WP NET recommends that all WordPress sites use static page caching.
Static page caching can improve the responsiveness and overall speed of your website by around 30-50%. Our recommended caching plugin for WP Site / WP Studio sites is WP Super Cache.
WordPress and Caching
By default, WordPress does not include a page caching solution. There are numerous free options: WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Fastest Cache and many others.
The primary function these plugins is to perform is static page caching.
What is Static Page Caching?
What this means is that each time a page on your site is requested, a "flat" HTML version of the file is created automatically, and then sent to the user. For subsequent visits to the same page, the cached HTML is delivered directly to the user, bypassing any need for PHP and database queries to run. When you have a relatively busy WordPress site - this caching can make a huge difference to the performance of your site.
Working with Caching
When you work with a site that uses caching, content editors need to be aware that while they are logged in caching is usually disabled, so you will see the latest version of a page. However, an non-logged-in site user (or customer) may still see a cached version of the page until the cache is automatically flushed, or you empty it manually.
WP Super Cache
If you are happy with basic options (including page caching) and prefer to keep it simple, go with WP Super Cache. It's pretty simple to set up and does it's job well. This plugin is partly managed by Automattic, so it's practically the "default" WordPress caching plugin.
WP Server and Caching
WP Server hosted sites use Nginx static page caching for even greater performance. Object Caching is also supported on WP Server sites.
A supporting client plugin, Cache Control is installed on WP Server sites. Users can clear the caches using the top menu in the WordPress Dashboard.
Further caching setup and customisation (such as cache path exclusions) must be performed by WP NET Support, just open a support ticket and we'll be happy to help.
