WordPress: WP Super Cache Plugin
WP Super Cache Plugin
One way to optimize WordPress is to install WP Super Cache, which can be done from your WordPress Dashboard under Plugins.
Suggested Settings
Please complete all four (4) steps to use the suggested settings.
Step 1. Set General Settings
On Advanced tab:
- Select the radio button for Caching On
- Select the radio button for Use mod_rewrite to serve cache files.
- Check the box for Don’t cache pages for known users.
- Check the box for Cache rebuild…
- Check the box for 304 Not modified browser caching…
- Check the box for Extra homepage checks.
- Leave all other options to their default configuration
- Click the Update Status button.
Step 2. Set Mod_Rewrite Rules
Scroll down and click Update Mod_Rewrite Rules in the yellow box.
Step 3. Set Garbage Collection
Scroll down to Expiry Time & Garbage Collection and enter 3600 in the text box, then click Change Expiration
Step 4. Set Rejected User Agents
It is recommended that you do not remove the default user agents from the list, to prevent bots from caching content and pages not normally seen by your visitors.
Explanation of the Options Selected
Caching On
This options takes dynamic content and converts it to static content; conserves bandwidth and disk space.
Use mod_rewrite to serve cache files
Fastest caching method, uses mod_rewrite rules in client’s .htaccess file
Compress Pages
304 Not Modified browser caching
Indicates to the client’s browser whether a requested file has been modified or not (see: http://www.addedbytes.com/for-beginners/http-status-codes/ or elsewhere for more info on that apache code)
Don’t cache pages for known users
This prevents logged-in users from being served cached pages and is the default for almost every caching plugin out there.
Expiry Time & Garbage Collection
The default setting will allow cache files to age 1 hour (3600 seconds) prior to being removed which is ideal. This setting can be increased for sites that do not have many posts (1,000 or less ) if you do not update your content often. If you have a very large amount of posts ( 25,000+ ), a lower setting around 1800 may be more viable to prevent stat/CPU issues due to the amount of files being created.
Rejected User Agents
It is recommended that you do not remove the default user agents from the list, to prevent bots from caching content and pages not normally seen by your visitors. (For example, if you have a calendar, a real visitor may only browse months close to now, but a bot will index every month forever as if it is a different page. Caching these pages real visitors are unlikely to visit wastes resources.)
