Plugin info

Total downloads: 477
Active installs: 0
Total reviews: 1
Average rating: 5
Support threads opened: 0
Support threads resolved: 0 (0%)
Available in: 1 language(s)
Contributors: 2
Last updated: 4/21/2025 (254 days ago)
Added to WordPress: 3/24/2025 (0 years old)
Minimum WordPress version: 5.0
Tested up to WordPress version: 6.8.3
Minimum PHP version: 7.4

Maintenance & Compatibility

Maintenance score

Stale • Last updated 254 days ago • 1 reviews

40/100

Is Remove Empty Shortcodes abandoned?

Likely maintained (last update 254 days ago).

Compatibility

Requires WordPress: 5.0
Tested up to: 6.8.3
Requires PHP: 7.4

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Description

Remove Empty Shortcodes helps maintain clean content by removing shortcodes that no longer work or generate output. This commonly happens when:

  • You’ve deactivated a plugin that provided shortcodes
  • You’re trying different plugins and some left behind inactive shortcodes
  • You have shortcodes from plugins that weren’t properly uninstalled

Key Features

  • Automatically removes inactive shortcodes from displayed content
  • Preserves your original content in the database
  • Works with both posts and pages
  • Handles both self-closing and wrapped shortcodes
  • Zero configuration required

How It Works

The plugin checks your content for shortcodes when pages are displayed. If it finds shortcodes that:
* Don’t produce any output
* Aren’t registered with WordPress
* Are empty or inactive

It removes them from the displayed content while keeping your original content intact in the database.

Use Cases

  • Clean up content after removing plugins that used shortcodes
  • Remove inactive shortcodes without editing posts manually
  • Maintain clean content for readers and search engines
  • Preserve original content in case you reinstall removed plugins

Installation

  1. Upload remove-empty-shortcodes to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory
  2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
  3. That’s it! No configuration needed

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this modify my database content?

No. The plugin only filters content when it’s displayed. Your original content remains unchanged in the database.

What happens if I reinstall a plugin that uses the removed shortcodes?

Since your original content is preserved, the shortcodes will start working again automatically when you reinstall the plugin that handles them.

Does this work with all shortcodes?

Yes, the plugin works with any WordPress shortcode, whether from themes or plugins.

Will this affect shortcodes that are working correctly?

No. The plugin only removes shortcodes that are either unregistered or produce no output.

Is there any configuration needed?

No. The plugin works automatically once activated.

Review feed

No reviews available

Screenshots

No screenshots available

Changelog

0.7.0

  • Update support for WordPress 6.8

0.6.0

  • Added support for multi-line shortcode detection
  • Added a banner and icon for the WP plugin repository
  • Improved handling of unregistered shortcodes
  • Updated shortcode pattern matching
  • Removed Composer dependencies
  • Enhanced performance and reliability

0.5.0

  • Added latest version of PHPStan
  • Fixed page content processing
  • Updated namespace structure

0.4.0

  • Added page post type support
  • Fixed subscriber content handling

0.3.0

  • Initial public release
  • Added standard post type support
  • Improved shortcode detection