How To Deal with Excess JavaScript on WordPress Website

JavaScript (JS) is a vital programming language for developing dynamic web pages. However, its overuse on your WordPress website can lead to longer loading times and reduced speed, eventually resulting in a negative impact on user experience and your website’s search engine ranking.

Identifying Unused JavaScript Files

Before resolving this issue, start by identifying the scripts currently loaded on your website. You can do this with the help of browser developer tools like Google Chrome’s Developer Tools or Firefox’s Developer Edition, or Safari’s Web Inspector. Open these tools, select the “Network” tab, filter the scripts by clicking “JS,” and identify the unnecessary files that are not closely related to your website’s functionality or design.

Disabling Unused JavaScript Files with Plugins

Once you have identified the unused JavaScript files on your website, use plugins to disable them to speed up your WordPress website. Some of the best plugins for this task include Asset CleanUp, WP Asset Clean Up, and WP Rocket. With a user-friendly interface, these plugins enable you to toggle off the files you want to remove and disable JavaScript files either by category or individual file.

Removing Unused JavaScript Files Manually

If you prefer editing the code manually instead of using plugins, you can do so by opening your WordPress theme’s functions.php file and adding the code:

function remove_scripts() {
   wp_dequeue_script( 'scriptname' );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'remove_scripts' );

In the code above, replace the “scriptname” part with the JavaScript file’s name or ID that you want to remove. Similarly, to remove multiple scripts, you can add multiple instances of the code and replace the “scriptname” part.

Combining JavaScript Files

To optimize your WordPress website’s speed, combine all JavaScript files into one file. Using WP Rocket, for instance, can help combine all files into a single file, while Minify can minify files and reduce their size without sacrificing their functionality.

Update WordPress and Plugins

Last but not least, update your WordPress version and plugins regularly to ensure that unnecessary JavaScript files are removed from your website, improving its speed and efficiency.

Conclusion

Optimizing your WordPress website’s speed and efficiency by removing unused JavaScript files helps improve your website’s user experience and search engine ranking. Use plugins or edit your theme’s functions.php file to remove unnecessary files manually. Combine files and update WordPress and plugins regularly for added efficiency.