In the world of WordPress development, one common question that arises is, “Should I Remove Polyfill from WordPress?” Polyfills are JavaScript scripts used to ensure compatibility with older browsers, filling in gaps for modern web features. While they can be helpful in broadening your audience reach, they can also impact site performance, especially on modern browsers. In this post, we’ll explore the pros and cons of keeping polyfills on your WordPress site, when it might make sense to remove them, and how to do so safely. Let’s dive into whether removing polyfills could enhance your website’s speed and user experience.
What Are Polyfills in WordPress?
Polyfills are JavaScript scripts that emulate modern web features in older browsers that don’t natively support those features. For instance, if a website uses modern JavaScript APIs like Promise or fetch(), older browsers like Internet Explorer may not support them. Polyfills step in to “fill in” these missing features, allowing the site to function properly.
WordPress includes polyfills to ensure that themes and plugins work consistently across a broad range of browsers, offering users and developers a smoother experience.
Why Does WordPress Use Polyfills?
Browser Compatibility: Polyfills ensure that users on older browsers still have access to all website features, maintaining a consistent user experience.
Wider Audience Reach: By supporting legacy browsers, WordPress sites can reach users who haven’t upgraded to modern browsers.
Seamless Plugin and Theme Functionality: Many plugins and themes rely on modern JavaScript features. Polyfills ensure they work as intended, regardless of the browser.
Pros of Keeping Polyfills
1. Enhanced Browser Support: Keeping polyfills ensures that users on outdated browsers don’t encounter broken functionality or layout issues. This is especially important for websites targeting audiences who may still use older devices or browsers, such as government sites, educational institutions, or non-profits.
2. Improved User Experience: By ensuring compatibility, polyfills reduce the likelihood of errors or missing features, leading to a more consistent user experience across all devices.
3. No Extra Work for Developers: Developers don’t need to write custom fallback solutions for older browsers, saving time and reducing the risk of introducing bugs.
Cons of Keeping Polyfills
1. Increased Page Load Times: Polyfills can add extra JavaScript that needs to be downloaded and executed by the browser, increasing the overall page size and slowing down load times.
2. Unnecessary for Modern Browsers: Modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge already support most modern JavaScript features, making polyfills redundant for the majority of users.
3. Potential for Maintenance Issues: As web standards evolve, older polyfills may become outdated or conflict with new features, leading to maintenance headaches for developers.
Also Read: How to Change Background Color of My Site Header in WordPress
When Should You Consider Removing Polyfills?
1. Your Audience Uses Modern Browsers: If your website analytics show that the majority of your visitors use modern browsers, polyfills may not be necessary. Tools like Google Analytics can provide insights into your users’ browser preferences.
2. Performance Is a Priority: For websites where speed is critical—such as e-commerce sites, news portals, or performance-focused blogs—removing unnecessary polyfills can shave off valuable milliseconds from load times.
3. You’re Using a Modern Development Stack: If your WordPress site relies heavily on modern JavaScript frameworks like React or Vue, and your audience uses modern browsers, polyfills may not be as beneficial.
How to Remove Polyfills from WordPress
Step 1: Analyze Your Site’s Polyfill Usage
Before removing polyfills, identify which ones are in use and determine their impact on performance. Tools like Chrome DevTools or Lighthouse can help you analyze script load times.
Step 2: Test in Different Browsers
Test your site across various browsers to see if any features break when polyfills are disabled. You can do this by temporarily disabling JavaScript in your browser or using a tool like BrowserStack for cross-browser testing.
Step 3: Remove Polyfills via Code
To disable polyfills, you can dequeue the related scripts in your WordPress theme’s functions.php file:
php
function remove_polyfill_scripts() {
wp_dequeue_script(‘wp-polyfill’);
}
add_action(‘wp_enqueue_scripts’, ‘remove_polyfill_scripts’, 100);
This code prevents WordPress from loading the polyfill scripts, reducing unnecessary JavaScript on your site.
Potential Risks of Removing Polyfills
1. Broken Functionality on Older Browsers
Removing polyfills may cause certain features (like interactive forms or animations) to malfunction on older browsers, leading to a poor user experience.
2. Increased Support Requests
If users experience issues, your support team may see an uptick in help requests, particularly if your site has a broad user base.
3. Compatibility Issues with Plugins and Themes
Some plugins and themes rely on polyfills to function correctly. Removing them could lead to unexpected behavior, especially if the developers haven’t provided fallback solutions.
Best Practices After Removing Polyfills
1. Provide Browser Upgrade Notices: Display a notification encouraging users of outdated browsers to upgrade. Plugins like WP BrowserUpdate can automate this process.
2. Offer Progressive Enhancements: Design your site with progressive enhancement principles, ensuring core functionality remains intact even without modern JavaScript features.
3. Monitor Performance and Feedback: Regularly monitor your site’s performance using tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix, and gather user feedback to identify any issues early.
Final Thought on Should I Remove Polyfill from WordPress
Deciding whether to remove polyfills depends on your site’s specific needs and audience. If your visitors primarily use modern browsers and performance is a top priority, removing polyfills can streamline your site and improve load times. However, if your audience includes users on older browsers, it’s safer to keep them to ensure broad compatibility.
Ultimately, the choice boils down to balancing performance and accessibility. Regularly review your site’s analytics, test across different browsers, and make an informed decision based on your audience’s needs.
Interesting Reads
10 Best WordPress Plugins for Adding Code
