WP Super Cache is one of the most wanted plugin for WordPress blog. If you run a WordPress blog, I highly recommend you to install WP Super Cache plugin. This single plugin will super charge your WordPress loading time that will also improve your SEO. It will make a copy of your web pages on the server so that when a visitor visits your blog then the most recent copied web page displayed to the visitor instead of the original page.
Boost up loading time of your WordPress using WP Super Cache
What is Webpage Cache?
According to Wikipedia:
“A web cache is a mechanism for the temporary storage (caching) of web documents, such as HTML pages and images, to reduce bandwidth usage, server load, and perceived lag. A web cache stores copies of documents passing through it; subsequent requests may be satisfied from the cache if certain conditions are met.”
In a simple word for WordPress users:
“Webpage cache is a technique to speed up your WordPress blog.”
Why to Use WP Super Cache Plugin on WordPress Blog?
Question is interesting, let’s why we have to use WP Super Cache plugin on our WordPress blog? In a very simple description, when a visitor visits to your site, they see a WordPress page by the following way.
Visitors –> PHP –> MYSQL –> Server –>WordPress Page
In that case, when a visitor goes to your site, PHP recognizes the call to enter in MySQL database, which finds the page your user is looking for, and then output it. For each user, your server loads PHP and MySQL database that will surely take a long time to load your WordPress blog. Why not to cached copies of your webpages on your server to reduce the loading time to calls PHP functions and checks in MySQL database.
Now, when you use WP super cache plugin on your WordPress blog then the visitors reach to your WordPress pages by the following way.
Visitors –> Cached Pages from Server –> WordPress Page
In that case, when a user visits to your site, cached copy show up rather than to calls again PHP functions and check in MySQL database for each visit. In returns, optimizing your WordPress loading time.
Install and Setting Up WP Super Cache Plugin on WordPress
- Download, WP Super Cache Plugin to your desktop.
- Now, upload this plugin to your WordPress, and activate it. [ Method: Install Plugin to WordPress]
- Once you have activated this plugin, it will automatically goes into the disable mode.Now, click on plugin admin page to activate the plugin completely.
- You will see a warning message, WP_CACHE constant added to wp-config.php. Just ignore it because this plugin has added one line code to your wp-config.php file. Instead of the above message if you see a message like “/advanced-cache.php doesn’t exist or can not be updated” then follow the below steps. WP super cache plugin forced to create some files under the “/wp-content” file, since the file is not writable so the plugin could not be able to add anything to that folder so you have to change the permission of wp-content from 755 to 777.
Open your FTP client to manage your WordPress files, and go to the root directory of your site. (If you don’t have any FTP account then create one by clicking on create FTP account.)right click on wp-content, click on File permissions…Change permissions as mention above from 755 to 777. Finally, click on OK. Refresh the WP super cache settings page. - You might also experience with this issue.If so, you have to set your custom permalink structure. Go to Admin panel » Settings » Permalinks, and choose the best permalinks structure that suites you. For example, I am using “Post name”.
- Go back to WP Super Cache settings page. Its time to setting up the plugin. (I recommend you to backup your WordPress blog because some settings may break your blog.)Just click on “Easy” button, and choose Caching On. Hit on Update Status. Is not it simple? Yeah, you are done!
- For advanced users, If you are interested to enhance more feature, click on the “Advanced” tab as mention in the above preview. These settings may slow down your blog so individually you can choose the options and check whether it optimizes your blog performance or not. Below are the optimal settings that recommended by this plugin.Finally, click on Update Status. Since we have used mode_rewrite to serve cache files as mention on the above preview, we have to change rewrite rules under .htaccess file. Scroll down the advanced setting page, and click on “Update Mod_Rewrite Rules“.
- In last, you might experience with the common issue,just you have to revert back the permissions of wp-content folder from 777 to 755 as you had changed in step 4.
- Now, go to “Easy” tab of cache settings page, and click on ‘Test Cache” if the cache tester shows the message like the below preview, you have successfully installed WP Super Cache Plugin to your WordPress blog.
You also may confirm the installation by going to your page source code and look at the bottom, you will see,If do not wish to show this message at the bottom of your source code, go to “Debug” tab in your settings page and untick the enabled option under “Cache Status Messages“.
I really enjoy the server cache that reduces our loading time upto 70%. Have you really enjoyed it? I appreciate any negative or positive feedback of this plugin.
