I'm trying to improve the performance of a WordPress website that uses a pre-made commercial theme (example site: TheStoryArc ) After running an SEO/Performance audit, several issues were highlighted:

• Many theme and plugin css/js files are not minified.

• A large number of CSS/JS files are being loaded individually, increasing total request count.

• Some scripts/styles are being loaded site-wide even though they are needed only on specific pages.

• The loading of external fonts contributes to render-blocking resources.

• Overall page request count is high, which impacts speed and Core Web Vitals.

I want to understand the correct and safe way to optimize these assets in a WordPress setup where the theme controls most scripts and styles.

My main questions are:

1. How do you properly minify, combine, or defer CSS/JS files when using a pre-built theme, without manually editing theme files?

2. What is the recommended way to disable unnecessary CSS/JS assets loaded by themes or plugins on pages where they aren't needed?

3. Should i rely on optimization plugins (Auto-optimize, WP Rocket, etc.) or handle the process through functions that deregister assets?

4. What are the best practices for reducing request count in a theme-driven WordPress site without breaking layout or builder widgets?

5. How should Google Fonts and other external font loads be optimized to reduce blocking time?

I'm looking for best practice workflows from developers who work with WordPress theme optimization regularly