Maintain
Performance & SEO
Speed settings and search metadata, and how both behave alongside a dedicated plugin.
Two Theme Options tabs, both about what your site sends to browsers and search engines.
Performance settings #
At NovaSpark → Theme Options → Performance. Each option trades a feature for speed, so turn something off only if you are not using it.
Change a few, then measure. Turn on the safe ones below, run a speed test, and only then go further. Switching everything on at once and finding something broken leaves you with no idea which setting did it.
Generally safe to enable on most sites:
- Remove emoji scripts — removes a script modern browsers do not need.
- Preload fonts — starts fonts loading sooner, so text settles faster.
- Conditional icon CSS — loads icon fonts only on pages that use them.
- Lazy load images — defers off-screen images.
- Disable embeds — unless you paste WordPress posts from other sites.
Worth more thought:
- Defer jQuery — a real gain, but some older plugins expect jQuery immediately. Test the site, especially forms and sliders.
- Disable XML-RPC — safe unless you post from a phone app or use Jetpack.
- Block Google Fonts in Elementor — stops Elementor fetching fonts from Google. Only if you serve your own; otherwise fonts fall back.
- Smooth scroll — a feel change, not a speed one. Some people find it disorienting.
Performance
| Setting | Default | Accepts |
|---|---|---|
| Font Display Strategy | SWAP — show fallback immediately | SWAP — show fallback immediately, BLOCK — hide text briefly, FALLBACK — short block, then swap, OPTIONAL — use font only if already cached |
| Preload Primary Fonts | On | On or off |
| Block External Google Fonts | On | On or off |
| Load Icon Sets Only When Used | On | On or off |
| Remove Block Editor CSS | On | On or off |
| Lazy Load Images | On | On or off |
| Remove Emoji Scripts | On | On or off |
| Defer jQuery | Off | On or off |
| Smooth Scrolling | Off | On or off |
| Scroll Smoothness | 5 | 1–10 |
| Disable Embeds | Off | On or off |
| Disable XML-RPC | Off | On or off |
| Heartbeat Frequency | — | Default (15s), Every 60 seconds, Every 2 minutes, Disable on the frontend only |
| Elementor CSS Delivery | — | Elementor's setting, Inline (fewer requests), External files |
| Preconnect Origins | — | Free text |
SEO settings #
At NovaSpark → Theme Options → SEO Optimization. Enough for a site that does not need a dedicated plugin: a meta description, canonical URLs, Open Graph and Twitter card tags, a social sharing image, and keeping search results out of the index.
SEO
| Setting | Default | Accepts |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Description | On | On or off |
| Canonical URLs | On | On or off |
| Hide Search Results & 404s | On | On or off |
| Social Share Cards | On | On or off |
| X / Twitter Cards | On | On or off |
| Card Size | Large image | Large image, Small thumbnail |
| Default Share Image | — | An image from your Media Library |
Working alongside an SEO plugin #
If you use Yoast, Rank Math or similar, turn NovaSpark’s SEO options off. Two plugins writing the same tags produces duplicates, and search engines have to guess which to believe.
| Setup | Do this |
|---|---|
| No SEO plugin | Turn NovaSpark’s SEO options on. They cover the basics. |
| Yoast, Rank Math or similar | Turn NovaSpark’s SEO options off and configure the plugin instead. |
NovaSpark does not detect the clash for you, so this is a decision to make once when you install the plugin.
Speed checklist #
In the order that usually pays off most:
- Optimise your imagesAlmost always the biggest win. See Image Optimizer.
- Install a caching pluginLiteSpeed Cache or WP Rocket. NovaSpark suggests one during setup.
- Turn on the safe performance optionsThe first list above.
- Trim your fontsEvery extra weight is another file. Two or three across the site is plenty.
- Turn off icon sets you do not useAt NovaSpark → Icons.
- Go easy on animationReveal effects on every element cost more than they add.
- MeasurePageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix, on a real page rather than the homepage alone.
Hosting sets the ceiling. A slow server cannot be fixed from a settings screen. If a site is still slow after all of this, the host is usually the reason.