How can I remove jquery from the frontside of my WordPress?

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My wordpress site is a bit heavy to download. On the frontend, its including jquery unnecessarily. In my firebug it looks like: 

jquery.js?ver=1.3.2

and

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jquery.form.js?ver=2.02m

I don’t need these to be included for me.

I’m happy for them to remain in the wp-admin, but I’d like them not to load on the frontend.

I have found the file I think which is loading them in wp-includes/script-loader.php but I’m not sure what to uncomment out or what to do to remove it completely for the front.

Is there a way to do this, removing jquery without ruining the back end?

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11 comments

  1. The correct method to completely remove a style or script is to dequeue it and deregister it. You should also note that front end scripts are handled through the wp_enqueue_scripts hook while back end scripts are handled through the admin_enqueue_scripts hook.

    So with that in mind, you can do the following

    add_filter( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'change_default_jquery', PHP_INT_MAX );

function change_default_jquery( ){
    wp_dequeue_script( 'jquery');
    wp_deregister_script( 'jquery');   
}

    EDIT 1

    This has been fully tested on WordPress version 4.0 and working as expected.

    EDIT 2

    As proof of concept, paste the following code in your functions.php. This will print a success or failure message in the head of your site, back end and front end

    add_action( 'wp_head', 'check_jquery' );
add_action( 'admin_head', 'check_jquery' );
function check_jquery() {

    global $wp_scripts;

    foreach ( $wp_scripts->registered as $wp_script ) {
        $handles[] = $wp_script->handle; 
    }

    if( in_array( 'jquery', $handles ) ) {
        echo 'jquery has been loaded';
    }else{
        echo 'jquery has been removed';
    }
}

  2. JQuery may be being added by your theme. If your theme is adding it properly, it should be using the wp_enqueue_script() function. To remove JQuery, simply use the wp_deregister_script() function.

    wp_deregister_script('jquery');

    Removing JQuery for your whole site might cause some unintended consequences for your admin section. To avoid removing JQuery on your admin pages, use this code instead:

    if ( !is_admin() ) wp_deregister_script('jquery');

    Now only pages that are not admin pages will run the wp_deregister_script() function.

    Add this code to the functions.php file in your theme directory.

  3. All the other solutions are now out of date as of wordpress 3.6

    add_filter( 'wp_default_scripts', 'change_default_jquery' );

function change_default_jquery( &$scripts){
    if(!is_admin()){
        $scripts->remove( 'jquery');
        $scripts->add( 'jquery', false, array( 'jquery-core' ), '1.10.2' );
    }
}

  4. WordPress adds this jQuery call via a template tag named <?php wp_head(); ?>, which appears in most themes, and is necessary for some plugins to work.

    It could be annoying, not only because of loading, but because it might kill previously loaded jQuery, and might even get in the way of some plugins who try to load jQuery as well.

    The quick fix is openning up the file header.php in your theme’s directory, and adding:

    <?php wp_deregister_script('jquery'); ?>

    right before 

    <?php wp_head(); ?>

    Or just combine them both into:

    <?php wp_deregister_script('jquery'); wp_head(); ?>

    A more technical explanation could be found here

  5. function my_init() {
    if (!is_admin()) {
        wp_deregister_script('jquery');
        wp_register_script('jquery', false);
    }
}
add_action('init', 'my_init');

    It’s correct – removes jquery library js. Code from other answers removes all js (even js that your installed plugins adds)

    Tested on 4.3.1

  6. WordPress 5 and above (Tested)

    Remove the default jquery and add your jquery from folder or from CDN. Use only one, ‘local’ or ‘cdn’ 

    // Remove the WordPress default jquery
wp_deregister_script( 'jquery' );

// using a local file
wp_enqueue_script(
  'jquery', get_template_directory_uri() . '/lib/jquery-3.3.1.min.js','', '3.3.1', true
);

// using CDN
wp_enqueue_script(
    'jquery', '//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js', '', '3.3.1', true
);

// $handle: 'jquery'
// $src: 
    // local: get_template_directory_uri() . '/lib/jquery-3.3.1.min.js'
    // cdn: '//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js'
// $deps: '' (leave it empty)
// $ver: '3.3.1'
// $in_footer: true (boolean)

    Syntax

    wp_enqueue_script( $handle, $src, $deps, $ver, $in_footer );

  8. In most of the WordPress theme. jQuery used on admin panel (wp-admin) OR jQuery used in product page. to speed up. this will work. Tested on WP 5.0
    jQuery only load if admin is logged in or its product page (its doesn’t matter user logged in or not on product page. (jQuery load on product page))

    function my_jquery_remove() {
    if ( ! is_admin() && !is_product() ) {
       wp_deregister_script('jquery');
       wp_register_script('jquery', false);
    }
}
add_action('init', 'my_jquery_remove');

  9. Look in the source of your rendered page; WordPress often includes jQuery by default when <?php wp_head(); ?> is called in header.php, so you may stil see jQuery included in your site.

    If you remove <?php wp_head(); ?> in header.php, you might loose other plugin functionality, as many plugins “hook” into WordPress at that point.

    But including jQuery isn’t that big of a deal. It’s small and WordPress depends on it for some things.

  10. I was able to shave 2.2 seconds off my “Events” page load speed by de-registering jQuery. jQuery is a nice to have but in my opinion page speed is so much more important.

    You’ll never have a user hang around for more than 5 seconds so if jQuery is causing you performance problems, then I say get rid.

  11. jQuery.js is just 15KB if you’re using the minified version, and these would be totally absent if you were using a theme that doesn’t require it.

    You should probably look for a lightweight theme without jQuery instead of hacking it and then seeing the theme break in several places because they’re looking for those js files.