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Performance & Cleanup

Boilerplate removes unnecessary WordPress front-end output, compiles optimized assets, handles theme font assets through the build system, and provides lightweight lazy-loading support for images.

Primary Files

  • functions.php – theme setup, cleanup hooks, and performance-related WordPress removals
  • config.php – feature flags controlling cleanup behavior
  • assets/js/lazy.js – lightweight lazy-loading support
  • assets/js/main.js – imports lazy loading into the front-end JS bundle
  • vite.config.mjs – minification, font copying, sourcemaps, and output configuration
  • package.json – npm build commands and build dependencies
  • dist/ – compiled JS, CSS, and font output

WordPress Head Cleanup

Boilerplate removes unnecessary default WordPress head output to keep front-end markup leaner.

Primary hooks: _bp_after_setup_theme(), _bp_init()
File: functions.php

Use this for: removing generator tags, feed links, resource hints, adjacent post links, RSD links, Windows Live Writer links, and other default head output that is not needed by most sites.

Disabled Emojis

WordPress emoji scripts and styles can be disabled when native browser emoji support is sufficient.

Config: BP_WP_EMOJI_SUPPORT_ENABLED
File: functions.php

Use this for: removing emoji detection scripts, emoji styles, feed emoji filters, email emoji filters, and the TinyMCE emoji plugin.

REST Header Links

Boilerplate removes default REST API link output from the HTML header when that discovery output is not needed on the front end.

File: functions.php

Use this for: reducing default WordPress header noise while preserving the REST API itself unless a project explicitly changes that behavior.

Minified Assets

Production builds compile optimized JS and CSS assets through Vite. JavaScript uses Terser minification and CSS is minified for production output.

Primary files: vite.config.mjs, package.json

npm run build
npm run compile

Use this for: production-ready theme assets in dist/js/ and dist/css/.

Font Asset Handling

Vite copies theme font assets into stable output paths when install asset copying is enabled.

File: vite.config.mjs

Controlled by: BP_INSTALL

  • dist/font/bootstrap_icons/ – Bootstrap Icons font files
  • dist/font/open_sans/ – Open Sans font files

Use this for: keeping third-party font assets self-hosted and available from predictable theme paths.

Lazy Loading

Boilerplate includes a lightweight lazy-loading script for images using the .lazy class. Modern browsers use IntersectionObserver; older browsers fall back to a throttled scroll/resize/orientation listener.

File: assets/js/lazy.js
Imported by: assets/js/main.js

Use this for: deferring image loading behavior without adding a large dependency.

Build Output

Compiled assets are emitted to stable paths under dist/.

  • dist/js/theme.js – front-end JavaScript bundle
  • dist/css/theme.css – front-end theme stylesheet
  • dist/css/admin.css – WordPress admin stylesheet
  • dist/css/editor.css – block editor stylesheet
  • dist/font/ – copied font assets

Validation Before Commit

Run cleanup-sensitive checks before committing theme changes.

git diff --check
npm run build

Use this for: confirming build output, catching whitespace issues, and reviewing asset size before deployment.

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