How to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources

You might have come across this page after testing your website on Pingdom, GTmatrix, or Google Page Speed Insights. And if I am not wrong, it seems like you are looking for a solution to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources like CSS & JavaScript.

You have landed on right page pal. In this tutorial, we will discuss, What are the Query Strings in WordPress code structure? Why you should Remove Query Strings from Static Resources? How you can Remove Query Strings to increase your site speed?

So, without any delay let’s begin…

Remove Query Strings from Static Resources

Page load time is an extremely essential aspect for a website or blog. It helps you to deliver a satisfactory and effective user experience to your visitors.

It also helps to get a higher ranking in Google Search, and as a result, you will notice an increase in overall traffic on your website.

As Google had announced earlier that page load time affects your search engine ranking. And nowadays, since the mobile first concept came, search engines like Google considering page load time as one of the most important parameters for search ranking.

Table of Contents

What are the Query Strings in WordPress?

First of all, let’s discuss What are the Query Strings?

Query Strings are the URLs which contains “?” or “&”. For example, technumero.com/script.js?ver=1.6. It is similar to the CSS and JS files of your website, which usually have the file version on the end of their URLs. Therefore, these Query Strings Resources would be the resource URLs with a “?” or “&”.

And as most of the proxy servers do not cache CSS and JavaScript resources with Query Strings, even if you have optimized Public Cache-Control headers.

Few CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) also don’t cache resources with Query Strings i.e KeyCDN or Cloudflare.

You must be thinking then why query strings are being used by default. Actually, the query strings are used to versioning a file, which differentiates the resource files from one to another. It is extremely useful for developers to avoid caching problems.

And if you are in the development phase of your website, then I would suggest you to remove query strings, once you are done with the site development/theme customization.

Furthermore, let’s take stock of baseline result, how query strings are impacting on your website.

You should first check your webpage source code for Query Strings.
Then, test your website on speed test tools like GTmatrix or YSlow or Pingdom.
And identify URLs with Query Strings – “?” or “&”. These URLs should look like the below-given screenshot.

GTmatrix Remove Query Strings from Static Resources

Now, as you have identified the resources with query strings, you will notice that these files are your CSS, JS, and Images.

How Removing Query Strings from CSS and JS will increase site speed

Leveraging Browser Cache of Static Resources like CSS and JavaScript plays an important role in page loading time. Query Strings prevents Caching of Static Resources on Proxy servers and on browsers.

By Removing Query Strings from Static Resources like CSS & JavaScript you can enable caching of static resources and can achieve a significant improvement in page load speed with less page load time.

Should you Remove Query Strings from Static Resources?

As I have explained above that Query Strings prevent caching of Static Resources like CSS and JavaScript on Proxy Servers and CDNs, which results in slow loading speed of a website.

So, if you want to enable caching on Proxy Servers, you must have to remove Query Strings (which contains “?” or “&” in their URLs) from static resources of your website.

And once you remove these strings, you will definitely notice a significant increase in page speed.

I tested my own website technumero.com on GTmatrix and Pingdom, Results you can see in figures.

GTmatrix and YSlow results-TechNumero.com

How to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources?

To remove query strings from your site resources, you only need to add the following filter hook in the functions.php file to modify static resources URLs i.e. CSS and JavaScript. Filter hooks (add_filter) are used to modify various types of internal data in WordPress.

The step by step process to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources like CSS & JavaScript is following…

Open the functions.php file of your WordPress theme.
Copy and Paste the given-below code at the end of functions.php file.
That’s it. You are done.

Add the following code in your functions.php file to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources

//* TN - Remove Query String from Static Resources
function remove_css_js_ver( $src ) {
if( strpos( $src, '?ver=' ) )
$src = remove_query_arg( 'ver', $src );
return $src;
}
add_filter( 'style_loader_src', 'remove_css_js_ver', 10, 2 );
add_filter( 'script_loader_src', 'remove_css_js_ver', 10, 2 );

But, before you modify functions.php file, I would highly recommend you to take a backup. Also, you must use a child theme for such a modification in the core theme file.

How to Create and Use child theme in WordPress

Otherwise, there are various plugins available in the WordPress Repository for free use. You can use one of the following plugins if you do not wish to use code.

I will share a couple of different plugins solutions to remove query strings from static resources. However, I always recommend that you should only use plugins when it is unavoidable to use. After all, It’s up to you whether you want to use plugin or PHP code.

If you are using a paid theme and updating your theme frequently for latest updates by theme publisher, in that case, it would be better to use plugin instead of adding PHP code. Because your PHP code might get deleted automatically after a theme update.

Useful Tip:
Do you know that Deferring JavaScript properly can help you get top scores on Google PageSpeed Insights? Also one of the major recommendations of PageSpeed is Remove Render Blocking of JavaScript which can be implemented easily using these guides.

Remove Query Strings From Static Resources – WordPress Plugin

#1 Remove Query Strings From Static Resources – WP Plugin

Query Strings can be removed by using a WordPress plugin called Remove Query Strings From Static Resources. I would recommend this method to beginners, who don’t want to mess up with coding stuff.

Install and activate this plugin. There is no setting panel, so just activation of the plugin will do the trick. Test your web page load time TWICE and you will find significant improvement.

Remove Query Strings from Static Resources Plugin

#2 W3 Total Cache – WP Plugin

Remove Query Strings From Static Resources with W3 Total Cach plugin. Many WordPress users use caching plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache.

I would suggest users to use W3 Total Cache plugin settings optimization guide to increase web page loading time. This plugin is one of the most popular caching plugins in the WordPress ecosystem, which dramatically increase your website loading speed.

And if you are not using this plugin, I would suggest you give it a try, you won’t regret using it.

W3 Total Cache plugin offers an option to remove query strings from static resources. You only need to UNCHECK (if already checked) an option and it will remove query strings from 90% of the URLs. Go to Browser Cache tool tab and find “Prevent caching of objects after settings change” option. UNCHECK it from ‘General Settings’ and don’t forget to click on ‘Save Settings’ button. Now ‘Empty all Cache’ and you are done. Check your page loading speed TWICE and your page loading speed will definitely increase.

W3 Total Cache setting - Remove Query Strings from Static Resources — W3 Total Cache setting – Remove Query Strings from Static Resources

#3 WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources

There is another lightweight WordPress plugin called WP Remove Query Strings From Static Resources. Download this plugin from the WordPress plugin repository for free.

Install the plugin and Activate it. There is no configuration or setting page. Activate it and you are good to go.

Purge all the cache and check your website on Pingdom. All the Query Strings will be removed automatically from static resources.

Conclusion

Removing Query Strings from Static Resources like CSS & JavaScript is important if you want to enable Caching of static resources on proxy servers. and want to increase your website page loading speed.

I have implemented the code on TechNumero.Com and 1st plugin on my client’s website www.karhal.info. I have noticed a dramatic improvement in Page Speed Grades on GTmatrix and Pingdom.

You can see the improved results in the figures given below. Just go up and see the baseline test data, my score for query string has been increased from 5 to 78, which quite good. Similarly, Load Time, after the implementation of this code also has been increased.

GTmatrix result after Removing Query Strings from Static Resources

Pingdom result after Removing Query Strings from Static Resources

You may find these result outdated, but believe me, it is working fine till date. You can check the results by yourself if you want to.

Hope you‘ll find this post helpful. Share your Page Speed Results and your experiences on the above topic in the comment section below.

Are you using any plugin or PHP code to Remove Query Strings from Static Resources?

Which solution you like most and which one works best for you or you might have any other recommendation for readers. Do share with us in the comment section below.

In addition to that, you may be interested to read the following tutorials –

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About The Author

Saurabh K a.k.a @TheSaurabhK

Saurabh K is a technology enthusiast and part-time blogger. He loves to explore the efficient use of technology and gadgets. He is an outlier and lensman. Add him in your social circle to know more.

Read all the articles (44) written by Saurabh.

Comments

Ashwani Kumar Singh
January 9, 2015
Hey Saurabh,
Thank You for this really easy to understand tutorial. Though the time decrease was just a few milliseconds but it was still beneficial. Thank You again 🙂
Regards,
Ashwani Kumar Singh
Reply
Usman
April 3, 2015
Thank your for the tutorial, where the actually put the code of 3rd one.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  April 8, 2015
  Hey Usman,
  Glad that you found it informative. You should use the code at the bottom of function.php. As I advised in the post choose this method only if you know well what you are doing. And before making any edit/change, don’t forget to backup your files and content.
  Reply
chieyine
April 18, 2015
Technumero, thanks a lot. I think I will go with w3 total cache.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  April 19, 2015
  Hey Chieyine,
  Glad that I could help. Thanks for nice response.
  Reply
Avinash Patel
May 4, 2015
Thanks for the post,
What i learnt from this post is there is no way to “Remove query strings from static resources” completely. I am stuck at 84 for my website.
Thanks
Avinash
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 5, 2015
  Hey Avinash,
  Glad that I could help. That’s really a nice score. Although 75+ is a decent and acceptable score. Thanks for the awesome feedback.
  Reply
Marcus Glentworth
November 21, 2015
This was really helpful! I’ve been scratching my head for a long time, your php code worked as dream. Thanks!
Reply
- Saurabh K
  February 1, 2016
  Hey,
  Glad that I could help.
  Thanks for your awesome feedback.
  Reply
Diseño web Marbella
December 25, 2015
Yes indeed! Good points and good post…I tryed for my website as well and improved the perfection grade on gtmetrix. Best Regards
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 31, 2016
  Hey,
  Glad that I could Help.
  Thanks for your feedback.
  Reply
Samantha
December 30, 2015
Hello,
Thank you for sharing this script. It worked at one point until my theme got updated. There is now a syntax error on the first line. Any ideas? Thank you for checking.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 31, 2016
  Hey Samantha,
  Glad that you find it useful. Looking forward to listen more from you.
  Thanks for dropping by.
  Reply
Karan Bhagat
February 16, 2016
Hello Saurabh,
Nice tips though. You have mentioned a plugin which has not been updated since a year, there are also other plugins for removing query string, what would you prefer? An updated one or old one?
Thanks,
Karan
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 25, 2016
  Hey Karan,
  Glad that you find this useful.
  You can use other methods like W3 Total Cache which is good plugin and also gets regular updates or can do via function.php.
  thanks for your response.
  Reply
Adithya Shetty
March 26, 2016
Hi Saurabh,
Your code worked to remove some query strings, but I couldn’t remove some strings added by Jetpack plugin’s Photon Module!
Anyways, very informative post!
Thanks for Sharing! 🙂
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 25, 2016
  Hey Adithya,
  Glad that you find it useful. Looking forward to listen more from you.
  Thanks for your response.
  Reply
Dennis
April 4, 2016
Add to my functions.php and now the site is broken showing a 500 error. Any idea on how to UNDO this?
/*** Remove Query String from Static Resources ***/
function remove_cssjs_ver( $src ) {
if( strpos( $src, ‘?ver=’ ) )
$src = remove_query_arg( ‘ver’, $src );
return $src;
}
add_filter( ‘style_loader_src’, ‘remove_cssjs_ver’, 10, 2 );
add_filter( ‘script_loader_src’, ‘remove_cssjs_ver’, 10, 2 );
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 31, 2016
  Hey Dennis,
  If you are not able to log-in to WordPress, you can log-in to your Web Hosting account and can navigate to function.php file under your WordPress site folder. And can remove the unwanted code from there. To avoid such situation it is always advisable to create a back before editing core WordPress files. Hope, this will help. Looking forward to listen more from you.
  Reply
Mariam
May 12, 2016
Thank you so much, your code worked like a charm.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 25, 2016
  Hey Mariam,
  Glad that I could help.
  Thanks for your response.
  Reply
Aman
May 12, 2016
Great explaination Saurabh
In Method 3 , the code has to be inserted in the end or at starting ?
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 31, 2016
  Hey Aman,
  Glad that you find it useful.
  Code is to be placed in side the php tags of function.php. It is recommended to create a Back up before making any changes in core WordPress files or theme files. So that you can revert back if something went wrong.
  Thanks for feedback.
  Reply
Manjesh shetty
May 24, 2016
I had tried solution 3 but Gtmetrics don’t find any changes in speed By Page score speed still 96% what should I do ? should I go for solution 1
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 31, 2016
  Hey Manjesh,
  if I was you, I must try that.
  Anyway thanks for feedback if you had not commented to make a link only.
  Reply
Steven
June 5, 2016
The “Remove Query Strings From Static Resources” worked perfectly on my VPS bringing it from 34% to 90%. Thank you so much for sharing this method.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  That is a good score. Glad that I could help.
  Reply
Seth Bricks
July 4, 2016
Solution #3 works excellent if you’re using a low number of plugins. For a heavy plugin loaded site (one of my sites uses 45 plugins) you have to balance between performance grade and page speed.
In my case I’ve increased performance grade BUT page speed went down significant (by more than 1 second). This was because too many query strings had been removed each time a page was loaded causing too much PHP performance load. Too get a better Google rank I’ve decided to offer visitors a better page speed.
Just my recommendation: always watch the more important metric – in my case it was page speed.
For a low plugin site I’ve got perfect results with this solution. Thanks!
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Glad that you find it useful.
  Reply
Haidar Khan
July 5, 2016
The Code Working well on my site.
Thank You
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Glad that I could help.
  Reply
Aman
July 28, 2016
Awesome , Third method worked perfect for me !!
Reply
- Cobertura
  March 20, 2017
  I think improving the wordpress load speed is very useful. Very good advice.
  Reply
sat
September 4, 2016
Saurabh, I found your page by accident when I was looking for WP article to improve my beta test web page. After implementing the changes recommended in your blog article I was able improve my page speed by 500%. Thanks a lot
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Great improvement man. Glad that I could help.
  Reply
Purva
September 8, 2016
Worked for me to remove query string. Thanks
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Hey Purva,
  Glad that I could help.
  Thanks for stopping by.
  Reply
Jay
September 23, 2016
Disable photon and most of the query strings will go away
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Yep. You are right, but still a considerable amount of query strings will left as it is and affect the performance. I would suggest you to use the code.
  Reply
pouria
October 2, 2016
hi Saurabh K says
thanks for sharing
i like to use Solution # 3 but it is not working my site
i add code at the bottom of function.php file.
pls help
thanks
Reply
Saud Khan
October 7, 2016
Hi,
Any solution for users who are using wp super cache?
Reply
Saud Khan
October 7, 2016
Hi,
The code is already there in functions.php and “Prevent caching of objects after settings change” option is also unchecked but the problem is not resolved. I can’t put more burden on my shared hosting so I don’t want to install “Remove Query Strings From Static Resources” plugin.
Reply
Antony Agnel
October 12, 2016
Hey there,
Thanks for the solution – the ‘Remove Query Strings From Static Resources’ plugin worked like charm.
Reply
designr
October 27, 2016
hey saurabh,
I run DesignrsDen(dot)com and i searched my site for pingdom and it showed me to Remove query strings from static resources.
i tried the code and the preformance score just improved from 41 to 52 but it is still in the red area.
– i cannot use W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache as my server is “wordpress powered by godaddy” and it dosent allow these plugins to install
-I also tried Remove query strings from static resources plugin but still the pingdom shows the same issue.
please let me know how can i resolve this issue
Reply
Mohit Kumar
November 21, 2016
I think solution 2 will work more effective than solution 3. unchecking the bos is more easier than inserting a code. I had personally use soultion 2 to my site and it really work.
Thanks for the info.
Reply
Hallogadget
November 22, 2016
Thanks brother for your great tutorial. I have try this on my site.
Reply
Umer
December 28, 2016
SUPERB!
Keep up the good work!
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Thanks
  Reply
Chris
January 26, 2017
Good stuff Saurabh… if you have time maybe you can offer feedback on our free plugin also? It can accept custom “args” for query string removal:
Remove Query Strings
Anyway thanks for your consideration!
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Hey Chris, Thanks for stopping by, i would love to share my feedback on your plugin.
  Reply
moumita
March 8, 2017
thank you for making a complex issue so simple. The func.php code is working fine
Reply
- Saurabh K
  May 3, 2017
  Hey Moumita,
  Glad that I could help.
  Thanks for stopping by.
  Reply
David Nightingale
June 28, 2017
Hi Saurabh,
Thanks for a great article, and your suggestion for adding the code to the php file works well. That said, it causes a problem for me as I have this line of code in functions.php
wp_enqueue_style( ‘google-fonts’, ‘//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:300,300italic,400,400italic,700,900’, array(), CHILD_THEME_VERSION );
Is there a way to modify your code to exclude this font?
Best wishes,
Dave
Reply
- Saurabh K
  July 4, 2017
  Hi Deve, This code should work fine with Google Fonts.
  However, if you are experiencing issue with Google Fonts. You can hook the following code in wp_footer. And remove the Google fonts code from functions.php
  Find your code here..
  https://fonts.google.com/?query=lato&selection.family=Lato:300,300i,400,400i,700,900
  This code will increase your PageSpeed.
  There are lots of great Web Safe Fonts available, you can use these instead of using Google Fonts.
  https://technumero.com/use-web-safe-fonts-over-web-fonts/
  Reply
healths lifes
October 8, 2017
nice article about remove qurey string
Reply
AriBaa
December 6, 2017
Code works! I tend to over complicate things when it comes to WP. lol
Cheers,
AriBaa
Reply
Erwin Zoer
December 11, 2017
For W3 Total Cache, the query strings can be removed by activating the option:
‘Remove query strings from static resources’
which can be found in the ‘Browser cache’ section
Reply
Nirmal Kumar
December 28, 2017
Even when I used W3 total cache plugin, still some static resources have some query strings.
Reply
Howard
February 19, 2018
Hi can php be put into
code snippets “ plugin?
Also… I only saw query strings appear the other day as I started to get comments on my blog. Getting rid of avatars and gravitars wouldn’t help and Easy load Comments would not remove them either!
Howard
Reply
Jason Masud
March 6, 2018
It works for but not enough. Still, my Remove query strings from static resources Score is F(30). I am using W3 Total Cache. Please help me.
Reply
- Saurabh K
  April 22, 2018
  You can use the code along with W3TC plugin.
  Reply
Haris khan
March 20, 2018
amazing post and 3rd method is actually great where we don’t need any pluggin….
Keep writing such a wonderful article…
Thanks for sharing
Reply
Ondari
April 10, 2018
Thank you! Saurabh K
I just used W3 total cache and loading speed has reduced from 3.82 to 2.23 seconds. But there are still many of these query strings. Is there a way I can remove all of them and reduce my loading speed even more?
Many Thanks
Reply
- Saurabh K
  April 22, 2018
  Hi Ondari,
  You can use the code along with the W3TC plugin. It should minimize the no. of query strings.
  Thank you for stopping by.
  Reply
AMAN KUMAR SINGH
May 10, 2018
1st plugin not work for my site but w3 total cache is fantastic to remove query string and caching.
Reply
Ekene Onwughalu
May 22, 2018
Thanks for this
Reply
Hasibul Hasan
May 26, 2018
Thanks a lot bro……
Reply
Muhammad Jahanzaib
June 16, 2018
Great Post But Please Change The W3 Cache Method Because i could Not found the File, You Said and Showing Picture in Post, So Please Change and Tell me Basic Method, How i Remove Manually 100%
Reply
- Saurabh K
  June 18, 2018
  Use the code instead.
  Reply
Morino Ravenberg
July 15, 2018
Doesn’t cut it; code adding is risky cuz you might break your website, and those mentioned plugins have annoying side effects.
Reply
Sugumar
August 10, 2018
Very nice tutorial! Thanks for Technumero
Reply
Ali
August 27, 2018
Hi Saurabh K , i want to remove qurey string from my website i read your article its nice and make sense , but i couldn’t function.php in my opencart 2.3.0.2, do you have any idea where i can look for it
Thanks in advance
Reply
Milos
October 16, 2018
Ahhh that pop-up. Shoulda liked this when I had the chance, now I have to search for like us on facebook button -_-
Great content buddy, makes perfect sense, now all I need to do is to put it to use. Thank you and wish me luck!
Reply
- Saurabh K
  October 20, 2018
  Hi Milos, Hope you have implemented the hacks. Let me know if any support required, i would be happy to help.
  Thanks for stopping by.
  Reply
Latrice
November 18, 2018
Frankly, I think that’s absolutely good stuff.
Reply
Chawli
November 27, 2018
really helpful post for me
Reply