Table of Contents
The Optimization Settings section in Ladder SEO is designed to improve site performance, reduce unnecessary indexing, and enhance security by disabling unwanted WordPress features that might slow down your website or expose unnecessary information to search engines and external bots.
By enabling these optimizations, you can prevent crawl waste, remove unnecessary metadata, and improve overall SEO efficiency.
Optimization Settings #
Remove Short links #
- Disables the automatic generation of shortlink URLs (
?p=1) for posts and pages. - Prevents search engines from indexing duplicate URLs, improving SEO clarity.
- Reduces unnecessary meta tags in your site’s HTML
<head>.
Remove REST API Links #
- Removes
<link rel='https://api.w.org/' href='https://www.website.com/wp-json/'>from your site. - Prevents exposing your WordPress REST API endpoints to external bots.
- Helps reduce security risks from unauthorized API access attempts.
Remove External System Links #
- Disables external publishing system links (
EditURI,RSD,XML-RPC). - Prevents third-party tools from automatically publishing content to your blog.
- Enhances security by restricting unwanted access to WordPress’s XML-RPC protocol.
Remove Generator Meta Tag #
- Removes the
<meta name='generator' content='WordPress 6.0.1'>tag. - Prevents exposure of your WordPress version, reducing hacker targeting risks.
- Eliminates unnecessary metadata cluttering your site’s HTML source code.
Remove Pingback HTTP Header #
- Disables the X-Pingback header (
X-Pingback: https://www.website.com/xmlrpc.php). - Prevents your site from being notified when others link to your content.
- Reduces spam and prevents WordPress XML-RPC DDoS attacks.
Remove Powered By HTTP Header #
- Removes the X-Powered-By header (
X-Powered-By: PHP/7.4.1). - Prevents exposing your site’s server details (PHP version, software stack, etc.).
- Improves security by making it harder for attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities.
By enabling these settings, Ladder SEO helps streamline your site’s code, improve page speed, reduce unnecessary indexing, and enhance security—ensuring a cleaner, faster, and more optimized website for both users and search engines.
