Bits of .NET

📦 Never Hardcode Script Tags Again

Hardcoded <script> tags cause conflicts. wp_enqueue_script() handles dependencies, order, and conditional loading.

📝 Enqueue in functions.php

function my_theme_assets() {
    // Styles
    wp_enqueue_style('my-theme', get_stylesheet_uri());
    wp_enqueue_style('custom', get_template_directory_uri() . '/css/custom.css', array(), '1.0.0');
    
    // Scripts
    wp_enqueue_script('my-script', get_template_directory_uri() . '/js/main.js', array('jquery'), '1.0.0', true);
    
    // Localize script (pass PHP data to JS)
    wp_localize_script('my-script', 'myAjax', array(
        'ajax_url' => admin_url('admin-ajax.php'),
        'nonce' => wp_create_nonce('my_nonce')
    ));
}
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'my_theme_assets');

🎯 Conditional Loading

// Only on single post pages
if (is_single()) {
    wp_enqueue_script('post-specific', '...');
}

// Only on contact page
if (is_page('contact')) {
    wp_enqueue_script('google-maps', 'https://maps.googleapis.com/...');
}

// Only for logged-in users
if (is_user_logged_in()) {
    wp_enqueue_script('logged-in', '...');
}

// Deregister unused scripts (performance)
wp_deregister_script('wp-embed');
wp_dequeue_style('wp-block-library');

💡 Best Practices

• Always load jQuery from WordPress (not external CDN)
• Set $in_footer = true for non-critical scripts
• Version numbers for cache busting
• Deregister scripts you don’t need (emoji, embed)