Making Your Site Faster with the WP Super Cache Plugin

As developers, one of the first things we always do on a shared host is install a full-page-caching plugin called WP Super Cache. Some shared hosts now offer caching outside of WordPress; SiteGround does. If they do, use that instead of WP Super Cache. It’ll be faster. But if they don’t have a caching layer from the host, using WP Super Cache made by Automattic (makers of WordPress.com) is the way to go.

WP Super Cache is a great way to make your site faster for users. It does this by keeping copies of the HTML WordPress typically renders on each request. Then, when it catches an identical request, it sends the stored HTML and saves WordPress from going through the page-building process. So, fewer database queries, less HTML building, and fewer plugin hooks firing makes the response much faster.

Caching is a large topic area, and there are many different ways this sort effect can be achieved. If that explanation of what’s going on leaves you wanting, check out David’s post about the six kinds of caching in WordPress.

Start using WP Super Cache for a Faster Site

  1. From your site’s WordPress dashboard, select ‘Plugins’ then ‘Add New’ from the left hand menu.
  2. Search for ‘WP Super Cache’ in the search box on the right side.
  3. Click ‘Install Now’ when you find the listing for “WP Super Cache” by Automattic.
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  4. Click “Activate Plugin.”
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  5. You’ll be re-directed to the ‘Installed Plugins’ page. Click the link for the “plugin admin page” that appears at the top.
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  6. Turn caching ON and click ‘Update Status.’ This is what makes WP Super Cache actually start to capture your HTML and return it rather than WordPress building the pages.
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  7. Dismiss the first warning that comes up. It looks a little scary, but as it says “If you just installed WP Super Cache… you can dismiss this message.”
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    That’s it! For more information on trouble shooting WP Super Cache, check the plugin documentation on WordPress.org. And for more information about WordPress caching in all its forms, check out our explanation of the different kinds.


2 Comments
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Kanyi
July 2, 2018 4:35 pm

I use Siteground and i think the SG Supercache is actually quite slow. My website was faster when i was using WP Super Cache.

Luke Cavanagh
September 19, 2017 8:12 pm

Have had better results using Cache Enabler.