Multiple jQuery script versions being called

londonblue

Hi,

I've noticed I have several different versions of jQuery being called on my pages and I'm not sure where they're all coming from. It is possible my theme is adding in one of them but there are a number of other instances which I don't think are.

They're all locally served (ie on my domain)

/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.6.1
/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.6.3

/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.3.2
/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.4.0

/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/core.min.js?ver=1.13.2

/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/effect.min.js?ver=1.13.2

I've already got the option set for loading just the core of jQuery but I'm concerned some of those other ones are not required. I've delayed those scripts as per a recommendation on the script delay settings, and hasn't appeared to have an adverse effect on my site, but I presume it is still eating bandwidth.

Any ideas how I can solve this issue?

Mark_P

londonblue Hey!

Thank you for reaching out. The wp-includes directory is an essential WordPress folder, apart from wp-admin and wp-content. While wp-admin deals with the WordPress dashboard panel, wp-content stores your themes and plugins. On the other hand, wp-includes contains all the remaining files and folders necessary for your website's smooth operation.

Therefore it is recommended to not modify any of the content in this folder. Here is a breakdown of each of those JS files:

/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js: This is the jQuery library file used by WordPress, which provides functionality to manipulate HTML and handle events on web pages. The "?ver=" parameter specifies the version of the file being used.

/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js: This file is also part of the jQuery library, but it's used to help older code work with newer versions of jQuery. This file is used to provide backward compatibility for jQuery code that may not work with the latest version.

/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/core.min.js: This file is part of the jQuery UI library, which provides a set of user interface interactions, effects, widgets, and themes. The core.min.js file contains the basic functionality for jQuery UI.

/wp-includes/js/jquery/ui/effect.min.js: This file is also part of the jQuery UI library, but it's used for creating animated effects on web pages, such as fading in/out, sliding, and toggling elements.

The versions of these files can change between different versions of WordPress, which is why you see different "?ver=" parameters in the URLs.

These JavaScript files are essential for WordPress to function correctly, and they are loaded automatically by WordPress when needed.

londonblue

I am aware there can be times when multiple versions of jQuery can be included, with noconflict checking, but most of the time, especially with such minimal version differences, it seems an unnecessary waste of resources to have multiple versions loading (as they surely are if they're in the final output code). I've deferred them all now which should help with initial loading times.

I'm not taking about removing unique jQuery scripts, but having only one of each. I can't see there will be any major difference between, say, ver=3.6.1 and 3.6.3 for most scripts which rely on it.

londonblue

Pages now seem to be only loading one version of each distinct jQuery file even though the script delay configuration was showing multiple versions as being present on a particular page. Strange.

Mark_P

londonblue Thanks for your reply. Deferring jQuery scripts can improve website performance by reducing the amount of code that needs to be loaded upfront. However, there are some potential downsides to deferring jQuery scripts that you should be aware of.

One downside is that deferring scripts can sometimes result in slower load times for pages with a lot of JavaScript, as the browser may need to wait longer to execute the deferred scripts. Additionally, deferring scripts can also make it more difficult to debug JavaScript errors, as the code may not execute in the expected order.

Regarding your specific situation, if you are seeing only one version of each distinct jQuery file being loaded, even though multiple versions were present on a particular page, it is possible that the defer configuration is causing conflicts or errors. You should investigate the configuration further and ensure that it is correctly handling multiple versions of jQuery. If there are errors or conflicts, they may prevent some parts of the page from working correctly or cause unexpected behavior.