Top 5 Best Cache Plugins

What is Caching?

Cache pronounced as “cash” is the files stored in a computer or a web browser as temporary files. It is sometimes called RAM cache or store cache. This is a portion made of high-speed static RAM (SDRAM) instead of the earlier used cheaper and slower DRAM also known as Dynamic RAM. The usage of Caching is very important for WordPress Websites as Caching will store the website information and the files and media files in a temporary file which will be saved on the user system.

This is done sometimes with the permission of the user and sometimes without the permission of the user. The usage of caching is very relevant in today’s world as the user accesses the same website multiple times and caching makes sure that the website which has been earlier accessed by the same user is loaded for the user super quickly without making him / her wait which then converts to longer user engagement on the website for the website owner.

Excessive load times can reduce a websites traffic which in turn reduces the website engagement and which in turn reduces all the possible monetary gains to the website owner. But fear not today we will discuss about various WordPress cache plug-ins which you must use if you own a wordpress website. If you still don’t own a wordpress website and want to have one I would recommend you to check www.avonhost.com they provide super smooth hassle free service and super low prices also they provide best in class uptime if you choose to host your site with them.

Here’s the list of top 5 WordPress plug-ins you should consider using for cache management :

1. W3 Total Cache Plug-in:

W3 Total plug in is used and trusted by millions of WordPress site owners just like you. The main reason me recommending this plug in for you is because it is free and as well as effective.

W3 Total Cache prevents the repeating requests the database sends by reverting back to the request with presenting the already saved and used data by the person who has passed the request and presents it to requester instantly.

This app will also help you reduce the size of your webpage by shrinking the HTML,CSS,Javascript  before passing it out to the web browser.

This plug in improves the SEO and UX by of your website by reducing download times by providing features like CDN (Content Delivery Network) integration.

2. WP Fastest Cache:

• • WP Fastest Cache is also one of my favorite cache removal plug in. It is not free but you can download the free version of the plug in and then choose to advance to the paid plug in.
  • The reason why I chose to place WP Fastest Plug in in the second place is because of the wide range of the offerings this plug in provides.
  • Some of the offerings provided are: (Premium features included)
  • Clears mobile cache
  • Clears Widget cache
  • Minifies HTML plus
  • Minifies CSS plus
  • Minifies Java script
  • Combines JS Plus
  • Render blocks JS
  • Image Optimization
  • Deletes Cache log
  • Google fonts async

The above features are only found this app and not is not provided by any of its competitors.

You can only use this plug in only on any one of your wordpress website. They also provide you with a money back guarantee and would also provide cash refund if you are not satisfied with their service, which is highly unlikely to happen.

3. Comet Cache:

• • This app takes a real time screen shot of all pages, posts, links, categories etc and are cached in for later reference purpose.
  • Once a file has been cached this plug in uses advanced techniques which allows it to recognize when it should and shouldn’t parse the cache file.
  • Comet cache excludes caching of users who are currently logged in and of users who has recently left commenting in the comment section.
  • It also excludes admin pages, login pages and CLI pages.

Some of the free features of Comet Cache are:

• • Configuration is super easy.
  • Excludes URI patterns
  • Exclusion of user agent patterns
  • Caching of client-side
  • Caching of RSS, RDF and ATOM feeds
  • This plugin has the ability to ignore and cache URLs with query requests.
  • It optimizes APACHE to enable GZIP compression.
  • It is compatible to WP-CLI

Some of the Pro features of Comet Cache are:

• • Enables caching of logged in users
  • Provision of clear cache button in the admin bar
  • Disable notifications about auto clean up and other disturbing notifications
  • Enables to auto clear a list of custom URLs
  • Import/Export functionality of the plugins configuration files.
  • Mobile mode
  • Monitoring server load to avoid regenerating of the cache while the server is busy/
  • It is compatible with ManageWP and InfinteWP

The minimum software requirements of this plugin are PHP 5.4 and above and Apache 2.1

4. WP Super Cache:

• • • WP super cache is another free plugin available for wordpress users which provides great functionality .
    • It does not require any major configuration, its pretty simple and the installation can be completed under a minute or two.
    • This plug in can deliver static pages with mod_rewrite or PHP whichever your choice is which means every user does not need to load the full page rather the plug in delivers the already cached  static HTML page.
    • But there is a mode called legacy cache modewhich means if you are currently logged in a session you wont be facing any cached HTML files.
    • WP super cache enables you to set the order in which plug ins load.
    • WP super cache supports Content delivery networks or better known as CDN.
    • You will also have the ability to export your saved settings in order to use it for some other sites in the future.
    • If you find yourself in trouble WP super cache has their own support forum to help you with your problem. They also provide you with a pretty decent detailed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Just in case if your problem is just one amongst the commonly faced problems as others

5. WP Rocket:

• • • The only reason to place WP rocket at the 5^thposition is because WP Rocket is not free but it does provide super value to the amount you pay.
    • You can get WP Rocket from anywhere between 2500 rupees to 13000 rupees, the price depends on how many websites you would be installing this plugin.
    • Benchmark tests prove that WP Rocket is the fastest and the most efficient cache plugin there is in WordPress store at the time when the benchmarking test was conducted.
    • A new intuitive feature not seen on any other plug in is Lazy Image Loading, which makes the images load only when the user scrolls down to the page where the image is present. Pretty cool, eh?!
    • There is a different tab in Plug ins setting for excluding pages from caching and minifying.
    • Content Delivery Networks are supported and the settings can be exported to be used in the future or for reference purposes.
    • The creators of WP Rocket provide very good service to their buyers if they buy their premium product.

Some of the advantages of WP Rocket are:

• It is one of the fastest cache plugin the WordPress online market.
• Excellent after sales and best in class tech support available

Some of the disadvantages of WP Rocket are :

• It is a premium plugin, meaning it is not free. You will have to pay a fair amount of cash to use this plugin.
• It has limited advanced settings.
• To sum up this article I would ask you to evaluate the key factors involved while choosing and using a cache plug in.

Some of the key terms to consider while choosing a cache plugin are:-

• Complexity
• Export option
• Light weight
• Pricing etc

Since everyone’s websites and website requirements are different, some cache plug ins work well for some websites and some, not so much. Which ever cache plug in you decide to choose at the end of the day, make sure that if you want to implement some advanced settings, those settings are supported by your web host and that the cache plugin auto updates and does not take any action without making a backup of the data.

If you are concerned about testing a new plugin on a website which has a larger engaging audience, you can test out the caching plug in a staging environment.

Also note that these caching plug uns don’t work on local host sites and only works on live sites, so take extra care about that.

If you were to ask me about my personal choice for caching plugins I would recommend to you:-

• • • WP Fastest Cache and
    • WP Rocket

I think this article would have helped you decide which Caching plugin to choose.