WordPress, one switch at a time.
Plain guides to the settings WordPress ships with: what they do, what they cost you, and how to turn them off, with or without a plugin.
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Cleanup
WordPress Shortlinks in Head: What They Are and How to Remove
WordPress generates shortlinks for every post and adds them to your HTML head. They're rarely useful and add clutter. Here's how to remove them.
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Cleanup
Windows Live Writer Manifest in WordPress — Safe to Remove?
WordPress still ships with a Windows Live Writer manifest link in every page. The software was discontinued in 2017. Here's how to remove the dead link.
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Cleanup
What Is the RSD Link in WordPress and Can You Remove It?
WordPress adds an RSD (Really Simple Discovery) link to every page for remote editing. Nobody uses it anymore. Here's how to safely remove it.
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Performance
What Is the s.w.org DNS Prefetch in WordPress?
WordPress adds a dns-prefetch link to s.w.org on every page. It leaks browsing data to an external server. Here's what it does and how to remove it.
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Cleanup
How to Disable the WordPress Search Feature
If your WordPress site doesn't need a search box, the built-in search creates security risks and unnecessary query load. Here's how to disable it completely.
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Cleanup
Should You Disable Author Pages in WordPress?
WordPress creates author archive pages for every user. On single-author sites, they duplicate your blog page. Here's when and how to disable them.
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Cleanup
WordPress Attachment Pages Are Thin Content — How to Fix
Every image you upload to WordPress gets its own URL as an "attachment page." These thin-content pages hurt your SEO. Here's how to disable them.
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Performance
WordPress Lazy Loading Is Hurting Your LCP Score
WordPress lazy-loads ALL images by default — including your hero image above the fold. That kills your LCP score. Here's how to fix it.
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Performance
WordPress oEmbed: What It Is and Why It Adds Extra Requests
WordPress loads wp-embed.min.js on every page so other sites can embed your content. If you don't need that, here's how to disable oEmbed completely.
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Performance
What Are Dashicons and Why Are They Slowing Down Your WordPress Site
WordPress loads a 46 KB Dashicons stylesheet on every page — even for visitors who never see the admin. Here's how to remove it from the frontend.