Edge Caching
Edge caching stores copies of your store's pages, images, and assets at CDN edge servers around the world — so future requests are served from the closest edge location rather than your origin server. It dramatically reduces latency and server load for repeat visitors.
Why It Matters for Shopify Stores
Shopify's infrastructure includes edge caching through its global CDN. When a visitor in Tokyo views your store, they're served from a nearby edge server rather than a US-based origin server. This reduces TTFB and improves load times for international audiences. The practical implication for merchants: don't fight the cache. Shopify manages cache invalidation when you update products or pages. Apps or custom code that bypass cache headers can inadvertently slow your store for global visitors.
How to Check Your Store
Check Response Headers in Chrome DevTools Network tab for X-Cache or CF-Cache-Status headers. These indicate whether edge caching is serving the response.
How to Fix It
N/A for standard stores — Shopify manages edge caching. Avoid apps or customizations that set no-cache headers unnecessarily on public-facing pages.
Related Terms
Shopify CDN
ShopifyShopify's CDN (Content Delivery Network) automatically serves your store's images, JavaScript, and CSS from servers geographically close to your visitors.
TTFB (Time to First Byte)
Core Web VitalsTime to First Byte is the time between a user's browser making an HTTP request and receiving the first byte of data from the server.
Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
PerformanceServer-side rendering is the process of generating HTML on the server before sending it to the browser, as opposed to client-side rendering where JavaScript builds the HTML in the browser.
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