Crawl cleanup

WordPress adds several links and scripts to the head of every page. Most sites never need them, but crawlers still find and fetch them. Crawl cleanup lets you remove each one with its own switch.

Only the output goes away. Feeds, the REST API, oEmbed and shortlinks keep working for anyone who uses them directly.

All six switches are off by default, so nothing changes until you turn one on.

The six switches

Switch	What it removes	What keeps working
Remove RSS feed links	The posts, comments and post comments feed links in the head.	The feeds themselves, for example /feed/.
Remove the shortlink	The ?p=123 shortlink in the head and in the Link HTTP header.	Shortlinks still redirect to the post.
Remove the RSD link	Really Simple Discovery, only used by old blog editors over XML-RPC.	Nothing else changes.
Remove oEmbed discovery links	The oEmbed links in the head.	Other sites can still embed your posts by their address.
Remove the REST API link	The link in the head and in the Link HTTP header.	The REST API, the block editor and plugins that use it.
Remove WordPress emoji scripts and styles	The emoji script and style on every page.	Browsers show emoji on their own.

Turn on a switch

1. Go to RankFlect SEO → Settings → Robots & AI crawlers.
2. Find the Crawl cleanup card: "Remove links and scripts most sites do not need from every page's head, so crawlers fetch less. Nothing else changes."
3. Turn on the switches you want.
4. Click Save changes.

To check the result, view the source of your home page while logged out. For the shortlink and the REST API link, also check the response headers, for example with curl -I https://example.com/.

Each change is recorded in the Change Log as a settings change, so you can undo it there.

Which switches to use

• Emoji scripts and styles is safe on almost every site and saves a script and a style on every page.
• RSD link is only for old desktop blog editors. Most sites can remove it.
• Shortlink and oEmbed discovery links are rarely used by visitors. Remove them if you want a lighter head.
• RSS feed links help feed readers find your feed. Keep them if your readers subscribe by RSS. The feed still works if you remove the links, but readers have to know its address.
• REST API link is only a pointer to the API. Removing it does not turn the API off.

Tip Turn the switches on one at a time and check your site after each one. If something looks wrong, turn that switch off again.

How this relates to security hardening

The security hardening switches in the site audit (XML-RPC, user enumeration, the file editor and the WordPress version) are separate. Crawl cleanup only removes links and scripts from the page output.

FAQ

Will this improve my rankings?

No promise can be made about rankings. Crawl cleanup reduces the number of extra URLs crawlers find and makes each page a little lighter. It does not change your content or how search engines judge it.

Does removing the REST API link break the block editor?

No. The editor talks to the REST API directly. Only the link in the page head and the HTTP header is removed.

Can I still embed my posts on other sites?

Yes. Other sites can embed a post by its address. Only the discovery links in your page head are removed.

Is Crawl cleanup a Pro feature?

No. It is free in RankFlect SEO.