Critical Errors After Downgrading WordPress (Emoji Issue in 6.9) + Plugin Incomp

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing a series of issues after trying to fix the new emoji behaviour introduced in WordPress 6.9, and I could really use some help understanding the correct way forward.Background

After updating to WordPress 6.9, all emojis on my site suddenly began rendering as large SVG images instead of native text emojis. This completely broke the visual layout of my Elementor pages and WooCommerce product descriptions.

• Site is running WordPress 6.6.2
• Many plugins are incompatible due to the downgrade

What I need help with

I’m trying to find the best, stable long-term solution. I’m unsure whether:

1. I should upgrade back to WordPress 6.9 and try disabling the SVG emoji system via a code snippet,
   or
2. Stay on 6.6.2 and try to manually downgrade/reconfigure plugin versions (which seems risky and messy).
3. Has anyone else encountered oversized SVG emojis after the 6.9 update?

Extra details

• Hosting: SiteGround
• Theme: Elementor + custom
• Plugins involved: WooCommerce, Elementor, MailPoet, Booknetic, etc.
• Error occurred immediately after WordPress 6.6.2 downgrade
• Rolling back via backups fixes the frontend temporarily, but the emoji behaviour returns when WP updates

Any guidance on the correct approach would be really appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help!

Tom

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]