Understanding WordPress Enqueuing: The Problem
In the world of WordPress, you often need to add external resources, like a Google Font, to your website. WordPress has a function to help with this, known as wp_enqueue_style. Sometimes, however, there can be problems when you try to use this function.
WordPress typically adds a query parameter ver to your URL. This parameter is used to carry the versioning information when enqueuing files. While this could be helpful to manage updates for local files, it can create an issue when dealing with external URLs. In particular, PHP- the language that WordPress is written in- parses query parameters in a certain way that can mix up your URL and create confusion.
The Solution: Passing “”null””
The recommended solution for this issue is to pass a “”null”” value to the version parameter in the wp_enqueue_style function. By doing this, you effectively tell WordPress not to add a ver parameter to the URL. It might look somewhat like this:
wp_enqueue_style('google-fonts', 'https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Montserrat:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;0,700;1,400&family;=Neuton:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;0,700;1,400&display;=swap', [], null);With this, even when the PHP parsing function runs, it won’t affect your URL, because there is no ver query string added by WordPress. Thus, the URL stays intact, and the resource loads as expected.
Insight
While there’s a possibility that this scenario is addressed in a future WordPress update, it is considered sensible for such external URLs not to carry versioning information (via ver) as they don’t require one. So, this isn’t so much a temporary workaround as it is best practice. Using null when enqueueing external files ensures that you won’t encounter this kind of issue.
Remember, WordPress is always being updated and improved. It’s part of what makes it such a vibrant, functional platform for creating websites. So always keep an eye on updates so you can take advantage of new features and improvements.
Starting with WordPress might seem challenging at first, but don’t worry. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find out that it’s a very powerful tool that gives you a lot of control. And with this better understanding of how the wp_enqueue_style function works, you’re well on your way to mastering WordPress.
For more detailed understanding of PHP String parsing, you may want to check this official PHP documentation.
Remember, every step you take in learning and understanding WordPress brings you closer to building awesome websites! Don’t give up!