How to Remove Shortlink in WordPress

What Is this feature?

Remove Shortlink in Classic Monks strips the WP shortlink tag from the page head, reducing unnecessary HTTP headers and potential attack surface. This is one of many WordPress optimization features available in the Performance tab.

Why You Need It

The WordPress shortlink is a legacy feature for blog clients. It’s unnecessary for modern sites and can be a minor security risk.

How to Enable this Feature in WordPress

1. 1
   Step 1

   Navigate to Settings

   Click into the Classic Monks plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard.

2. 2
   Step 2

   Go to the Performance Tab

   Click on the Performance menu, then click the WP Optimizations subtab.

3. 3
   Step 3

   Enable the Feature

   Toggle on the feature.

   

4. 4
   Step 4

   Save Changes

   Click Save Changes.

5. 5
   Step 5

   Test

   Clear your browser cache and visit the frontend. Verify the feature is working as expected.

Configuration Options

No nested options.

What Gets Affected

• The feature behavior: enabled as configured
• The site performance: improved as described

What Does NOT Get Affected

• The WordPress admin: unchanged
• The site content: unchanged
• The plugin functionality: unchanged

Common Use Cases

Security

The shortlink can be used in some WordPress attacks. Removing it reduces the attack surface.

SEO optimization

The shortlink is unnecessary for most sites and adds clutter to the page source.

Developer integration

This feature registers 1 WordPress hook in head-cleanup.php:

Filters:

• pre_cm_update_option_remove_shortlink calls cm_toggle_shortlink() (Removes wp_shortlink_wp_head from wp_head)

// Hooked in head-cleanup.php
add_filter( 'pre_cm_update_option_remove_shortlink', 'cm_toggle_shortlink' );

The feature modifies WordPress behavior by registering or removing hooks. Disabling it reverses those changes and WordPress returns to its default behavior.

Before you enable this feature

1. Test on staging first to verify no conflicts with your theme or other plugins
2. Check dependent plugins that may rely on the functionality being modified
3. Monitor after enabling for any unexpected behavior on the frontend

How it works under the feature

This feature runs during the WordPress initialization phase. When enabled, its PHP code registers hooks that modify specific WordPress behaviors. The changes are non-destructive and reversible.

No database schema changes are made. The feature state is stored as a boolean value in the wp_options table and can be toggled at any time from the admin settings.

Troubleshooting

2 problems and how to fix each one.