> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.racheldian.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.racheldian.com/caches/wordpress-caching.md). # Website Caching When it comes to optimizing a Wordpress website, the role of caching can never be underestimated. Quite a lot has been talked about caching on the internet in general. Yet, it still remains a relatively lesser utilized feature among a large section of the WordPress user base. ### What is website caching? Caching refers to the process of creating static versions of your content, and serving that to visitors. Static pages are generally rendered quickly in browsers. This leads to faster performance of your website. In WordPress, rendering or fetching a page (or post or custom post type) requires back and forth queries to be sent to and from the database. Now, more often than not, you will create a post or a page and then you won’t be updating it everyday. Caching creates static copies of your post or page, and serves that to visitors. This way, the back and forth queries to and from the database can be avoided, thereby reducing the server load. This type of caching would be classified as "Server-side" as opposed to "User-side". Meaning it all takes place on the website's hosting server. ### Benefits 1. **Enhances the speed and performance of your website.** Static cached files load faster than dynamic database queries, and this leads to faster and better performance of your website. 2. **Helps reduce the load on your hosting server.** This can save server memory and I/O operations. As a result, caching is fast becoming a vital feature, especially for folks with limited hosting plans. 3. **Faster websites rank better with search engines.** This, obviously, depends heavily on other metrics as well, such as the quality of your content and your SEO settings. But all other things being constant, a website that loads faster will getter a better pagerank than a slower one. Google has confirmed that it takes pagespeed in consideration. 4. **Provides a better user experience.** A faster site helps users browse better. Furthermore, cached site means that the user’s bandwidth is also saved (albeit by a nominal margin), since static cached pages are less in terms of filesize as compared to dynamic requests. To make this happen, your caching solution must make use of combined and minified JavaScript and CSS, apart from just basic page caching. Impressed already? But how do you enable caching in WordPress? The easiest way to do so is by means of plugins. There are several free and premium WordPress plugins out there that help you to enable caching on your website. ### Popular Wordpress caching plugins * [**WP SUPER CACHE**](https://en-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/) (Reliable, easy, and free.) * [**WP ROCKET**](https://wp-rocket.me/) (The best. Has a premium cost) * [**W3 TOTAL CACHE**](https://en-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/) (Very advanced, steep learning curve, usually overkill.) Whenever possible, Skunkworks installs WP Super Cache on all of our client websites. ### Other types of caching * **Browser cache** (User-side) * [How to clear Browser's Cache](/caches/wordpress-caching/how-do-i-clear-my-browsers-cache.md) * **DNS Cache** (User-side) * [How to clear DNS Cache](/caches/wordpress-caching/how-do-i-clear-my-dns-cache.md) * [**CDN Cache**](/glossary/cdn-content-delivery-network.md) (Server-side) * [How to clear Cloudflare's Cache](/caches/wordpress-caching/how-to-clear-cloudflares-cache.md) * [**Proxy Server Cache**](/caches/wordpress-caching/proxy-server-cache.md) (User-side) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://support.racheldian.com/caches/wordpress-caching.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.