their highest performance score at the same time. In this case, we can also see the Magento 2 Alpaca theme.

Again, there are solutions to achieve great performance effort-free and price free. The Alpaca and Breeze fronts are offered for free, plus the Breeze front has a Good CWV score. These products are considered to be the fastest Magento 2 themes and this is true. Does it make sense to overpay for others although they are known to us?

In sum, my suggestion would be the Breeze themes. I just love this peaceful feeling when I step on the beach, and a gentle breeze blows my face. Just kidding, this is not a reason to get started with the best theme for Adobe Commerce website.

What would you choose? It’d be awesome if you could post comments here. And, If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends!