Smart WordPress Core Blocks Management: Less Bloat, More Speed

I had a client come to me, a fairly complex e-commerce site with a lot of moving parts. Performance was dragging, especially in the backend. They were frustrated, and rightly so. Turns out, another team had built out pages using pretty much every WordPress core block under the sun, thinking “core equals good.” But when you’re talking about a site handling thousands of products and custom data, that mentality bites you, hard.

The immediate thought for many, myself included early in my career, is to just lean into whatever WordPress gives you. Core blocks are there, they’re convenient. What could go wrong? Well, a lot. It’s easy to assume that because a block is ‘core,’ it’s perfectly optimized for every single use case. Not always, man. That’s where the bloat starts, the render times increase, and suddenly your admin panel is crawling.

We saw this highlighted in a recent WordPress Dev Chat on November 19, 2025, where the discussion around core block decisions brought up a critical point: not every core block serves everyone. The example of the ‘Math block’ was perfect—super niche, and for the vast majority of sites, it’s just dead weight. Yet, it’s there. And if you’re not careful, it’s loading with everything else.

Strategizing Your WordPress Core Blocks Implementation

So, what’s the pragmatic approach? It’s about being intentional. When a new WordPress version drops, like the upcoming 6.9 with its new features like improvements to the Interactivity API and changes to the post editor, you need to evaluate. Don’t just absorb everything. Does your client’s site genuinely need the new functionality a block provides? Or is it a feature that will just add to the overall footprint without providing real value?

For my client’s e-commerce site, we identified several core blocks that were simply not needed. Things like the default ‘Archives’ block when they had custom taxonomy archives, or ‘Tag Cloud’ when their navigation handled all tagging. Every block, even a core one, comes with its own CSS, JavaScript, and markup. Multiply that by dozens of unnecessary blocks, and you’ve got a problem. The solution isn’t always to build a custom block from scratch. Sometimes, it’s about knowing what to remove.

Here’s a simple way to unregister a core block you know you won’t use. This goes in your theme’s functions.php or a custom plugin. Trust me on this, a little housekeeping goes a long way:

<?php
/**
 * Remove specific core blocks.
 *
 * @return void
 */
function bbioon_unregister_specific_core_blocks() {
    // Example: Unregister the 'Archives' block.
    unregister_block_type( 'core/archives' );

    // Example: Unregister the 'Tag Cloud' block if not used.
    unregister_block_type( 'core/tag-cloud' );

    // Add more blocks as needed based on your site's requirements.
    // For instance, if you don't need the Math block (as discussed in dev chat)
    // unregister_block_type( 'core/math' ); // Hypothetical block
}
add_action( 'init', 'bbioon_unregister_specific_core_blocks' );
?>

This tiny snippet might look simple, but its impact on performance and administrative clarity can be significant. By selectively managing your WordPress core blocks, you cut down on unnecessary code, reduce potential conflicts, and keep your site lean and fast. It’s about taking control, rather than letting WordPress dictate every single feature available to your content creators. This proactive approach ensures your site remains performant and maintainable.

The Real Cost of Convenience

The lesson here is simple: convenience comes at a cost if not managed properly. While WordPress core blocks are powerful, blindly adopting them without a critical eye can lead to bloat and performance issues. Always ask if a block genuinely serves your project’s specific needs before letting it load. Your clients will thank you, and your site’s performance metrics will prove it.

Look, this stuff gets complicated fast. If you’re tired of debugging someone else’s mess and just want your site to work, drop my team a line. We’ve probably seen it before.