Title here
Summary here
Disable Emoji
Remove WordPress’s emoji detection scripts and related styles from your site—perfect for business or professional sites that don’t use emojis in content.
Use Cases
- Speed up corporate or business websites where emojis aren’t part of the content strategy
- Reduce JavaScript execution time to improve Core Web Vitals scores
- Eliminate unnecessary HTTP requests for the emoji SVG sprite
- Clean up the
<head>section for a leaner HTML document
How It Works
When you enable this module, it:
- Removes the emoji detection JavaScript from
<head> - Strips out emoji-related CSS styles
- Disables emoji conversion in RSS feeds
- Removes the DNS prefetch for WordPress’s emoji CDN
- Blocks the emoji SVG URL
All of this happens automatically—just enable the module and the emoji scripts disappear.
Settings
This module has no configurable settings. Enable it to remove all emoji functionality, or leave it disabled to keep native WordPress emoji support.
Where to Find It
Location: Switchboard → Modules → Optimization → Disable Emoji
The module works on the frontend automatically. Verify by viewing your page source—you should no longer see the inline emoji detection script.
What Gets Removed
| Resource | Size | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Emoji Detection Script | ~5KB inline JS | Detects if browser supports emojis |
| Emoji Styles | ~1KB inline CSS | Styles emoji rendering |
| DNS Prefetch | - | Pre-connects to s.w.org for emoji assets |
| SVG Sprite URL | ~45KB | Fallback emoji images |
Total potential savings: 50KB+ and 1-2 HTTP requests
Will Emojis Still Work?
Yes, but differently. Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) have native emoji support. When you type 😀 or paste an emoji, it displays using your system’s emoji font.
What you’re removing is WordPress’s detection and replacement script that checks browser emoji support and provides fallbacks for old browsers. Since virtually all current browsers render emojis natively, this script is often unnecessary overhead.
FAQ
Will I still see emojis in my content?
Yes. Emojis render using your browser’s built-in emoji support. You just won’t have WordPress’s fallback script checking if your browser supports them.What about visitors on very old browsers?
Visitors on browsers that don’t support native emojis (Internet Explorer, very old Android browsers) will see placeholder squares or the text representation instead of emoji images. This affects a tiny percentage of users today.Does this affect the admin area?
No. The emoji script is only removed from the frontend. The WordPress admin dashboard still loads emoji support normally.Can I use emoji in Gutenberg blocks?
Yes. The block editor in the admin still works perfectly with emojis. This module only affects what loads on your public-facing pages.How much faster will my site be?
The emoji script is relatively small, so the impact is modest—typically 50-100ms improvement on initial load. However, combined with other optimization modules (Disable Embeds, Disable Dashicons), the cumulative effect becomes significant.Stack this module with Disable Embeds and Disable Dashicons for maximum frontend optimization. Together, they can remove 100KB+ of unused resources.
Browser Support for Native Emojis
| Browser | Native Emoji Support |
|---|---|
| Chrome 60+ | Full support |
| Firefox 50+ | Full support |
| Safari 10+ | Full support |
| Edge 15+ | Full support |
| iOS Safari | Full support |
| Android Chrome | Full support |
With this level of browser support, the WordPress emoji fallback script is redundant for the vast majority of your visitors.
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