WordPress Caching: How It Works Here, and Which Plugins to Use
Last updated September 6, 2026
Caching is already working on your site. We set it up when we build the site, so a new WordPress install is fast from the first visitor with nothing for you to configure.
It is still your site. If you would rather run a different cache plugin, or none, that is your call, and this page is what you need to make it.
- Set up for you
- Yes, on every new site
- Yours to change
- Any time
- Server-level caching
- Supported
- The one rule
- Run one page cache, not two
What a page cache actually does
Without one, every visitor makes WordPress start up, run your theme and plugins, ask the database for your posts, and build the page from scratch. Everyone gets the same page, and the server does the same work again for each of them.
A page cache keeps the finished page and hands the next visitor that copy instead. The page comes back sooner, and your site copes with far more visitors at once, because most of them never make WordPress run at all.
Why plugin choice matters on our servers
Our web server can serve a cached page itself, before WordPress is involved at all. Plugins written to use that get the fastest path available here. Plugins that keep their cache in their own folder still work perfectly well and are still a large improvement on no cache; they just do a little more of the work in PHP.
Both approaches are fully supported. Neither is blocked, throttled or discouraged.
Plugins that work well here
Any of these is a sound choice on HostCrafter:
| Plugin | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LiteSpeed Cache | Free | Built for the kind of server we run, so it uses the server-level path. Set up on new sites by default. |
| W3 Total Cache | Free | Very capable and highly configurable. More settings than most people need, which is a strength once you want them. |
| WP Rocket | Paid | The friendliest interface of the three, and sensible defaults out of the box. A good choice if you already own a licence. |
| WP Super Cache | Free | Simple and long-established. A fine option if you want something with very few settings. |
Others work too. If a plugin you like is not on this list, it is almost certainly fine here; open a ticket if you want us to look at it with you.
Switching to a different plugin
One rule, and it matters more than which plugin you pick:
-
Deactivate the cache plugin already on the site
From Plugins in wp-admin, as you would any other.
-
Install and activate the one you want
Then go through its setup once. Most of them have a guided first run.
-
Check a page while signed out
Open your site in a private window and load a page twice. Most cache plugins will tell you in their own dashboard that the page was served from cache.
One thing to expect afterwards: our Clear cache button may report that there was nothing for it to clear. That is truthful rather than a fault. A plugin that stores its pages in your own site folder is cleared from inside that plugin, and it will have its own button for it.
What about an object cache?
Different job, and probably not the one you have. A page cache answers a visitor without starting WordPress; an object cache speeds WordPress up once it has started. On a blog or a brochure site nearly every visitor is served by the page cache, so the object cache has little left to do.
It earns its keep on carts, checkouts and logged-in visitors, which are exactly the pages a page cache must not serve. See Redis Object Cache: When to Turn It On.
Questions
Do I need to install a cache plugin?
No. Caching is set up when we build the site, so there is nothing to do before you launch.
Can I remove the cache plugin and use my own?
Yes. It is your site. Deactivate the one that is there first, then set yours up.
Can I run two cache plugins for extra speed?
No. Run one. Two page caches produce stale and mismatched pages.
Is a paid plugin faster than a free one?
Not in any way most sites would notice. You are usually paying for the interface, the support and the extras around the cache rather than for the cached page itself.
Why is my site still slow with caching on?
Usually because the slow pages are the ones a cache must skip: a cart, a checkout, a search, or anything a logged-in visitor sees. Large images and scripts loaded from other companies’ servers are the next most common cause.
Will you help me set up a different plugin?
Yes. Open a ticket with the plugin you want and we will make sure nothing else is caching alongside it.