Asset CleanUp Pro Review: Page Speed Accelerator
There are now numerous WordPress performance plugins available, and many of them work in a similar manner. More and more of these extensions want to be considered an all-in-one solution, and as a result, they try to offer a little bit of everything, though not every developer is equally successful. Asset CleanUp Pro optimizes your WordPress website by removing unnecessary (and frequently large) JavaScript libraries, CSS files, and HTML code. All of this unused code is known as “assets.” Asset cleanup ensures that your site loads code only when it is required.
Asset CleanUp Pro: Page Speed Booster does not attempt to do so. Rather, it states immediately after installation that the plugin works best in conjunction with other performance plugins, such as caching. This strikes me as an intriguing starting point for a performance plugin.
Personally, I appreciate this direct honesty, as well as when developers concentrate on a specific area. Why? Because it usually results in that area being optimized very specifically. This is because, particularly with WordPress, every developer has strengths and weaknesses. As a result, I believe that the well-known adage applies here more than anywhere else: If you do everything, you can’t do anything well.
I wanted to find out what the Asset CleanUp developer can do and how useful the extension is for WordPress for this blog post. I downloaded the plugin and put it through its paces for this purpose. Now I’ll tell you whether it was able to truly persuade me in the end or whether it disappointed me throughout.
What does Asset CleanUp Pro cost?
| Basic | Plus | Unlimited Sites | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sites, | |||
| Updates & Support | 1 year 1 | year 1 year Price: $ | |
| 49.00 per year | $ 79.00 / year | $ 149.00 / year | |
| To the offer: | To the offer: | To the offer: |
Asset Cleanup Lite vs. Pro
The question is always raised as to whether the Pro version is absolutely necessary or if the free Lite version suffices.
First of all, I would like to show you the functions in the comparison table:
| Function | Lite | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Manage CSS and JavaScript files on the homepage, in posts, pages and custom post types (e.g. WooCommerce product pages, download articles from Easy Digital Downloads) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Bulk Unload: Everywhere (site-wide), on specific pages and post types, add load exceptions | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Manage CSS and JavaScript files in the dashboard (default) and in the frontend view (bottom of the page), if selected. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Enable “test mode” to apply the plugin’s changes only to the logged-in administrator for debugging purposes | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Minimize remaining loaded CSS and JavaScript files (with the option to add exceptions) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Combine the remaining loaded CSS and JavaScript files into fewer files from each and location (with the option to add exceptions) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Remove unused elements from the and , including the following link tags: Really Simple Discovery (RSD), Windows Live Writer, REST API, Posts/Pages shortlink, Post’s Relational, WordPress Generators (also good for security), RSS Feed links. Valid HTML comments are also removed (exceptions can be added), while conditional Internet Explorer comments are preserved. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Site-Wide Unload for common elements that are often unused, such as: WordPress Emojis, jQuery Migrate, Comment Reply (when WP is not used as a blog) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Disable XML-RPC protocol support partially or completely | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Inline CSS files | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Inline JavaScript files | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Instruction to the browser to download a CSS/JS file based on the visitor’s screen size (e.g., on a desktop device, but not on a mobile device) | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Move CSS loaded in to reduce rendering-blocking resources | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Manage CSS and JavaScript files for categories, tags, custom taxonomy pages, date and author archive pages, search results, and 404 not found pages | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Manage hardcoded (unqueued) CSS and JavaScript files | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Move CSS and JavaScript files from to (to reduce render blocking) or vice versa (for very early triggering) | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Applying the “async” and “defer” attributes to loaded JavaScript files | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Priority in releasing new features and other improvements (updates intended for both Lite and Pro plugins are released to Pro users first) | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Priority customer support | ❌ | ✔️ |
Assets CleanUP Lite vs Pro
Why you absolutely need the Pro version
True, you can use the Asset CleanUp plugin in its free version as well, but you will quickly reach the set limits. Unfortunately, the free version is severely limited, and any option that delves deeper into the specifics of an appropriate optimization is thus locked and reserved for the pro version. The Plugin Manager, for example, is only available to Pro users. The CSS and JS Manager is also throttled appropriately, as it can load and unload by page but not by categories, tags, search, or other criteria. As a result, the plugin’s free version is merely a preview of the possibilities available in the pro version.
The Pro version currently costs $49.00 per year, but it is not necessarily required every year because only updates and support are likely paid for. So, if you want to skip a few months, you can do so theoretically. You pay $ 79.00 for three pages and $ 149.00 for infinity.
What is the Asset Cleanup plugin for?
The Asset CleanUp WordPress plugin is a traditional performance plugin. It, like Swift Performance or even Perfmatters, aims to improve WordPress performance through simple optimizations. This increased efficiency is usually reflected in better, i.e. faster loading times, which results in more visitors and higher rankings. However, when compared to other WordPress performance plugins, the Asset CleanUp plugin places a strong emphasis on the assets that give it its name. As a result, it is primarily concerned with resources, in this case useless CSS and JavaScript files. Because of the basic structure of the content management system, there are usually a lot of them in WordPress.
As a result of the CMS’s structure, this situation exists. WordPress themes and plugins enable users to integrate large and small customizations. These are then accompanied by their own CSS and Javascript files. However, most of the time, these files are always and everywhere integrated, even if the function or element that requires them is not even present on the relevant page. The Asset CleanUp plugin seeks to address precisely this issue. It removes unnecessary files and, in some cases, drastically reduces page size. The value of optimization is ultimately determined by the number of plugins used and the state of the CSS and Javascript files in each case.
Configure asset cleanup for WordPress correctly.
For the first configuration, I recommend that you use the so-called test mode. All changes and optimizations are visible only to you as a logged in administrator of WordPress in the test mode, which Asset CleanUp thankfully provides by default. This way, you can see for yourself whether your blog is still functioning normally and whether the option has the desired effect. Asset Cleanup for WordPress is divided into several sections, the most important of which are three very clearly defined areas. I’d like to go over each of these sections with you here. But first, we’ll go over the settings, which serve as the foundation for all subsequent Asset CleanUp configurations.
Settings
Basic measures can be controlled in the Asset CleanUp settings. WordPress core assets, for example, can be hidden so that they are not accidentally locked. Similarly, you can change layout details and toggle the previously mentioned test mode on and off here. CSS and JS file minification is now standard, as is combining multiple files into a single one. Similarly, the oEmbed feature, like emojis, dashicons, and Gutenberg Blocks CSS or Comment Reply, can be turned off completely. The fundamentals. To avoid wasting time, I’ll say it straight and to the point. Under Settings, you’ll find unspecific optimization options, which are already integrated by other plugins and generally belong to
CSS & JS Manager
In the CSS and JS Manager, you can choose whether or not to load specific files from a list. This is done on a page-by-page basis. The CSS file that adds an author box to the post is usually unnecessary on the homepage. On the other hand, you’ll need a script that only displays a dynamic widget on the home page, not all subpages. This method allows you to drastically reduce page size because only what is needed is loaded per page. In theory, this is a simple and logical rule, but WordPress happily disregards it.
Plugin Manager
The Plugin Manager performs a similar function. You can use this setting to prevent plugins and their assets from being loaded everywhere in the blog. For example, if a plugin is only used in the backend, it must be integrated only in the backend, and vice versa. The popular Contact Form 7 plugin is mentioned as an example. This could be loaded only on the contact page, rather than always and everywhere. Such settings are necessary in order to have plugin bloat appear only on the pages where the plugins are actually used. In the worst-case scenario, the extensions bloat your blog everywhere, not just where they are active.
Bulk Changes
Bulk Changes are rules that apply to several pages of the same type or even the entire page. Similarly to the Overview section, you can check here for rules that are in effect and would automatically extend to multiple areas, if not all of them. Of course, they can be adjusted or corrected at this point.
Other
There are a few more functions that I have now mentioned separately. For example, web fonts, Google Fonts optimization, or CDN rewrite The plugin’s settings can also be exported and imported into another blog.
Settings per post
You can also make very specific settings in the editor for each post or page. You can see in the image how I disabled the loading of the CSS file for the Kadence Row block.
A very technical and complicated plugin
What I didn’t like about the extension from the start was its extremely technical appearance. Everything in the plugin has not been well integrated, nor has it been designed to be appealing. On the contrary, a lengthy English text explaining the risks and side effects awaits you immediately after the first installation. No problem, you reason, it is easily read, and one warning is better than no hint at all. I agree with you on that.
Unfortunately, this situation persists. The next text, including glowing yellow warnings, was waiting for me as soon as I switched to the settings. All of this is neither particularly well solved nor particularly catchy. On the contrary, especially if you’re new around here, you’d like to delete the extension right away. especially given that the text is highly technical and only available in English. Even as a professional, I find it all too complicated.
Unfortunately, this aspect pervades the entire plugin. Almost every setting is explained in detail, so that no hints are missed. Everything appears to have become overly complicated. Much more complicated than it is or should be. Sure, it’s a technical plugin, but I’ve rarely seen so many help texts and explanations, as well as so many poorly presented options, in a WordPress plugin. Especially nowadays, when almost all extensions attempt to be very appealing.
Asset Cleanup Alternative
The WordPress plugin Perfmatters should be mentioned as a direct competitor. The functions are nearly identical, but Asset CleanUp Pro goes much deeper.
Conclusion about the Asset Cleanup Extension
So, what should I say? Excellent. Asset CleanUp does one thing very well and rightly: it does not compromise. It is a technical and intertwined CSS and Javascript optimization plugin. As such, it’s not for new bloggers, and it’s not necessarily for starting an optimization; rather, it’s for fine-tuning at the end. If you want to use it, I believe you’ll need the Pro version as well as a technical understanding of what each feature does. Although the texts explain a lot, Asset CleanUp is not something that a beginner will simply install on their WordPress blog. But that’s okay because not everything has to be geared toward beginners. They’d be better off with Swiss Performance anyway.
For those who already know exactly what they want and how WordPress works with assets, the extension allows them to make the kind of detailed settings that other plugins frequently do not provide. In my opinion, the implementation could have been better, but the plugin delivers on its promises.
