Excessive load and slow uploading time can seriously harm your website’s performance in several different ways. There are quite a few options which will help you in boosting your site’s loading speed but caching has the greatest impact. With keeping this in mind, in this article, you will read about some of the best caching plugins that help WordPress powered sites in enhancing their performance. But before we start, let’s get some basics cleared.
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What Is Caching?:
Well, a cache is an area in the computer’s memory that stores recently used information. Once the site is cached, it means the pages, images, files and web objects of the site are stored in the user’s local hard drive. This, in turn, means, that whenever a user opens that frequently accessed file, the browser will have most of its files cached.
When the internet browser is not able to retrieve new information, every time the port is accessed, it makes the page load faster. The caching plugins work in the same manner. They save dynamically generated HTML files in the cache and serve them next time when the user makes a request to access the site. Instead of reloading the whole of the PHP scripts from the WordPress, it only loads the essentials codes.
Here’s the list of caching plugins which will come in handy…
1.) W3 Total Cache:
This plugin is actually designed to boost the user experience and improve the page load times. W3 Total Cache is recommended by some of the top hosting service providers in the WP sector including the Page.ly, Flywheel and SiteGround. It is the only WordPress Performance Optimisation framework designed to enhance the caching process. The settings area of the W3 Total Cache is divided into 16 pages. The best thing about this plugins is that you don’t have to manually configure anything. Its default settings work pretty great.
Features:
- Minification and concatenation of HTML, CSS and JavaScript files.
- Support for Content Delivery Networks (CDN).
- GZIP compression to optimise web browser rendering.
2.) WP Rocket:
One of the best caching solution for the WordPress and the only premium plugin which offers such services. WP Rocked is extremely user-friendly and works as a lifesaver for the webmasters who find technical terms and web programming a bit complex.
Once activated, WP Rocket would start functioning properly and you don’t have to rack your head against the wall trying to configure it. Those who are technologically advanced can also open up its custom setting and can set up a tailor-made configuration.
Features:
- Fast, Intuitive and Easy to Setup
- Page Caching feature is immediately activated
- Google Font Optimisation minimises the HTTP Requests
3.) Zen Cache:
Earlier, it was known as the Quick Cache. This plugin takes the real-time snapshot of every page, category, post, link and then caches them intuitively. This simple yet effective method helps in saving lots of processing time that were causing the page load time of your portal to rise.
Features:
- Provides the options to control the automatic cache clearing behaviour for Home & Post Pages, Category, Tag and Custom Term Archives.
- It can cache or ignore the URLs that contain query strings.
- User agent and HTTP referrer exclusion patterns.
4.) WP Super Cache:
It is a free caching solution available for the WordPress-based sites. WP Super Cache has a caching mechanism which is fairly easy to understand. The plugin basically generates the static HTML files from the user’s dynamic website or blog and cache’s it instead of the WordPress PHP Scripts.
It offers three options for decreasing load times:
- Use the mod_rewrite to deliver the static pages
- Serve the static pages using the PHP codes
- You can use the legacy caching mode that caches pages for the users who are logged in.
Features:
- Compresses the pages & offers dynamic caching.
- Complete Support for Content Delivery Networks (CDN).
- Caches up the site for mobile users as well.
5.) WP Fastest Cache:
Several experienced WordPress developers, recommend WP Fastest Cache plugin because it offers the simplest and fastest caching services. Just like the WP Super Cache, the WP Fastest Cache also generates the static HTML files which are based on the user’s dynamic WP site/blog and then quickly saves it. It offers easy to install setup and the best part is you don’t need to modify the .htaccess configuration file.
Features:
- Mod_Rewrite which is the fastest method used by this plugin.
- Once the post or page is published, all the cache files are deleted.
- Supports CDN and SSL
Summing Up:
In this post, you will read about top five plugins that help in boosting the performance and uploading speed of the WordPress powered websites and blogs.
About the Author:Anna Jhonson is a web developer by profession, a writer by hobby and works forMarkupcloud, a WordPress Customization Service company. She loves sharing information regarding WordPress customization tips & tricks.
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