Wordpress Caching Plugin PageSpeed And Load Time Comparison
Wordpress caching plugin use has risen continuously as wordpress-powered blog became slow. Many bloggers guess this kind of plugin is in charge of speeding up the blog. It because caching plugin will turn a dynamic blog into a static blog in HTML format. A visitor who accesses the site will be served with a static version of your website so that it is fast.
Some believe it solves the problem, slow website. And some still not think it resolve their issue to increase their site speed. If you are doubt, you can backup your site files and database. And read on.
Wordpress Caching Plugins
In response to a slow website, many bloggers ought to install wordpress caching plugin immediately without inspecting the server configuration and the site you are running.
Many hosting providers have provided inbuilt cache system which makes it no need to install any caching plugin. The presence of caching plugin sometime make your site slower and sometimes not driving in a significant result.
For this reason, in this blog post, I drive myself to cover the list of wordpress caching plugin which I find it can help me to drive my site faster based on my experience in some cases.
Before you install any wordpress caching plugin and do a test, make sure you backup your site first, then monitor the performance of your site for the next few days. When you are not satisfied, you can restore the backup site.
List Of Wordpress Cache Plugins
1. W3 total cache
2. Wp rocket
3. Wp super cache
4. Wp fastest cache
5. Comet cache
6. Cache enabler
7. Hyper cache
8. Simple cached
9. Proxy cache purge
10. Redis object cache
11. LiteSpeed cache plugin
1. W3 Total Cache
If you are looking for wordpress caching plugin trusted by many popular sites such as mashable.com, johncow.com, mattcutts.com, and more, w3 total cache is the choice.
It has a lot of features sometimes makes the users difficult to set up needed. Leaving the default option could be the excellent decision for most shared hosting users.
Two features I am curious is the ability to connect to memcache server and fragment caching which you can not find in other wordpress caching plugins. Fragment caching and memcache is a caching mechanism that allows storing the cache files in the RAM instead of in the disk. In this way, It can reduce the load of a database server and the traffic is served with RAM. So that the blog will load faster.
To connect w3 total cache to memcache server, you have to use hosting provider which provides shared or dedicated memcache server. Few shared hosting providers have built-in memcache server are hawkhost and nexcess. Memcache is a well-known caching mechanism that is powerful storing up cache files in RAM for a user request.
Fragment caching is another caching mechanism which is different from memcache system on how to store cache files in RAM. But It is rare to find out the hosting provider has in-built fragment caching. Studiopress is used to having built-in this kind of service, but the hosting service had ended. To use fragment caching feature, you must buy a premium version of w3 total cache per year.
If your hosting budget is enough to pay a good VPS server with big RAM or dedicated server, you can maximize the functionality of w3 total cache with ease. You can ask hosting expert to setup fragment caching or memcache server needed for w3 total cache to work at its best performance. It is not easy to set up for most bloggers. And also it is not cheap. And I do not know if it is a good option to use memcache server alongside fragment caching. You have to test which caching method works best.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Memcache server and Opcache object cache.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
I am using siteground hosting and setup it to use memcache server and Opcode object cache. My pagespeed increase, even not significant. It is not too bad for shared hosting performance.
2. Wp Rocket
Wp-rocket claims have everything you need to speed up your site. Its features are beyond other wordpress caching plugins exist on the net such as database and google fonts optimization, lazyloads, defer JS loading, and more. I never use it cause it needs to buy a yearly plan to install.
If you like, you may keep it for a trial period. There is 14 days refund policy to test its performance to see the difference of load time, server resource needed, etc.
I found some bloggers come over well-blog-performance after installing Wp rocket. Some experienced compatibility issue with wordpress theme.
I think it depends on hosting configuration and the resource of hosting you are allowed to use. If you are on shared hosting, it is not ideal commonly to compare it with VPS hosting users.
Website Speed Test
I do not test it yet.
In My Opinion
Wp-rocket has a lot of customers so it could be proof that it can help their problem regarding a slow website. In my opinion is you can have Wp-rocket in a trial period to figure out the best performance of your site.
3. Wp Super Cache
Automattic is the team behind the scene of wp super cache. It is simple and easy to set up. A few bloggers prove their site load faster when setting it up in nginx server.
Nginx server is not for most beginner. You must understand how it works to cache the page and serve visitor with cache files.
An additional option is you can use CDN. It is the option you can use to reduce the working of your server.
Maybe, you can not make your blog faster, but wp super cache use will help in less of hosting resource needed.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
Wp super cache use works well in nginx server. You can find a lot of example configuration of wp super cache can be used in nginx server in GitHub. Try it and find out what the best of the best of your site performance.
In this pagespeed test, the performance of my site is not too bad.
4. Wp Fastest Cache
Wp fastest cache pro version states that it has minify HTML plus, minify CSS plus and combine JS plus feature to cache your site. They are part of sites which are taking part for making your site load slowly, besides other things.
For sites having a lot of images, the pro version helps to optimize it. It will reduce the size of the image without lowering its quality. To do this, you must buy credits. When your credit is zero, you have to buy more credits in order to optimize more image. The cost of the credits is cheap, about $15 for 1000 credits.
The pro version is a one-time payment. Only the image optimization which needs credit to allow you to optimize the image.
When your budget does not reach the pro version cost, you may use the free version of wp fastest cache.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
I try Wp fastest cache in nginx server and work well with KeyCDN making my server not to work too hard and my site flies fast.
In this pagespeed test, the performance of my site works great even it is using shared hosting.
5. Comet Cache
PHP has inbuilt OPCache as a caching engine since version 5.5. If it is done right, PHP is able to store a small data into memory to serve user request. In this way, your site will be lighter to access.
Fortunately, Comet cache is one of the wordpress caching plugins which can use OpCache as its caching method. Most hosting provider will provide OPCache option. The creator of this plugin believes, using OPCache will speed up your site. This feature is available for a pro version. For the free version, you can use a disk to store your cached files.
Pro version will get updates and support for about three years. After that, you can use it by buying a yearly plan with a little cost.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
After installing comet cache and implementing the basic cache configuration, I found a better pagespeed of my site.
6. Cache Enabler
Cache enabler is a plugin created by well-known CDN provider KeyCDN. It will generate an HTML version of your site and store it on the disk. You can use it if you purchase CDN service from keyCDN.
Its features are fewer than other wordpress caching plugin. Things I like is, It is easy to install and to set up that take less than 5 minutes to make it ready to use.
The disadvantage use of cache enabler is, you can not store the cached files into memory. So that the performance is not like you expect.
The advantage is, KeyCDN worldwide server will help in using less your hosting resource. So that your site will be easy to access.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
Cache Enabler can be used in nginx server and Apache server. The use of this plugin in both server can drive my site faster in significant result.
Gtmetrix result for Yslow score is 88%. This is one of the highest Yslow score I got in this pagespeed test.
7. Hyper Cache
Hyper Cache is using purely PHP caching mechanism to cache and to store the pages. It will store the cached files into the disk.
You can have the option to exclude the cache folder to not to include in the backup files. In this way, you can reduce the backup files.
Unfortunately, it has not an option to cache files into the memory. Serving a visitor with memory is faster than the disk.
To optimize this plugin, you can install it alongside autoptimize wordpress plugin which can clean up HTML, minifies and concatenates CSS and JavaScript.
Both hyper cache and autoptimize wordpress plugin will work well, and your site will use less your hosting resources.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
Conclusion
I install Hyper Cache plugin and leave the default setup. For me, there is no improvement of my website pagespeed.
8. Simple Cache
Today, Simple Cache is the simplest plugin which beginners can use and setup it less than 5 minutes. The performance is not bad.
The features of this plugin are less than other wordpress caching plugins has. Just because it has fewer features than others, it does not mean having less performance.
Some bloggers have a blazing fast site after installing and setting up simple cache correctly.
Even compare to server-side cache mechanism like LiteSpeed, its performance is beyond that.
And also The developer promises simple cache can handle a million page-views of your site per day.
It is completely free and has no pro version, yet.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Siteground shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
In My Opinion
After installing simple cache and using the default setup, my site pagespeed score was 96 according to google pagespeed and 97 according to GTmetrix. Not too bad.
9. Proxy Cache Purge
Proxy cache purge is wordpress caching plugin designed to work with varnish. It is an advanced caching method that every blogger may be not easy to implement.
You have to set up a web server, such as nginx and apache, and varnish. Varnish, which is a caching HTTP reverse proxy, will be working in front of your web server. It will cache all user request and store it in memory. For the next request, a user will not be served from a database, but from the cached file. In this way, the blog will load faster.
That is the easy way to explain what varnish is. It is going to need complicated setup and some trial and error to figure out the best to adopt it.
Varnish is not for a beginner user. You must consult an expert to make it work well.
Note :
Not yet tested. But I believe when it is done right, your site will speed fast.
10. Redis Object Cache
Redis can be designed as an advanced caching system which is not for a beginner. When it is done right, your site will fly fast.
To cache file, you have to install and setup redis server and then setup wordpress to connect to it. Redis server will cache the user session and store it in memory (making it fast).
To use redis object cache, I encourage you to use VPS or dedicated server so that you can allocate an amount of memory to be used by redis server.
It is not easy to set up. You have to consult an expert to make it work well.
Note :
Not yet tested. But I believe when it is done right, your site will speed fast.
11. LiteSpeed Cache Plugin
LiteSpeed cache plugin can be used if your hosting has LiteSpeed installed. It is easy to use and to set up. Hosting provider I have been with which has LiteSpeed server is hawkhost.
A few features of this plugin is: Server-level full-page cache, private cache, edge side includes, browser cache support, lazy load images, database optimization, image optimization, crawler, CSS/JavaScript/HTML minification, CSS/JavaScript combination HTTP/2 push and CDN.
LiteSpeed cache plugin will store the cache file into the LiteSpeed server level. In this way, user request will be served by LiteSpeed server that making your site fast.
I decide to try LiteSpeed cache plugin. To do this, I install it and leave the default configuration.
Website Speed Test
Short info about the page speed test :
1. Hosting : Hawkhost shared hosting.
2. Wordpress theme : generatepress.
3. Caching method : Disk.
The Result
1. Google PageSpeed.
2. Gtmetrix.
3. Pingdoomtool.
Conclusion
I install LiteSpeed Cache Plugin and configure it using basic setup. My google pagespeed score is 100, Yslow score is 90 and pingdoomtool score is 87.
The downside is the load time of the page is 5.8 s which make it the worst.
I do not understand why the pagescore is good, but slow load time.
Wordpress Caching Plugin Performance Comparison
1. W3 Total Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 95
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 98 / 1.8 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 81 / 1.85 s
2. Wp Rocket
a. GooglePage Speed test : N/A
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : N/A
c. Pingdoomtool test : N/A
3. Wp Super Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 92
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 93 / 1.7 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 80 / 2.01 s
4. Wp Fastest Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 98
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 97 / 1.7 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 83 / 1.02 s
5. Comet Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 96
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 93 / 1.6 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 80 / 1.04 s
6. Cache Enabler
a. GooglePage Speed test : 95
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 95 / 2.0 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 85 / 2.17 s
7. Hyper Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 94
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 97 / 1.7 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 80 / 1.41 s
8. Simple Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : 96
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 97 / 1.6 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 81 / 1.12 s
9. Proxy Cache Purge
a. GooglePage Speed test : N/A
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : N/A
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : N/A
10. Redis Object Cache
a. GooglePage Speed test : N/A
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : N/A
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : N/A
11. LiteSpeed Cache Plugin
a. GooglePage Speed test : 100
b. Gtmetrix test / load time : 67 / 5.7 s
c. Pingdoomtool test / load time : 87 / 5.82 s
Final Words
All wordpress caching plugin I have tested give me a different result based on Googlepagespeed, GTmetrix and pingdoomtool pagespeed testing tool.
Cache plugin I do not test yet is wp rocket, redis cache plugin and varnish cache plugin.
1. PageSpeed Score
According to Google pagespeed, the highest pagespeed score is LiteSpeed cache.
According to GTmetrix, the highest pagespeed score is W3 total cache.
According to Pingdoomtool, the highest pagespeed score is LiteSpeed cache.
The highest pagespeed score average is Wp fastest cache.
2. Load Time
According to GTmetrix, the lowest load time is Comet cache.
According to Pingdoomtool, the lowest load time is Wp fastest cache.
The lowest load time average is comet cache.
3. In My Opinion
For me, Wp fastest cache is the winner. Although the average of load time the winner is comet cache, the difference is only 0.04 s compare to Wp fastest cache.
If you are using shared hosting other than siteground and hawkhost, the result could be different. I never suggest you be a fan of particular wordpress caching plugin. Server configuration, php configuration, the site you are running, and many other things you must concern will affect how caching system work.
The result I have could be because shared hosting siteground has inbuilt caching system, it is my guess. If you are using different shared hosting or VPS hosting or dedicated hosting, probably you can have a better result or maybe the worst, who knows. So I encourage you to do a test by yourself each of wordpress caching plugin I have covered.
About hosting service provider, try bigscoots or knownhost hosting. I have read a lot of a good review of them. Who knows they have a better solution about caching mechanism which could lead you to not using wordpress caching plugin.
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