Do you need the best WordPress caching plugin?
Why not? The caching plugin enables the enhancement of WordPress site performance.
Adding a caching plugin increases your website’s speed, performance, SEO, user experience, and conversion rates. We offer a list of the five best caching plugins for WordPress, and we explain what they do.
Generally speaking, caching is the process of temporarily storing “something” to make it easier to retrieve it later. WordPress caching is helpful for WordPress sites as it can speed up
loading times and reduce server burden.
What is caching?
Caching on WordPress sites typically takes the form of page caching, in which HTML versions of your site’s pages are cached instead of dynamically built using PHP and database queries as WordPress normally does.
However, WordPress sites can also benefit from other types of caching, which include:
Types of WordPress caching
A server-side cache and a client-side cache are the main types of caching.
- Client-side caching
- Server-side caching
1) Client-side caching
Images, CSS, and Javascript files can be cached on the client side. You don’t have to re-download them each time you hit the refresh or reload button because your browser doesn’t re-download them once they’re downloaded.
Browser caching: The browser caches static page content so that it remains on the user’s computer and does not have to be downloaded again when they return to your site.
That information is simply served from your computer’s local cache, which is stored on its hard drive. Consequently, you should clean your browser’s cache every so often to free up space and improve performance. Almost every modern website makes use of client-side caching, and every browser supports it. Client-side caching is where the cached data is re-used from the client’s computer (or client’s end). Using client-side caching, you prevent data redundancy (i.e., downloading the same page repeatedly) and energy consumption.
2) Server-side caching
It refers to caching that takes place on the server. Caching on the server involves using various caching protocols for WordPress caching. few are
- Database caching: queries commonly requested by home page visitors (e.g., getting a list of posts) are stored in the cache for ease of access.
- Object cache: A cache is a local collection of data (documents, scripts, and images); storing a bunch of this data is called object caching.
- Opcode caching: This technique involves compiling PHP code between each request. PHP code can only be executed on a server via PHP code that has been compiled by the PHP compiler and then run by the PHP interpreter. A cache of already-compiled code is kept by Opcode.
- CDN cache: the storage of static website files (such as CSS, JavaScript, and media files) for faster delivery via content delivery networks (CDNs) around the world.
Top WordPress Caching Plugins for WordPress Websites
Well, there are several plugins on the market. Let me hear your thoughts. We have been used in the past and are now used for our blogs and websites.
1. WP Rocket
Even though WP Rocket is the only caching plugin on this list that isn’t free, it compensates for that with robust caching features, a very user-friendly interface, and several useful features.
The WP Rocket premium plugin is an easy-to-use, well-designed plugin. Prices start at $29.25/month and offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.
WP Rocket automatically sets up page caching as soon as you install and activate the plugin. These are the default settings, which are okay for any site structure.
If you are like me and want to go further, you can follow the below settings, which I use for my site. Make sure to check your site’s behavior after tweaking the settings.
- Cache preloading (two different methods)
- Browser caching
- GZIP compression
- Database optimization
- Minify static files to load faster
- Defer JavaScript loading
- DNS prefetching
- Lazy loading: load images only when a user scrolls over them
- Integrate a CDN
We are using WP-Rocket for this blog, which helps boost the speed. Along with a caching plugin, you need to have a good hosting platform to grow in all aspects.
There are so many dynamic features that will boost any site’s speed within a few minutes. Those few dollars are completely worth spending.
2. WP Fastest Cache
Unlike Comet Cache, WP Fastest Cache also provides several other performance-boosting features.
The WP Fastest Cache plugin provides easy-to-enable page caching options alongside CDN integration, where static files like scripts and images are rendered through the CDN to reduce loading time.
As well as that, “exclude rules” can be created to exclude certain web pages, JS scripts, CSS files, and cookies from being cached. If your website’s homepage and other frequently changed pages often change, then this option may be useful to you.
- Minification and concatenation
- GZIP compression
- Browser caching
- Cache preload Caching
3. Light-speed Cache
Due to its simple, easy-to-use interface, Comet Cache is one of the best caching plugins for beginners.
If you need to solve your problem quickly, this is what you should do. It only takes a click of that yellow button in the screenshot above to enable caching on your website.
Those looking for something more may find Lightspeed Cache useful. The following features are described:
- Automatic clearing of cache when changes are made to the post: If you make a change to a post, the cache associated with it is automatically modified.
- The cache can be manually dated to expire after a specified period is added each time a cache is created. After expiration, the cache will be rebuilt.
- Provide support for client-side caching
- Add support for caching elements such as RSS feeds and 404 error pages Implement
- Apache optimization through a modified .htaccess file
A light-speed cache is a good option for someone who is not prepared to dive into the caching details.
4. Swift Performance
This caching plugin for WordPress provides excellent performance-optimizing capabilities that completely transform caching as you know it. While this WordPress plugin is relatively new, it has gained remarkable popularity among users in a short period.
You’ll find everything you need to increase the performance and speed of your website without tweaking the settings a lot. With the plugin’s unique database optimizer, you can remove duplicate metadata, expired transients, and spam easily.
- HTML CSS and Javascript optimization
- Database Optimization
- Plugin Organizer
- Browser Cache
- Prebuild Cache Automatically
- Gzip Compression
- CDN Integrations
You can also save time with Swift Performance’s schedule database optimization if you use the pro version. With its plugin organizer, you can also enable or disable plugins on any particular page.
5. W3 Total Cache
This popular WordPress caching plugin is often featured on these roundups, given its status as one of the most popular plugins in the WordPress plugin library. Despite its great frugality, though, this free solution is far from perfect.
The WordPress caching plugin, W3 Total Cache, is one of the most popular one. The program is aimed at more advanced users. There are several caching techniques available, including
- Minification of the CSS, HTML, and Java
- Opcode cache
- Database cache
- Object cache
- Browser cache
- CDN integration
- Fragment cache
W3 Total Cache is a great option if you are looking for all that flexibility. Using WordPress, you will have total control over how caching is handled.
However, if you don’t know what object cache or database cache means, you might be better off looking at another plugin on this list, since others have a simpler setup process and can still get your site loading fast.
FAQs on WordPress Caching plugins
How do I quickly cache WordPress?
The quickest way to cache a website is by installing the plugin itself. I can strongly recommend going with one of the above plugins.
Which is the best cache plugin for WordPress?
As mentioned, paying for wp-rocket is a regrettable decision. As per our experience, it is the No. 1 caching plugin in the market.
Does WordPress have caching?
WordPress executes the necessary processes for page generation during the initial visit. Subsequently, the generated page is stored in a cache, and subsequent visitors access the cached content as a static page.
So, which is the best WordPress caching plugin?
We won’t get biased at all. As per our experience, we found WP-Rocket to be the best caching plugin of all time. Though it’s a premium plugin only,
The WP-Total cache is a great plugin, but a new webmaster may get confused with the settings a bit. Basically, it is a developer-friendly caching plugin.
All the other plugins, like WP Fastest Cache, Comet Cache, and Swift Performance Lite, are plug-and-play; you do not need to tweak a lot of settings. Install and activate, and those will do the job.
You can choose as per your needs and expertise.