Disable oEmbed
Removes wp-embed.js and the oEmbed discovery links, and switches off the endpoint other sites use to embed your posts.
What it does
Removes the embed handler and its discovery links
Disable oEmbed is a Vectro performance feature that removes the wp-embed.js script and the oEmbed discovery links from your pages and turns off the oEmbed endpoint that lets other sites embed your posts, while embeds from the providers WordPress supports keep working.
oEmbed is the mechanism that turns a pasted YouTube or Twitter URL into an embedded player or card. To support it, WordPress loads wp-embed.js on every page and adds discovery links to your head that let other sites embed your content in return.
This feature removes both. The script stops loading and the discovery links stop being printed.
Embeds from the providers WordPress supports out of the box, such as YouTube, Vimeo and Spotify, keep working, because WordPress already knows their endpoints. What stops is discovery for everything else: a link to a site WordPress does not list as a provider, such as another WordPress blog, is no longer looked up for embed data and stays a plain link.
Why it matters
Most sites carry it without ever using it
Every page on a default WordPress install requests wp-embed.js, whether or not that page contains a single embed. On a content site that only ever publishes text and images, that is a request and a parse repeated on every page view for a feature that never fires.
The discovery links have a separate consideration. They exist so other sites can embed your posts, which also means they advertise an endpoint that returns structured data about your content. If you have no interest in being embedded elsewhere, removing them is one fewer thing exposed.
How to use it
Check for embeds, then disable
Technical detail
What is removed
Vectro dequeues the wp-embed script, removes the oEmbed discovery link action from the head, and removes the oEmbed host JavaScript filter. It also disables the REST route that serves oEmbed data about your posts, and turns off oEmbed discovery, so only providers WordPress already lists are embedded.
Existing embeds already saved in post content are not modified. If you disable the feature later, they render again exactly as before.
wp-embed.jsCompatibility
Vectro detects these and steps aside
You can override any automatic deferral from the Compatibility panel in Vectro’s dashboard if you would rather Vectro handle it.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does disabling oEmbed do in WordPress?
Disabling oEmbed removes the wp-embed.js script and the oEmbed discovery links from your pages and turns off the endpoint other sites use to embed your posts. Pasted YouTube, Vimeo or Spotify URLs still embed, because WordPress already knows those providers.
Does Vectro disable oEmbed work with Perfmatters?
No – if Perfmatters is active, Vectro detects it and disables its own oEmbed removal automatically. Perfmatters handles it instead so the script is only dequeued once.
How do I disable oEmbed in Vectro?
Go to Vectro > Performance in wp-admin, toggle Disable oEmbed on, then clear your page cache. Check a few posts afterwards to confirm nothing that should be embedded has become a plain URL.
Is disabling oEmbed in Vectro free or Pro?
Yes, Disabling oEmbed is free. It is included in the free Vectro plugin on WordPress.org with no account required.
Will disabling oEmbed break my existing YouTube embeds?
No – YouTube is one of the providers WordPress lists, so YouTube URLs keep embedding. What stops working is embedding from sites WordPress does not list, which stay plain links while the feature is on. Your post content is not modified, so turning the toggle off restores those immediately.
Related features
Strip the rest of the defaults
Vectro Pro adds minification and WooCommerce script optimisation for shop-heavy sites. See Pro plans
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