Should I Remove Polyfill from WordPress: Pros & Cons?

Polyfills are vital tools in the world of web development; used to provide modern functionality on old browsers that do not natively support it. In WordPress, polyfills provide the support for JavaScript and CSS functionalities, so users with older browsers can just access your site without problems. However, as technology in browsers advances and use of older browsers becomes less common, the need for polyfills decreases. This blog will examine whether removing polyfill from WordPress is worth it or not, weighing its pros and cons to decide.

About Polyfills in WordPress

Polyfill JavaScript emulates modern web features in browsers that do not support them. Polyfills come embedded with WordPress for the guaranteed widest of interoperability. Some of these include:

Promise Polyfill: Adds asynchronous JavaScript capabilities to the operation.
Fetch Polyfill: It supports HTTP requests in environments missing the Fetch API.
CSS Grid Polyfill: Makes sure CSS grid layouts work in older browsers.

Though polyfills offer much-needed compatibility, they can also overload your site with unnecessary scripts if your target audience mainly uses modern browsers.

Why Polyfills Were Introduced

Polyfills were introduced to ensure inclusivity and backward compatibility during the transition to modern web standards.

Seamless user experience: A consistent browsing experience for users with older browsers-thus preventing issues such as broken layouts or missing functionality.
Transitional support: When taking up modern technologies, polyfills helped developers add new features without excluding people.
Global accessibility: While the older browsers continue dominating markets in some regions, it is polyfills that help sites continue to be functional and accessible.

While polyfills are useful, they have their trade-offs, mainly performance-wise:

Slower Page Load Speed: Longest load time, usually more files to be loaded in JavaScript. This would really make users impatient and penalize your rankings in search engines.
More Bandwidth Consumption: Loading many unneeded scripts uses much more bandwidth. This causes trouble in slower internet connections and data-restricted plans.
Complex Codebase: A site with redundant polyfills can become harder to manage, debug, and optimize.

Understanding the role and necessity of polyfills is key to maintaining a fast and efficient WordPress site.

The Pros of Removing Polyfills

If your audience no longer relies on outdated browsers, removing polyfills can yield several benefits:

Improved Page Load Speed

Benefit: Fewer JavaScript files lead to faster load times.
Impact: Increased performance increases rankings in search engines and increases end-user engagement. Fewer page bounces and increased conversion rates will be achieved with faster pages.

Low Bandwidth Usage

Benefit: Reduced file sizes result in lower data usage.
Impact: This is especially helpful for users accessing websites from slower-speed areas or via mobile data.

Clean Codebase

Benefit: Reduces unnecessary scripts on your site, thus cleaning up the overall codebase.
Impact: Debugging is easier. The development time is lessened. It becomes easier to maintain.

Custom Optimization

Benefit: By removing redundant polyfills you can target the optimization.
Impact: Developers could work on improving only those features of interest to the audience, making the website lean and efficient.

The Drawbacks of Removing Polyfills

Though there are strong positives, removing polyfills carries risks:

Cross-Browser Incompatibility

Risk: Some of your older browsers will not be able to load up your site properly.
Impact: This will leave you with broken layouts, missing features, or unusable pages for a section of your audience.

Exclusion of Users

Risk: Removing polyfills may alienate users on older devices or browsers.
Impact: Lower accessibility may erode the confidence of users and participation in markets with largely older technology.

Increase Support Maintenance

Risk: Developers may need to hand-code solutions to fix compatibility issues without polyfills.
Impact: This requires longer testing and debugging time and effort.

Compatibility and Trust Sensitivity

Risk: Broken functionality may translate to increased bounce rates.
Impact: This negatively affects search engine rankings and user perception of your brand, potentially leading to lost revenue.

How to Assess the Need for Polyfills

Deciding whether to remove polyfills requires careful analysis:

Analyze Your Audience

Use Google Analytics to identify the browsers your audience uses.
If over 90% of your visitors use modern browsers, polyfills may no longer be necessary.

Evaluate Feature Dependencies

Make a list of the new web application features that your website depends on.
Determine if these features need polyfills because they'll be rendered unsupported by older browsers.

Measure Performance Impact

Monitor polyfills' impact on the performance of your website using GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights.
Compare load times with/without polyfills for their effect on your site.

Steps to Safely Remove Polyfills

After deciding to remove them, removing the polyfills will help minimize interruptions:

Backup Website

Use the UpdraftPlus plugin to back up your entire site.
Ensure database and files are securely saved to restore in case of a problem.

Disable Polyfills Using Code

Add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file:

php

Copy code

        function remove_polyfill_script() {
            wp_dequeue_script('wp-polyfill');
        }
        add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'remove_polyfill_script', 100);

Test Your Site

Test your site on a variety of browsers with tools like BrowserStack or real devices.
Ensure all the critical features work as expected.

Monitor User Feedback

Use analytics and feedback tools to monitor user behavior after removal.
Re-add polyfills if compatibility issues arise for a significant part of your audience.

Alternatives to Removing Polyfills

If full removal is too risky, consider these alternatives:

Conditional Loading

What It Does: Load polyfills only for users having older browsers.
How to Implement: javascript Copy code

                                if (!('fetch' in window)) {
                                    var script = document.createElement('script');
                                    script.src = 'path-to-polyfill.js';
                                    document.head.appendChild(script);
                                }

Lightweight Alternatives

Replace WordPress’s default polyfills with smaller libraries targeting specific needs.

Educate Users

Display a notification for users with outdated browsers, encouraging them to update for a better experience.

Best Practices for Managing Polyfills

Stay Updated on Browser Trends: Regularly review browser usage statistics to make informed decisions.
Optimize JavaScript Delivery: Combine and minify scripts to reduce load times using plugins like WP Rocket.
Use HTTPS and CDN: Host scripts on a Content Delivery Network. This way, they're delivered faster and more reliably.
Test Across Devices: Use tools like BrowserStack to ensure your site works seamlessly across devices and browsers.

Role of Polyfills in Future Web Development

As browsers move toward accepting modern standards, their dependence on polyfills decreases. However, inclusiveness remains crucial for businesses targeting diverse audiences, especially in global markets.

New Technologies: PWAs and frameworks such as React, by default, resort to modern browser standards. This, in turn, reduces the dependence on polyfills.
Long-Term Observations: Even though polyfills may become obsolete in the future, checking their relevance ensures your website remains optimized and accessible.

Conclusion

Removing polyfills from WordPress does improve site performance and clean out the codebase, although it is not a silver bullet. An analysis of your audience, testing potential impacts, and alternatives such as conditional loading will greatly help in deciding whether to remove them or not. Businesses that are keen to improve their WordPress sites are offered professional solutions in AvikaSoft tailored to fit one's needs. Let it be removal of polyfills, improving performance, or ensuring compatibility, their insight guarantees a smooth ride for you and your users.