What is Instant Navigation and How it Works?
What is Instant Navigation?
Instant Navigation makes your Shopify store feel significantly faster by pre-loading pages before customers click on links. When a customer clicks a pre-loaded link, the page appears almost instantly, creating a seamless shopping experience.
How It Works
Instant Navigation uses the modern Speculation Rules API with Shopify-specific optimizations to tell browsers which pages to download in the background. Our implementation is specifically designed for Shopify's unique navigation patterns.
Benefits
- Up to 80% faster perceived page transitions
- Smoother, app-like browsing experience
- Reduced bounce rates
- Improved Core Web Vitals scores for better SEO
- No wasted resources on pages customers won't visit
Browser Support
Instant Navigation works in Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers (about 70-75% of web users). For other browsers, your store functions normally without any negative impact.
Configuration Options
Enable/Disable
Toggle Instant Navigation on or off using the checkbox at the top of the settings page.
Prerendered Page Types
Select which page types to optimize with Instant Navigation: - Homepage - Collections - Products - Pages - Blogs
We recommend enabling Instant Navigation for all page types, but you can adjust this setting based on your specific store needs.
Prerender Eagerness
Choose how aggressively browsers should preload pages:
Immediate - Pre-renders pages as soon as links are detected - Provides the fastest experience - Uses more device resources - Best for: Lightweight stores with simple pages
Moderate (Recommended) - Pre-renders after a brief hover (200ms) or touch start - Balances speed with resource usage - Best for: Most Shopify stores
Conservative - Pre-renders when a customer starts clicking or tapping - Uses minimal resources while still improving speed - Best for: Media-heavy stores or customers with low-end devices
You can change this setting at any time based on your store's needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will this slow down my store?
A: No. The code is extremely lightweight (0.5 KB) and only pre-loads pages when appropriate based on your selected eagerness setting.
Q: Will this work for all my customers?
A: It works for about 70-75% of web users (Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium browsers). Other browsers will work normally without the speed enhancement.
Q: Which page types should I select?
A: For most stores, enabling all page types provides the best experience. However, if you have particularly heavy pages in certain categories, you might want to be more selective.