Caching takes dynamic pages and turns them static. Technically speaking, it takes PHP pages that need to talk to the server and pre-renders them as HTML. This speeds up the delivery of the page to our browsers.
Plugin: W3 Total Cache
WordPress Plugin Page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/
Install: Through WP Dashboard or FTP
Difficulty: Easy (with advanced settings)
Rating: High (2,000+ Ratings)
W3 Total Cache saves precious load time by caching pages which delivers them quicker. This plugin also has the capability to minify JS and CSS. It can also be used to store files on CDN.
Install W3 Total Cache:
- Hover the mouse over “Plugins” on the left column, select “Add New”
- Locate the search area and type in “W3 Total Cache”
- To verify its the right plugin make sure it’s created by Frederick Townes
- Click install
- Then make sure to activate it in “Installed Plugins”.
Configure W3 Total Cache:
- This plugin has a lot of settings. It creates an entire section called “Performance” on the left column.
- Click “General Settings” in the “Performance” tab.
- Tick the “Toggle all caching types on or off at once”
- Click “Save all settings”
*Note: it is highly recommended to go through each section of this plugins page and see which settings may or may not work for your site. Preview your site every time you make a change to see if anything is broken because of the settings.
Available Options in W3 Total Cache
- Page Cache
- Minify
- Database Cache
- Object Cache
- Browser Cache
- CDN
- Varnish
- Network Performance & Security
David writes for a couple different websites that work with hosting and consumer reviews. He brings real-world application to harder to understand concepts in order to help people learn about specific subject matter. He also knows HTML, CSS and PHP to help out with building and configuring sites.
