W3 Total Cache is an Awesome Plugin to Have
For those of you who feel like your site is running a bit slow, and can’t really find the reasoning behind it, I think that you will enjoy reading this post since I also ran into a similar issue.
To start off, if you feel like your site isn’t performing at its best and needs optimization, the best way to check whether or not it is performing well or not is either through http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ or http://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ they are both really good tools for checking if your site needs optimization. Now, I’m not saying that these are the only 2 that are available, these are just the 2 which I have off the top of my head right now that are very helpful. Personally though, I feel as if Page Speed Insights is my #1 pick, since it is very thorough with the information that it gives you about your site.
After you analyze your site and see the problems that it has, you are probably going to wonder, how do I fix these issues? My answer to that question is: W3 Total Cache, which is a very effective plugin for site optimization for both beginners and professionals (but mostly professionals) and it is completely free, however, it does possess features that you have the choice of paying for, but I personally feel like I don’t need them, or at least not yet anyways. To be honest, I don’t know if there are any other plugins out there that offer the same structured service that W3 Total Cache offers, but I’m sure there are plenty.
W3 Cache is actually a WP Plugin that enhances your traffic’s experience on your website by expanding your server’s rendering, lessening the download span and by dispensing unequivocal materially dispatched complex's widely regarded as Content Delivery Networks (CDN).
Besides W3 Total Cache, there are also various other factors that could determine your site’s latency, some of these factors could include:
-Bad web hosting (WA’s hosting is great and free btw)
-Bad-coded plugins or possessing plugins that you really don’t need
-In some cases a lack of a Content Delivery Network, but this is rarely the case, unless you have a really high volume of traffic, so odds are you might not need one.
-Improper Caching
These are just a few that I can think of myself, but I’m sure that if I do some more research that I will be able to find a couple more factors.
If you want to see a really great video on how to get started with W3 Total Cache, here is a really helpful tutorial video that I got from Paul Osborne (Really great individual) not too long ago about W3 Total Cache. Here is the link: http://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-install-and-setup-w3-total-cache-for-beginners/ Here you will also find a step by step worded tutorial at the bottom of the Video Tutorial. Have fun guys.
Also, I would like to add that you need to be certain that you do not have any other caching plugins installed if you plan on getting W3 Total Cache, because if you do, you will run into problems during activation. Anyways, this link personally really helped me out a lot in understanding how to fix loading speed issues, I hope it helps out anyone else who has been wondering how to resolve this issue as well. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to ask in the comments below or even PM if you’d like. Thanks, have a good one!
Recent Comments
55
Thanks for the update on this, Floridalma. Was the plugin easy to set up, or does it get technical?
C
This Plugin is very easy to set up, the tutorial I provided lays everything out for you, however, if you decide to add more advanced settings to W3 Total Cache, it can get more technical. Enjoy :)
Awesome. I did check out the link but was interested in your personal experience with it :)
Looks like I can cope with the basics.. can't wait to try it out!
Again, I appreciate you being the test bunny for this, and very glad you've got it working for you.
Have you re-tested your site to see how much quicker it is now?
C
Yes, the other site that I provided in this post: http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ actually shows you how much faster your site load speed gets. I recommend using Page Speed Insights to get a detailed list of the issues your site has, and Pingdom to figure out how much faster your site got after you fixed the adjustments that needed to be made. If you have trouble understanding some of the issues provided by Page Speed Insights, please ask me and I will assist you as best as I can :D Good luck :)
Awesome, it's all set up on my site, which is now loading heaps quicker! Amazing what plugins can do isn't it!
Thanks again for your help, Floridalma, very much appreciated! :D
C
Sure, and if you ever want to have faster speeds, you can try W3 Super Cache, I believe it is free as well, but I usually only recommend it to experts :)
You sure do! I love reading your blogs as well, they are always so detailed and informative :)
Thanks Florida, another great bit of knowledge to add to my library for potential future issues :). I don't have issues yet but I'm still wet behind the ears and have a lot of pages to build etc. this was very informative, thanx!
Rob
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This is very useful, thanks, although with W3 installed and tests run via PageSpeed Insights, the 'should fix' information I'm given is completely over my head! I wish my brain was bigger...Haha!
Yes, don't try to over think it, I thought the same thing, but when I simply read more into the issues that my site was having, it made things a lot clear. What did you specifically find hard to understand, maybe I can explain how to fix it a little better :)