Three Minifiers and an SEO plugin
Three Minifiers and an SEO plugin
A Journey to illustrate Perfectly Optimized JavaScript and CSS (Without Ruffling RankMath’s Feathers, my favorite SEO plugin)
In the illustrous land of WordPressville, a brave webmaster set out on a quest. The goal? To find the ultimate minification plugin to shrink, optimize, and polish the site’s JavaScript and CSS. The path, however, was treacherous, filled with plugin errors, SEO red flags, and occasional facepalms. Here’s what happened on that wild journey.
Chapter 1 - Autoptimize
The Loyal Sidekick… or So It Seemed
Our hero began with Autoptimize, the Robin Hood of minification plugins. It promised to make everything smaller and faster with a click of a button, and it did! CSS was neatly compressed, JavaScript minified, and HTML files slimmed down.
But just as our hero basked in victory, a familiar figure appeared with a raised eyebrow and a long list of grievances. It was RankMath, the SEO sheriff, wagging its finger in disapproval.
“You've messed with my precious meta tags and my structured data!” RankMath scolded. Autoptimize had tried too hard, minifying not just JavaScript but also the sheriff's precious SEO scripts. In despair, the webmaster had no choice but to say farewell to Autoptimize, promising to return if only it would learn to tread lightly around RankMath’s domain.
Chapter 2 - Fast Velocity Minify
The Bold but Complex Hero
Next on the scene was Fast Velocity Minify. With a no-nonsense attitude, Fast Velocity promised to minify code like a ninja in the night, unseen and unfelt by Google’s search bots.
However, Fast Velocity had its own quirks. It was bold, maybe too bold. It grouped JavaScript and CSS files together as if throwing them into a blender. When RankMath saw this new setup, it was slightly less peeved but still muttered, “This… this will work… but only if you leave my files out of this concoction.”
Fast Velocity Minify’s solution? A checklist of exclusions! The webmaster felt a glimmer of hope, manually entering each SEO-critical file into the exclusion list. Hours of labor later, it finally worked… mostly. RankMath let out a reluctant nod of approval. Yet, the webmaster was left wondering: had they sacrificed too much time just to keep the SEO sheriff happy?
Chapter 3 - WP-Optimize
The Renaissance Plugin
Finally, the webmaster stumbled upon WP-Optimize. This plugin was like a Swiss army knife, offering database cleanups, image compression, and—ah yes—minification! Perhaps WP-Optimize could balance all the needs of speed, SEO, and sanity.
With cautious optimism, the webmaster enabled WP-Optimize’s minification module. To everyone’s surprise, WP-Optimize handled the task gracefully, compressing only what needed compressing, and leaving RankMath’s precious files untouched.
“Very well,” RankMath grumbled. “You may proceed.” WP-Optimize had passed the test with flying colors. It offered enough customization to minify efficiently without overstepping RankMath’s boundaries, and it even cleaned up some old junk in the database while it was at it.
Epilogue
The Happily Optimized After
In the end, the webmaster chose WP-Optimize as the trusty companion for this journey, a plugin that balanced speed, reliability, and SEO-friendliness in a way the others couldn’t quite match. Fast Velocity Minify was kept as a powerful backup for those adventurous days, and Autoptimize was fondly remembered as the plugin that worked almostperfectly… if only RankMath could have cut it some slack.
And so, the site lived happily ever after, faster, lighter, and RankMath-approved. The lesson? In WordPressville, a quest for minification isn’t just about picking the shiniest plugin—it’s about finding the one that keeps both speed and SEO harmony.
The whimsical quest of our three plugin heroes—Autoptimize, Fast Velocity Minify, and WP-Optimize—alongside the grumpy RankMath sheriff in the magical WordPress kingdom.
😂 Nothing like a bit of plugin drama in the mystical world of WordPress to keep things entertaining! 🏰🚀
Happy optimizing, and may RankMath’s checklist forever be appeased! 🏆
PS
All those plugins have a free version. If you are a starter and do now know what to do, keep the initial plugins as proposed by WA, they are easy and simple!
PS 2
The follow-up of the story with Jack of all trades
Recent Comments
22
Hmmm. Excellent post Fleeky, but..
My understanding is that for those using WA's SitePlus+ function don't need an additional optimisation plugin.
I appreciate that some work well with RankMath (I use RankMath myself) and that others don't so much. I suspect that'll be true for any SEO oriented plugin.
I would appreciate more comment on this, perhaps from @Carson to help clarify the situation.
;-)
Richard
I absolutely love how site support helps to find best solutions for advanced users, trying to refine....
And yes, not easy
Not easy at all
Just sharing my experience from last months... and what works best in THIS case.
And yes, for advanced users indeed
Thank you Richard
🤪
Understood, fleeky... and it makes sense for those choosing to not use WA's solution.
;-)
Richard
Wa solution is excellent...
So, if you are a starter, stick to it....
f you are an advanced user, you will try to escape some limitations and kindergarden... and with help of site support refine to your own design.... indeed!
😅
WA doesn't want us to use Optimizing plugins because of the cache options that WP optimize provides.
Same with using Wordfence in its totality (even the free version) there's a php code wirdfence wants added and WA will not comply, so you only get a partial value from Wordfence.
RankMath has a cool option for analyzing your site and seo/keywords. It provides you with a comprehensive audit.
Rudy
Hi Rudy, and it's impossible for us to know how much of WA's technical advice is about protecting WA as opposed to supporting our websites, because, in my experience, when WA support are asked questions, they often need to be asked several questions to get a reasonable comprehensive answer. Perhaps they're very busy..
;-)
Richard
Richard, my experience is different.
With so many websites, themes and plugins it needs some adjustment. Hard to know all!
The team is genius. Never doubt.
Over the years ALL my problems got solved.
(Would be some times easier with full access indeed)
Nice.
Success requires finding the right balance between optimization and compatibility.
Abie
See more comments
Love the creativity here my Fleeky friend... I just never listen to what an SEO plug in tells me though!!
Hope all is well??
👍😊👍😊
Yep... just in slow motion
🤪
Ps
You better listen.
Now tell me, what does it tell...?
😋
Great to hear my dear friend!!🤗
It tells what they believe we need to do!!
👍👍
Lol
😆
Again, wa provides,all that is needed... no worries
It does indeed Fleeky!!
👍🤗