diff --git a/_includes/body-landing.html b/_includes/body-landing.html
index 492781f433..e2bddb18b7 100644
--- a/_includes/body-landing.html
+++ b/_includes/body-landing.html
@@ -468,10 +468,6 @@
   <footer class="footer">
     {% include footer.html %}
   </footer>
-  <script src="/js/theme-switcher.js"></script>
-  <script src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
-  <script src="/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
-  <script defer src="/js/search.js"></script>
 
   <script>
     window.onChangeHelpTab = function (name) {
diff --git a/_includes/body.html b/_includes/body.html
index bf53ff7f12..33a9266030 100644
--- a/_includes/body.html
+++ b/_includes/body.html
@@ -73,11 +73,5 @@
         {% include footer.html %}
     </footer>
     <script>const pageURL = "{{ page.url }}";</script>
-    <script src="/js/theme-switcher.js"></script>
-    <script defer src="/js/anchorlinks.js"></script>
-    <script src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
-    <script src="/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
-    <script defer src="/js/docs.js"></script>
-    <script defer src="/js/search.js"></script>
     {%- include analytics/polldaddy.html -%}
 </body>
diff --git a/_includes/head.html b/_includes/head.html
index bc01ae75ca..f2aae70083 100644
--- a/_includes/head.html
+++ b/_includes/head.html
@@ -44,6 +44,27 @@
 
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
 
+  {%- comment -%}
+  We put these scripts in the head section, but use "defer" loading to allow the
+  browser to start loading them as soon as possible. Actual execution of deferred
+  scripts happens once the HTML is fully parsed.
+  see https://flaviocopes.com/javascript-async-defer/#with-defer-in-the-head
+  {%- endcomment -%}
+  {%- if page.landing == true -%}
+  <!-- landing page scripts -->
+  <script defer src="/js/theme-switcher.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/search.js"></script>
+  {%- else -%}
+  <script defer src="/js/theme-switcher.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/anchorlinks.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/docs.js"></script>
+  <script defer src="/js/search.js"></script>
+  {%- endif -%}
+
   {%- comment -%}
   preload fonts: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/web-fonts-in-2018-f191a48367e8/
   we only preload the "woff2" variants, as older formats (woff, eot) are only used