Performance
What a forms plugin costs a page in CSS, JavaScript and requests, and how to keep that cost near zero.
8 articles
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Core Forms 4.8
Every Core Forms stylesheet and script is served minified, cutting the front-end CSS and JavaScript payload by about 23 percent, with readable sources still in the package. Page-level form detection now covers reusable blocks, widgets and template parts. Released August 29, 2026.
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Core Forms 4.5
Standalone form pages at /collect/form-slug/, front-end assets loaded per feature instead of all at once, a native no-JavaScript submission path, and explicit analytics and partial-entry controls. Released July 22, 2026.
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Lean WordPress forms for course creators
Course landing pages live or die on funnel speed. Here's the form stack I use on course sites where every kilobyte counts.
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A fast Mailchimp signup form for WordPress
Mailchimp's official embed code is 90 KB on a fresh page. Here's how to wire a Mailchimp signup form that's 4 KB and still does double opt-in.
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Stop the forms-plugin stylesheet bloat
Most forms plugins force-load 30-100 KB of CSS on every page, whether the page has a form or not. Here's the audit, and the fix.
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The honest case for AJAX form submission
AJAX submission is the default in every modern forms plugin. But should it be? When it helps, when it hurts, and how to switch modes.
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Load a WordPress form without 200 KB of JS
A breakdown of what's in a typical forms plugin's frontend bundle, and how to cut it without losing anything important.
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Your contact form doesn't need a builder
After 15 years of building forms, I stopped using drag-and-drop builders. Here's the math on what you actually lose, and what you get back.
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Stop reading. Ship a form.
All these notes are from running Core Forms on real client sites. Use code
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