[ad_1] For fast websites, caching is an important tactic. It will store files that see a lot of use in a portion of memory, which is faster to recall than loading them from the server. As such, there are lots of WordPress plugins available. A perennial option is WP Super Cache, for a few reasons. In contrast to other plugins such as W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache is super simple. In many cases, you’ll use a minimal-click setup that will still give you a boost to your site’s speed. However, there are more settings under the hood, and it can fit your needs regardless. For this post, we’re going to go over how to install and setup the WP Super Cache plugin. Along the way, we’ll look to explain almost everything you need to know about the plugin. What the WP Super Cache Plugin Does for Your Site Your website’s server contains many different files, some of which will load more often than others. A fundamental of the internet is that files will move between servers, often across the globe. However, this distance coupled with the constant loading stream of data can slow down your site, and cripple it in the worst case scenario. This is where a plugin such as WP Super Cache comes in. It hooks into your site to provide a temporary storage option for those files your server will load on a frequent basis. This ‘cache’ will pull files out when there’s a request, which cuts down on loading time. It’s a near-essential piece of functionality you can implement in minutes. There are lots of WordPress caching plugins available. For instance, the WPKube blog uses WPRocket. However, WP Super Cache has a charm of its own, along with a nifty feature set. Looking at the WP Super Cache Plugin’s Features and Functionality WP Super Cache is almost as old as WordPress itself. It’s a longstanding option to cache files, and it’s also a ‘first-party’ plugin. This means Automattic looks after its development and maintenance, much like WordPress itself. This plugin takes your ‘dynamic’ WordPress files and turns them into ‘static’ HTML ones. The contrasting PHP files will be heavy and slow to move around. The HTML ‘copy’ of sorts is light and will give you the same level of interactivity in most cases. Here’s what else it can offer: It offers two modes: Simple and Expert. These will suit different types of users. In fact, most will likely choose the Simple option and never look back. There’s also a WP-Cache option, which handles the caching process for known users, certain URLs, and others. It’s more complex and slower than the typical caching options, but it also provides a greater level of dynamism with regards to your content. You can connect a compatible Content Delivery Network (CDN) if you use one, and WP Super Cache can leverage its functionality. There’s lots more to discover about WP Super Cache, but the best way to find out about it is to use it. Over the rest of the article, we’ll run over how to do so. How to Install and Setup WP Super Cache (In 3 Steps) WP Super Cache is so straightforward that in many cases you won’t need a tutorial. However, there is much more to the plugin than selecting the Simple mode and leaving it alone. The next few steps will look at the following: However, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin before anything else. Let’s deal with this first. 1. Installing the Plugin and Finding Its General Settings In the beginning, you’ll need to install and activate the WP Super Cache plugin. Because it’s free, you can do this directly from your WordPress dashboard. We have an in-depth guide on how to do this without fuss. Once the plugin is live on your site, head to the Settings > WP Super Cache screen: You’ll pop up on the Easy tab. The first radio button here will give you the option to turn caching on or off: However, we’d recommend you keep this to Off for now. This is because you’ll want to tweak all of the necessary and relevant settings before you pull the trigger. Speaking of which, we can look at this in the next section. 2. Customizing the Advanced WP Super Cache Settings The real main settings screen for WP Super Cache is the Advanced tab. This contains almost every option you’ll need, but requires heavy use of your scroll wheel: The top few options are simple to understand. There’s an option to turn on caching, then to choose the appropriate delivery method: The difference between delivery methods can be complex, but Simple uses PHP to serve cached files, while Expert uses your .htaccess file or Nginx rules. It also enables a few other options to leverage. If you use custom permalinks, you may not need to tinker within your server’s files. However, the Expert mode still requires some technical knowledge to implement well. While it’s faster, the negatives could outweigh the positives. Our advice is to use Simple mode, unless you are comfortable poking around within WordPress’ files. As for the other sections on the Advanced screen, let’s look at them in turn. Miscellaneous This section will help you determine how caching works for different users. The recommended approach is to disable caching (and associated functionality) for those users who log into your site. This is because the dynamic functionality is important for them. The plugin does a good job to note which options you should tick – everything that states its Recommended is a good idea. Here’s a quick list of options to go for: Disable caching for logged in users. Compress pages so they’re served more quickly to visitors. Cache rebuild. 304 Browser caching. As for the other settings, the only optional one you’d set is Don’t Cache Pages with GET Parameters. These types of pages will render on a per-user basis. As such, you’ll want
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