How to disable Emojis in WordPress

Emojis were first introduced in WordPress 4.2. They are tiny icons or smileys used on the Internet. If you don’t use it, Emojis script (wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=4.3.1) in WordPress creates an extra HTTP request, which adds to total page load time, and slows down your WordPress site. Many professional website owners never use it.

You can see an extra HTTP request for Emojis script when you test your site speed on webpagetest.org:

Option 1: Use a Plugin – Disable Emojis

Option 2 – Without a Plugin:

Step 1:

Go to www.yoursite.com/wp-admin panel, under Settings/Writing – uncheck this box:

Step 2:

Insert in functions.php the following code:

Gist – Disable Emoji in WordPress

And that’s it! Now, if you test your website speed at Webpagetest.org, in the waterfall chart, you should not see any more requests for Emojis script.