WordPress loads a number of background features on every page whether you use them or not. The emoji polyfill script, the Heartbeat API, XML-RPC, embed scripts, REST API discovery links. These add page weight and background requests that slow your site down. BerqWP 4.1.10 adds a Debloat tab to control all of this from one place.
TL;DR: BerqWP’s Debloat tab lets you control the WordPress Heartbeat API and toggle off features you don’t need, including emojis (disabled by default), embeds, XML-RPC, REST API discovery link, head cleanup, and self pingbacks. Everything is off by default except emojis, which are disabled out of the box.
Heartbeat API Control
The Heartbeat API is how WordPress checks in with your server in the background. It powers autosave in the post editor and the “another user is editing this post” warning. On some hosting setups, especially shared hosting, these background check-ins add avoidable load because they trigger PHP requests at regular intervals, typically every 15 to 60 seconds depending on what page you have open.
The default setting is “Default (no changes),” which means WordPress behaves exactly as it normally would. You have three other options:
- Default: no changes. WordPress runs Heartbeat as normal.
- Restrict to post editor only (recommended): Heartbeat only runs while you are editing a post. Background activity everywhere else stops.
- Throttle interval everywhere: Heartbeat keeps running but less frequently. You set the interval, with 60 seconds as the default.
- Disable completely: turns Heartbeat off entirely. This also disables autosave and the “another user is editing” warnings.
For most sites, “restrict to post editor only” is the sweet spot. You keep autosave where you actually need it and stop background requests everywhere else on your site. If you never have multiple people editing at the same time and you do not rely on autosave, disabling Heartbeat completely is also a valid choice. Just be aware that you lose the autosave safety net in the post editor.
The throttle option is a middle ground. If you have plugins that depend on Heartbeat running in the background but you want to reduce how often it fires, set a longer interval. Sixty seconds is a reasonable default that cuts the number of background requests significantly compared to WordPress’s normal behavior.
Feature Toggles
These are simple on/off switches. All are off by default except Emojis, which is disabled out of the box.
| Feature | What Disabling It Does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Emojis | Stops loading the emoji script WordPress adds to every page | Disabled |
| Embeds | Turns off the ability to embed your posts on other sites and removes related scripts | Off |
| XML-RPC | Disables an older remote-access feature rarely needed and often targeted by attackers | Off |
| REST API Discovery Link | Removes a technical link from your page head. Your REST API keeps working. | Off |
| Head Cleanup | Removes unused technical tags from your page head | Off |
| Self Pingbacks | Stops WordPress from creating a comment on your own post when you link to another post on your own site | Off |
Emojis are disabled by default because WordPress loads an emoji polyfill script on every single page, front and back. Almost no site needs this script. Turning it off is a zero-risk win that removes a script and its associated requests from every page load. Your site will still display standard Unicode emoji characters that browsers support natively. What gets removed is the JavaScript polyfill that converts text emoji into images on older browsers.
For the rest, here is quick guidance. XML-RPC is worth disabling if you do not use the WordPress mobile app or external publishing tools. It is also a common target for brute force attacks, so disabling it reduces your attack surface. Head Cleanup and REST API Discovery Link are small, safe reductions in page weight that remove technical clutter from your HTML head. Self Pingbacks is a quality-of-life toggle that stops WordPress from notifying you when you link to your own content. Embeds is worth turning off if you do not need other sites to be able to embed your posts, which removes the oEmbed discovery scripts from your pages.
How to Use the Debloat Tab
- Update BerqWP to 4.1.10 or later.
- Open BerqWP Settings and switch to the Debloat tab.
- Choose your Heartbeat API setting.
- Toggle off any features you don’t use.
Changes save automatically. You can revisit the tab anytime to adjust your settings. None of these toggles require any configuration beyond turning them on or off.
How Debloating Affects Your Site Speed
Fewer background requests and head tags mean less work for the browser on every page load. The impact of any single toggle is small. A single script or link tag removed is a few kilobytes and one fewer request. But together, these reductions add up to meaningful page weight and server request savings across every page on your site.
The Heartbeat API control is where the biggest impact lives for some sites. If you are on shared hosting and Heartbeat has been firing every 15 seconds across multiple admin sessions, restricting or disabling it can noticeably reduce CPU usage on your server. The feature toggles are smaller wins individually, but they compound with the rest of your optimization stack.
Debloating works best as part of a full performance stack. Stack it on top of BerqWP’s caching, Critical CSS, and image optimization for the complete picture. See the full feature list for everything BerqWP handles, and review the BerqWP best practices guide to make sure you are getting the most out of every optimization. For background on these specific features, see What’s new in BerqWP 4.1.10.
