Configuring Autoptimize

Reducing the amount of CSS and JS files being loaded on each page load will make a huge difference to your page speed.

Another perk with Autoptimize is it will bundle the CSS generated by your options in the Customizer into an external file, allowing your browser to cache it.

We suggest selecting these options:

Javascript Options
CSS Options
HTML Options
Extra Options

Removing Emojis

If you don’t use emojis on your site, then there’s really no point in loading the scripts for them.

Autoptimize also has an option for this, which you can find in the Extra tab within their settings. Check the box next to Remove emojis, and you’re good to go!

Removing Query Strings

While this won’t make a noticeable difference in your page speed, it will increase your ranking in speed tests.

One issue with this is it removes the version numbers from your static resources, like CSS and JS files. Those version numbers are there to tell browsers to stop caching the file if the version is updated.

Without the version numbers, browsers won’t release the cache when you update your theme or plugins, which can result in some weirdness until the cache is cleared.

If you’d like to remove query strings, you can use the same Autoptimize plugin we featured above. Click on the Extra tab within the Autoptimize settings, and check the Remove query strings from static resources checkbox.