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
Step 1: Navigate to Settings
Click into the Classic Monks plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard.
Step 2: Go to the Performance Tab
Click on the Performance menu, then click the WP Optimizations subtab.
Step 3: Enable the Feature
Toggle on the feature.
Step 4: Save Changes
Click Save Changes.
Step 5: Test
Clear your browser cache and visit the frontend. Verify the feature is working as expected.
Configuration Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| This feature | Master toggle. | Off |
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.
Troubleshooting
The feature is not taking effect
Cause: The toggle is off, or a caching plugin is serving the old page.
Fix: Verify the toggle is on. Clear all caching layers.
The feature breaks another plugin
Cause: Another plugin depends on the functionality that this feature disables.
Fix: Disable this feature if it breaks another plugin. The features are designed to be toggled independently.
Developer integration
This feature registers 1 WordPress hook in head-cleanup.php:
Filters:
pre_cm_update_option_remove_shortlinkcallscm_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
- Test on staging first to verify no conflicts with your theme or other plugins
- Check dependent plugins that may rely on the functionality being modified
- 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.