How to Replace WordPress Plugins with Optimized Code Snippets

Every new WordPress install can be improved with plugins. But too many plugins can cause your site to run much slower and feel surprisingly bloated.

There’s good reason to install plugins but if you can replace a plugin with PHP code it’s often easier to do so. But how do you know which plugins you need vs. which ones can be replaced?

Thankfully there’s a new site made for this situation called "You Might Not Need That WordPress Plugin". It’s a pretty long name but it’s quick to use.

Read Also: 5 Questions to Ask before Installing a WordPress Plugin

On the homepage you get a big list of WordPress features with code snippets to replace existing plugins. You can filter code snippets by keywords or just browse everything at once. Since everything’s on a single page it’s easy to search through and copy/paste codes as you find them.

The site already has over a dozen different snippets that help you extend WordPress without any plugins. These snippets include custom post types, custom shortcodes, 301 redirects, and adding your own custom JS/CSS files to the header.

Every code snippet has a button to auto-copy the snippet to your clipboard for easy transport. You’ll also find a brief description of each snippet along with links to the WordPress codex for any main functions.

This site is incredible and it’s still a work in progress so there’s room for new contributions.

If you find any code snippets that can replace common WP plugins you should tweet the site’s owner Luke Liasi @lukeliasi. He’s open to all new suggestions and will frequently update to ideally become the ultimate resource to help WordPress users optimize their WP websites.