Title: A. Smith Speed Optimizer
Author: asmithmedia
Published: <strong>September 23, 2026</strong>
Last modified: September 23, 2026

---

Search plugins

![](https://ps.w.org/a-smith-speed-optimizer/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3709972)

![](https://ps.w.org/a-smith-speed-optimizer/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3709972)

# A. Smith Speed Optimizer

 By [asmithmedia](https://profiles.wordpress.org/asmithmedia/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/a-smith-speed-optimizer.1.0.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/#installation)
 * [Development](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/a-smith-speed-optimizer/)

## Description

**A. Smith Speed Optimizer** is a free WordPress speed optimization plugin that 
bundles the optimizations most sites actually need into one dashboard: lazy loading,
HTML minification, JavaScript deferral, WordPress bloat removal, database cleanup,
and a 0-100 performance score with a letter grade.

Built for site owners and agencies who want measurable speed improvements without
juggling four separate plugins or hand-editing functions.php.

#### Key Features

 * **Lazy Loading** – Automatically add `loading="lazy"` to images and iframes. 
   Includes Intersection Observer for background images with `data-bg` attributes
   so non-image elements lazy load too.
 * **HTML Minification** – Strip whitespace, HTML comments, and unnecessary characters
   from your HTML output. Preserves content inside `<pre>`, `<script>`, `<textarea
   >`, and `<style>` tags.
 * **JavaScript Deferral** – Add the `defer` attribute to enqueued scripts to prevent
   render-blocking. jQuery is always excluded by default. Custom exclusions supported
   per-script.
 * **WordPress Bloat Removal** – Remove unnecessary WordPress default features individually:
    - Emoji scripts and styles
    - oEmbed/Embeds
    - Query strings from static resources
    - Dashicons on frontend for non-admin users
    - XML-RPC and pingback
    - REST API link from head
    - Shortlinks
    - Windows Live Writer manifest
    - RSD link
    - RSS feed links (optional)
 * **Database Cleanup** – Clean up post revisions, auto-drafts, trashed posts, expired
   transients, spam comments, and trashed comments with one click. Counts shown 
   before deletion.
 * **Performance Scoring** – Get a 0-100 performance score with letter grade (A-
   F) based on your active optimizations, asset counts, and bloat removal status.
 * **Email Reports** – Scheduled email digests (daily/weekly/monthly) with your 
   speed score, stats, and recommendations.
 * **Dashboard Widget** – See your speed score at a glance on the WordPress admin
   dashboard.

#### How It Works

 1. Install and activate the plugin.
 2. Visit **Speed Optimizer** in your admin menu.
 3. View your performance score and recommendations.
 4. Toggle optimizations on/off from the dashboard.
 5. Clean up database bloat with one click.
 6. Configure settings for fine-grained control.

#### Privacy

Everything runs locally on your WordPress installation. No external server calls,
no data sent to A. Smith Media, no account required.

#### Pro Features (Optional Add-On)

The free version is fully functional on its own. A Pro add-on is available separately
at [asmith.media/speed-optimizer](https://asmith.media/speed-optimizer/) with:

 * Critical CSS generation for above-the-fold content
 * Unused CSS removal to eliminate render-blocking styles
 * Automatic WebP/AVIF image conversion
 * Performance score history and trend charts
 * CDN integration for static assets
 * Font preloading and display optimization
 * Full page caching with cache rules

## Screenshots

[⌊Dashboard view — performance score ring (A-F grade), enabled optimizations summary,
and quick-action stats⌉⌊Dashboard view — performance score ring (A-F grade), enabled
optimizations summary, and quick-action stats⌉[

Dashboard view — performance score ring (A-F grade), enabled optimizations summary,
and quick-action stats

[⌊Optimization toggle cards for lazy loading, HTML minification, and JavaScript 
deferral with descriptive helper text⌉⌊Optimization toggle cards for lazy loading,
HTML minification, and JavaScript deferral with descriptive helper text⌉[

Optimization toggle cards for lazy loading, HTML minification, and JavaScript deferral
with descriptive helper text

[⌊Bloat removal section — 10 individual toggles for WordPress default features you
can selectively disable⌉⌊Bloat removal section — 10 individual toggles for WordPress
default features you can selectively disable⌉[

Bloat removal section — 10 individual toggles for WordPress default features you
can selectively disable

[⌊Database cleanup grid — counts of revisions, auto-drafts, transients, spam comments
with one-click clean buttons⌉⌊Database cleanup grid — counts of revisions, auto-
drafts, transients, spam comments with one-click clean buttons⌉[

Database cleanup grid — counts of revisions, auto-drafts, transients, spam comments
with one-click clean buttons

[⌊Settings page — full configuration with custom JS exclusions, email report frequency,
and per-feature options⌉⌊Settings page — full configuration with custom JS exclusions,
email report frequency, and per-feature options⌉[

Settings page — full configuration with custom JS exclusions, email report frequency,
and per-feature options

[⌊First-run animated scanning experience that walks new users through detection 
of their site's current state⌉⌊First-run animated scanning experience that walks
new users through detection of their site's current state⌉[

First-run animated scanning experience that walks new users through detection of
their site’s current state

[⌊Weekly email performance report with score trend, page weight reduction, and prioritized
recommendations⌉⌊Weekly email performance report with score trend, page weight reduction,
and prioritized recommendations⌉[

Weekly email performance report with score trend, page weight reduction, and prioritized
recommendations

## Installation

 1. Upload the `a-smith-speed-optimizer` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`.
 2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu.
 3. Go to **Speed Optimizer** in the admin menu to view your dashboard.

## FAQ

### How do I speed up a slow WordPress site without coding?

Install A. Smith Speed Optimizer and enable the optimizations one at a time from
the dashboard: lazy loading first (always safe), then HTML minification, then JavaScript
deferral, then bloat removal. Each toggle is reversible with one click. Re-run the
performance scan after each change to see your score improve and verify nothing 
breaks.

### Will this plugin break my site?

The lazy loading and bloat removal options are safe for nearly every site. HTML 
minification and JavaScript deferral can occasionally cause issues with specific
themes or third-party scripts that depend on render-blocking execution order. The
recommended approach is to enable one optimization at a time and check your site
after each — this plugin makes that easy by letting you toggle individual features
on and off. JavaScript deferral always excludes jQuery by default, and you can add
custom exclusions for any other script that needs to load synchronously.

### Can I use this with caching plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache?

Yes. A. Smith Speed Optimizer focuses on frontend optimization (lazy loading, minification,
JS deferral, bloat removal, database cleanup) — none of which conflict with page
caching. It complements caching plugins like WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP 
Rocket, or LiteSpeed Cache. If your caching plugin already handles minification,
just disable HTML minification here to avoid double-processing.

### What WordPress bloat should I remove?

The safe defaults: emoji scripts (most sites don’t need them), query strings from
static resources (helps caching), shortlinks (rarely used), Windows Live Writer 
manifest (irrelevant in 2026), RSD link (legacy XML-RPC discovery). The optional
ones: XML-RPC and pingback if you don’t use the WordPress mobile app or accept trackbacks,
RSS feed links if you don’t run a blog, and Dashicons on the frontend for non-admin
users (saves a CSS request for every visitor). Each is a separate toggle so you 
can enable selectively.

### Does database cleanup delete my content?

No. The cleanup only removes content that WordPress itself classifies as expired
or unwanted: post revisions older than your `WP_POST_REVISIONS` setting, auto-drafts
WordPress generated and abandoned, posts in the trash bin, transients past their
expiry date, spam comments, and trashed comments. Published posts, pages, custom
post types, and active comments are never touched. Always run a backup before any
cleanup operation as a precaution.

### Does the free version require an account or external service?

No. The free version is 100% self-contained with no external server calls. Everything
runs locally on your WordPress installation.

### What does the performance score measure?

The score (0-100) is based on three factors: how many optimizations are enabled,
number of scripts and styles loaded on your site, and how much WordPress bloat has
been removed. It gives you a quick snapshot of your site’s optimization level. For
real-world performance numbers (Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse scores), use Google 
PageSpeed Insights — this score is meant to track which knobs you have turned on,
not measure end-user experience directly.

### What PHP version is required?

PHP 7.4 or higher. WordPress 6.0 or higher.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“A. Smith Speed Optimizer” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ asmithmedia ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/asmithmedia/)

[Translate “A. Smith Speed Optimizer” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/a-smith-speed-optimizer/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/a-smith-speed-optimizer/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/a-smith-speed-optimizer/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/a-smith-speed-optimizer/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.0

 * Initial release
 * Lazy loading for images, iframes, and background images via Intersection Observer
 * HTML minification with content preservation
 * JavaScript deferral with per-script exclusion support
 * 10 individual WordPress bloat removal options
 * Database cleanup for 6 item types
 * Performance scoring (0-100) with letter grades
 * Email report digests (daily/weekly/monthly)
 * Dark theme admin dashboard
 * WordPress dashboard widget
 * Pro bridge hooks for premium add-on

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.0**
 *  Last updated **1 day ago**
 *  Active installations **Fewer than 10**
 *  WordPress version ** 6.0 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **7.1.2**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 *  Language
 * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/)
 * Tags
 * [defer javascript](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/defer-javascript/)[lazy load](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/lazy-load/)
   [minify](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/minify/)[Page Speed](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/page-speed/)
   [performance](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/performance/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/a-smith-speed-optimizer/advanced/)

## Ratings

No reviews have been submitted yet.

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/a-smith-speed-optimizer/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/a-smith-speed-optimizer/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ asmithmedia ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/asmithmedia/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/a-smith-speed-optimizer/)