This content discusses the importance of disabling emojis on WordPress sites to improve performance and load time. Emojis add unnecessary HTTP requests, slowing down the site. The article provides two methods for disabling emojis: using a plugin like Disable Emojis or adding code to the functions.php file. The plugin is lightweight and highly rated, while the code removes emoji support from older browsers. Premium plugins like Perfmatters also offer this feature. Following these tips can help optimize a WordPress site effectively. Readers are encouraged to explore more WordPress tips in the basic section and follow the fanpage for updates.
There are many optimizations and performance tweaks you can do on your WordPress site. One easy way is to disable loading of emojis. Emojis are small icons used to express ideas or emotions. While these icons are fun, are they really necessary for your WordPress site? Because they add unnecessary load time to your site.
When WordPress 4.2 was released, they added emoji support for older browsers. The problem here is that it creates an additional HTTP request on your WordPress site, to load the wp-emoji-release.min.js file on every page of your site.
Disable Emojis in WordPress
There are a few different ways to disable Emojis in WordPress. You can do it with a free plugin or with code.
1. Disable emojis with a plugin
The first way to disable emojis is to use a free plugin called Disable Emojis developed by Ryan Hellyer.
This plugin is super lightweight, only 9KB to be exact. It currently has over 30,000 installs and a 5 out of 5-star rating. Note: Emojis will still work in browsers that have built-in support for them. This plugin simply removes the extra JavaScript file used to add emoji support in older browsers.
You can download it from the WordPress repository or by searching for it under “Add New”. Just install, activate, and the extra JavaScript file will disappear.
There is also a free alternative plugin called Emoji settings. It gives users an option to disable the Emojis themselves.
You can download it from the WordPress repository or by searching for it under “Add New”. Once activated, you can check or uncheck “Enable emoji support” in the Writing settings in your WordPress dashboard.
You can also use a premium plugin like Perfmatters (developed by a team member at Kinsta), which allows you to disable emojis along with other optimizations for your WordPress site.
2. Disable emojis in WordPress using code
If you don’t want to install a plugin, you can also disable emojis using code. Just add the provided code to your WordPress theme’s functions.php file or child theme.
// Code to disable emojis
function disable_emojis() {
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
// More action removals...
}
add_action( 'init', 'disable_emojis' );Epilogue
I hope with this little tip, you will manage your WordPress site more effectively. If you find it interesting, you can follow the basic WordPress section to learn more new knowledge. Follow our fan page to receive the latest articles: Hocwordpress Group.
