How To Disable Autoptimize’s Toolbar Without A Plugin

Autoptimize is a great plugin because it’s reliable and not prone to breakage. Other optimization plugins like Better WordPress Minify, WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, and more are not as reliable as Autoptimize. However, this plugin has an obnoxious menu item that it adds to your WordPress Toolbar that allows you to clear the cache.

I find the toolbar to be annoying. It feels like an eyesore in the admin panel because it sticks out. Instead of being a simple clear cache link in the default styling, you get something much worse.

For example, why does the green circle open an even bigger green circle? I know, I am being petty over small things. However, one thing that I am a stickler for is documentation and Autoptimize does this really well. Therefore, if you are like me and hate the toolbar, I am going to show you how to disable the Autoptimize toolbar.

/* Disable Autoptimize Toolbar */

add_filter('autoptimize_filter_toolbar_show','__return_false');

You can add the above code in one of the following places:

  • functions.php file of a child theme
  • standalone plugin

This code is a filter. This means if you disable the plugin for whatever reason, it will not show an error. Also, if you want to manually clear the cache, you can head to the Autoptimize settings page to clear it. In fact, this is the right way to clear the Autoptimize cache.

Simple things like this may sound silly, but often us developers do some strange styling. To see what I mean, look at the Divi admin panel. It looks like the Divi admin panel sits on top of the WordPress admin panel, instead of being integrated with it. As a developer, if I have to interact with it on the frontend and backend, I expect it to look like everything else. This is why I dislike plugins who use colored icons for their admin panel menu listing. Stick to standard styling and you make me feel better, which everyone wins then!

Note: While the post is satirical in regards to styling, Autoptimize is an awesome plugin. Give it a shot and you will not be disappointed! Or hire me if you want your website optimized properly. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected]

scott hartley

About the author

Scott is a web performance geek, lover of all things coffee, and avid video game player. His WordPress work delves into web performance, web security, and SEO.

Leave a Comment