Do you want to set up WP Fastest Cache plugin on your website? Configuring the plugin correctly will help you improve the website’s speed. We have got you covered if you are looking for a step-by-step guide to configuring WP Fastest Cache. This article will guide you through completing the task hassle-free.
Before we move forward, let’s explore why and when a WordPress caching plugin is necessary.
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Why and When Do You Need a Caching Plugin?
Using a caching plugin on your website will significantly help you optimize the overall performance of your website. By default, when someone lands on one of your blog posts, the web server will fetch content from the MySQL database every time. When you have a few visitors, there won’t be any issues with the performance.
However, as your website traffic increases, querying the MySQL database every time could lead to performance issues. As you know, a website’s speed and performance are crucial in ranking and user experience.
This is where caching plugins come in.
The plugins will create a cached copy of your website. When someone requests a page or post, the plugin serves the content from the cached copy. This approach helps reduce the number of requests to the MySQL database. Hence, you can improve the speed and performance of the website.
Personal blogs, business websites, and eCommerce stores can use caching plugins.
Now you know what caching plugins are and why you need them. The following section will explain what to look for in a caching plugin.
What to Look for In a Caching Plugin?
When you are looking for a WordPress caching plugin, check out these options:
- Ease of use: A caching plugin with a simple configuration method would be a good fit. It helps users to tweak the plugin without any hassle.
- Optimization methods: This is the main thing you should check. The optimization methods help you speed up the website. Visit the features page of the caching plugin to learn more about the available optimization methods.
- Integrations: Connecting the caching plugin with a CDN provider, Analytics, could help you optimize your website further. Therefore, it is mandatory to check the integration options available in the plugin.
- Updates: The selected plugin requires updates from the developer to incorporate the latest optimization methods. So, how often the plugin gets updated needs to be considered.
- Compatibility: If you run an online store with plugins like WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, you must ensure the selected caching plugin is compatible with your WordPress configuration.
Now you know how to choose the best caching plugin for your website. Next, let’s take a quick look at WP Fastest Cache.
WP Fastest Cache: An Introduction
WP Fastest Cache is one of the popular WordPress speed optimization plugins. It is a freemium plugin. The free version can be downloaded from the WordPress plugins repository. As shown in the screenshot, over 1 million websites utilize this plugin.
Plus, they have more than 3,900 5-star ratings.
It says that WP Fastest Cache is a good plugin for optimizing the website’s speed. The free version plugin comes with all the basic optimizations. Invest in the premium version plugin if you need to take things further.
The premium version plugin will cost you $49 (one-time fee) for a single domain license. It is a good investment if you need to optimize your website for speed.
Some of the popular features of the WP Fastest Cache plugin are:
- Desktop caching
- Mobile caching
- Widget caching
- Minification
- Image optimization
- GZIP compression
- Database optimization
Now you know what WP Fastest Cache is. Next, let’s see how to set up WP Fastest Cache properly.
How to Set Up WP Fastest Cache
The first step is to install and activate WP Fastest Cache on your website. In this case, we will be using the free version of the plugin. Since the free version plugin is available in the WordPress plugins repository, you can install it directly from the dashboard.
On the other hand, if you have purchased the premium version plugin, you need to download it from the official website and install it manually.
After activation, you can see the plugin’s settings on the left-hand side of the WordPress admin area.
The plugin comes with an easy-to-understand panel.
They have categorized the sections into
- Settings
- Delete cache
- Image optimization
- Exclude
- CDN
- DB
Let’s examine each section to determine which configuration will improve the website’s speed.
1) WP Fastest Cache Settings
This is the main configuration page. The options available on the page are:
1.1) Global Options
- Caching System: Enable the caching system to set up WP Fastest Cache as your caching plugin.
- Widget Caching (Premium): This option reduces the number of SQL queries.
- Preload: You can automatically create a cached website version by enabling the preload option.
- Logged-in Users: Do not show the cached version to logged-in users. You should enable this option.
- New Post: Clear cache when a new post is published. You do not need to enable this option if you publish a few articles a week. Otherwise, if you are publishing multiple articles a day, allow this.
- Update Post: You can also clear the cache after updating a post. If you are running a news website, enable this option. Otherwise, not mandatory.
1.2) Mobile Optimization
- Mobile: You do not need to show the desktop’s cached website version to mobile visitors. Enable it.
- Mobile Theme (Premium): Create a cache for mobile users. Enable this option if you have a premium subscription to WP Fastest Cache.
1.3) Static File Optimization
- Minify HTML: Minify every HTML file. Enable this option.
- Minify CSS: Minify CSS files too. It will help you speed up the website. Enable it.
- Combine CSS: Combining CSS removes extra white space from the file. Sometimes, it can break your website. Only enable this option if your website is working correctly after combining.
- Combine JS: You can also combine JS to improve the speed. We will not recommend enabling it. It can cause conflicts on your website.
- Minify JS: Enabling this option is highly recommended.
1.4) Extra Optimization
- GZIP: The GZIP file compression will reduce the size of files sent from your web server. It is a good option to enable.
- Browser Caching: Reduce the loading time for repeated visitors. You must enable this.
- Disable Emojis (Premium): Disabling emojis will help you optimize the speed. Enable this option if you are not using emojis in your post’s content.
- Render Blocking JS (Premium): Eliminating render-blocking JS files is a great practice. Enable this option.
- Google Fonts (Premium): You can enable this option to load Google Fonts asynchronously.
- Lazy Load (Premium): Lazy Loading is a technology that optimizes image and iframe serving. The media will be loaded only when they enter the browser’s viewport. If you are using the premium version of WP Fastest Cache, enable this option.
Next, let’s move to the delete cache settings.
2) Delete Cache Settings
From this page, you can select which cache files to remove from the website.
You can delete the
- Entire cache
- Cache with minified CSS and JS
You can manually clear the cache from this page. Clearing your cache is mandatory after making major changes to your website’s design or content. Apart from cleaning the cache manually, you can also automate the process. Use the timeout rule to clear the cache after a specific interval.
Suppose you are running a website actively publishing content; setting up a once-every-day rule is good. Otherwise, you could increase the period.
The following section will explain the image optimization options available in WP Fastest Cache.
3) Image Optimization Options
Image optimization is a premium feature of WP Fastest Cache. The speed of your blog will be affected when you add too many images to your posts. But with the correct image optimization method, you can solve this issue.
You can optimize the available images with WP Fastest Cache’s image optimization feature.
4) Exclude
You can exclude specific pages, user agents, cookies, CSS, and JS from caching. The exclude section is the right place to configure for these tasks.
By default, the WordPress login and admin pages are excluded from caching. When running an online store, it’s advisable to exclude the cart and checkout pages from caching. To exclude pages from caching, click the Add New Rule button.
Similarly, you can also exclude
- User-Agents
- Cookies
- CSS
- JS
from caching. It is an effective method for improving a website’s speed. The following section will show you the CDN configuration options available on WP Fastest Cache.
5) CDN Options
CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. Using a CDN will help you secure your website and make it faster. Since CDN providers come with more data centers around the globe, website visitors will get the site’s contents served instantly.
WP Fastest Cache comes with a dedicated CDN section.
The platform supports direct integration with CDN providers like
- StackPath
- Cloudflare
If you use any of those CDN providers, you can connect WP Fastest Cache with your account and start speeding up the website. On the other hand, if you use any third-party CDN providers, use the third option available.
Now, enter the CDN URL and Origin URL.
After entering the URLs, you can complete the CDN integration.
If you have connected your CDN with the website, let’s move to the next section, where you can clean your website’s database directly through WP Fastest Cache.
6) Database Optimization
Having a bulky MySQL database is not feasible. Since the website relies entirely on the database for information, we must ensure the database is clean and well-optimized.
With WP Fastest Cache’s database optimization tools, you can clean the DB. This is a premium feature and not available in the free version of the plugin.
With the DB optimization feature, you can
- Remove trashed content
- Clean post revisions
- Get rid of trackbacks
- Eliminate pingbacks
- Clear transients
When handling a multi-author blog, the database must be well-optimized. When authors work on multiple posts, they will save a decent amount of revisions in the database. Hence, database optimization is no longer optional.
Check out this article if you are looking for a dedicated guide on optimizing the MySQL database. We have added several methods and tools you can use to clean your WordPress database.
That’s it!
This is how you can set up WP Fastest Cache on your WordPress website. You can always tweak the options to match your liking.
How to Check the Website’s Speed
To check the website’s speed, a couple of tools are available. In our case, we highly recommend using the following:
Here, we will show you how to use GTmetrix to test the website’s speed.
First, go to GTmetrix. There, you need to enter the website’s domain name and click on Test your Site.
The platform will take a couple of seconds to analyze the website. And once it’s done, you will see the page speed report on the next screen.
Apart from the speed report, the tool will also show you core web vitals results such as
- LCP
- TBT
- CLS
You can also use Google’s Page Speed Insights tool for a detailed analysis. The results would be similar. This way, you can check the speed of a website. We recommend checking the website’s speed before configuring a caching plugin and rechecking it after properly configuring it.
Bonus: Best WordPress Caching Plugins
You can always find more caching plugins other than WP Fastest Cache. Here are three of the popular plugins you should try:
- WP Rocket
- FlyingPress
- Perfmatters
Let’s quickly look at each tool and see what it offers.
1) WP Rocket
WP Rocket is our top choice for WordPress caching. It offers numerous features that can help boost your website’s performance. The plugin comes with a simple configuration wizard. This allows everyone to customize the plugin according to their preferences.
Also, the dashboard is user-friendly. Finding the right options and tools would be a cakewalk.
The eCommerce optimization feature of WP Rocket could be a valuable addition to every online store. When managing an online store, ensure the plugins you use are compatible with the platform.
Otherwise, you will encounter several unwanted issues that can negatively impact the user experience. In this case, WP Rocket is compatible with most eCommerce plugins, such as WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
You can also remove specific pages from caching. The checkout and payment pages need to be removed from caching. So, this is an excellent feature. The integration options with CDNs are a notable feature of WP Rocket.
If you use a CDN provider to boost your website’s speed, integrating it with WP Rocket is easy.
Features
- Optimized for eCommerce
- Page caching
- Database optimization
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Media optimization
Pros
- Offers a comprehensive suite of performance optimizations (page caching, minification, lazy loading, CDN integration) in one plugin.
- Easy to configure with minimal setup required, making it suitable for beginners and advanced users alike.
- Provides excellent performance improvements, helping reduce server response time and improve Core Web Vitals on WordPress sites.
- Full feature access is included in every license; you don’t need to upgrade to unlock core features.
Cons
- Premium-only plugin with no free version or trial offered, which can be a barrier for budget-conscious site owners.
- Annual subscription required for updates and support; if you let your license lapse, you won’t receive new features or fixes.
Pricing
WP Rocket is a premium plugin. The premium subscription starts at $59 a year.
2) FlyingPress
FlyingPress is one of the popular speed optimization plugins for WordPress. With the plugin, you can generate a cached version of your website and optimize the speed without adding too much load to your web server. Also, once you have enabled the cache preloading feature, the cached files will get updated whenever you make an update.
You can also get rid of unused CSS by generating critical CSS files. To further optimize your links, consider using our preloading link feature. Once the visitor lands on the page and starts hovering the mouse over links, FlyingPress will automatically preload the specific links. This will help you speed up the website without much hassle.
Google fonts optimization is another notable feature of FlyingPress. Using it, you can reduce the HTTP requests sent out from the server.
Features
- Database optimization
- Static file optimization
- Font optimization
- Analytics optimization
- Minification
- Preloading
Pros
- Combines caching, lazy loading, image optimization, and unused CSS removal in one lightweight plugin.
- Easy to configure with a simple and intuitive dashboard.
- Delivers excellent results in improving Core Web Vitals such as LCP and FCP.
- Regular updates and reliable customer support ensure long-term stability.
Cons
- No free version is available; it’s a premium-only plugin.
- Some advanced settings, like JavaScript deferral and font optimization, may require a bit of technical knowledge.
Pricing
FlyingPress is a premium solution. The plans start at $60/year.
3) Perfmatters
If you need a lightweight plugin to handle speed optimization tasks, check out Perfmatters. Perfmatters comes with several optimization methods to help you speed up the website. The most popular feature of the plugin is the script manager. Using this feature, you can decide where to enable specific scripts.
For instance, when using a contact form plugin, you only need to run the script on your contact page. Using the script manager feature, you can turn off the JavaScript execution from the rest of the website. This will help you optimize your website for speed. Another notable feature is database optimization.
You can clear your post revisions, deleted posts, spam comments, and other similar items. This will help you optimize your website’s database for better performance. With lazy loading, you can also optimize image serving.
Features
- Lightweight
- Easy to configure
- Database optimization
- Modify WordPress heartbeat
- Disable emojis
- Script manager
Pros
- Extremely lightweight and efficient, adding minimal load to your WordPress site while improving performance.
- Granular Script Manager lets you disable unused CSS and JavaScript on a per-page basis, reducing render-blocking resources.
- Built-in features like lazy loading, preload/prefetch, database optimization, and WooCommerce-specific tweaks support Core Web Vitals.
- Works seamlessly alongside caching plugins and CDNs, making it a flexible layer in a multi-tool performance stack.
Cons
- No free version available, so it requires an upfront investment for site owners on tight budgets.
- The advanced controls and granular settings can present a learning curve for beginners unfamiliar with performance optimization.
Pricing
Perfmatters is a premium plugin. The premium plan starts at $24.95 a month.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, we will take a look at some of the frequently asked questions and answers regarding this topic.
WP Fastest Cache speeds up your site by creating static HTML versions of your pages. Instead of loading every element dynamically from the database, cached pages are served instantly, reducing server load and improving page load times.
Yes, WP Fastest Cache works well with WooCommerce. It automatically excludes cart, checkout, and account pages from caching to ensure customers see updated content while shopping.
Not necessarily. WP Fastest Cache comes with sensible default settings. However, fine-tuning options like cache preload, browser caching, and minification can further improve performance.
The free version covers essential caching functions, while the premium version adds advanced tools such as image optimization, database cleanup, mobile caching, and CDN integration.
Yes. It integrates seamlessly with Cloudflare and other CDN providers. You can connect your CDN from the plugin dashboard to speed up global content delivery.
Clearing cache depends on how frequently your site content changes. For blogs or static sites, weekly clearing works fine. For eCommerce stores or news sites, enable automatic cache clearing after content updates.
Absolutely. By optimizing delivery of cached pages, reducing server response time, and minimizing CSS/JS files, WP Fastest Cache contributes directly to better LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) and FID (First Input Delay) scores.
Conclusion
You will notice the speed improvement if you start using a WordPress caching plugin on your website. With the correct configurations, you can achieve even better scores.
This article shows you how you can set up WP Fastest Cache properly. It is one of the finest free WordPress caching plugins you can use to improve your website’s speed. As we mentioned, many professionals and business websites use the same plugin to boost their speed.
We highly recommend trying it and checking the before and after results.
We hope you have enjoyed reading the guide on how to set up WP Fastest Cache properly and learned something new. If you still have questions, feel free to leave a comment.
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