Images via the Shopify CDN, not Vercel Image Optimization
A deliberate call on cost, latency, and caching
In a headless storefront, images are often the heaviest load. feelme.no has many product images, variants, and campaign views, and every request costs time and money if the image pipeline is wrong.
The default in Next.js is image optimization via Vercel. Convenient, but it moves cost and caching to another edge. For a store with high image volume, that quickly becomes a recurring bill, without giving us more control over the cache where the images already live.
So we built a custom image loader against the Shopify CDN. The storefront still uses Next.js for layout and sizes, but the bytes come from Shopify, where the images are already ready near the shopper.
Cache and URL parameters were set deliberately: enough flexibility for responsive images, without unnecessary unique variants. We lose some Vercel automation, but gain predictable cost and a strategy that matches the store’s CDN.
The result is faster product pages, fewer extra hops in the image chain, and an ops model where image cost follows Shopify. For feelme.no, that was the right call.
Heavy images and unpredictable costs in your store? Eon AS helps with image setup via the Shopify CDN: fast, predictable, without sacrificing what shoppers see.