{"id":146,"date":"2026-09-06T14:42:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T09:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hostcrafter.com\/kb\/best-wordpress-cache-plugin\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T17:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T12:06:33","slug":"best-wordpress-cache-plugin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hostcrafter.com\/kb\/best-wordpress-cache-plugin\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Caching: How It Works Here, and Which Plugins to Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adding a cache plugin is your choice, and you make it when you install WordPress.<\/strong> The Add Website<\/strong> dialog has a tick box for it. Leave it ticked and the site arrives ready to serve cached pages; untick it and nothing is installed, and you can add whatever you prefer later.<\/p>\n

We do not put plugins on your site without asking. This page is what you need to decide.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Installed<\/dt>\n
Only if you tick the box<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Chosen when<\/dt>\n
You add the website<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Changeable<\/dt>\n
Any time, to anything<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The one rule<\/dt>\n
Run one page cache, not two<\/dd>\n<\/div>\n<\/dl>\n

What a page cache actually does<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The best cache plugin is a well-configured one you are not fighting.<\/b> The popular plugins are much closer together than the comparisons suggest, and the difference between “cached” and “not cached” is enormous next to the difference between any two of them. Get caching on, leave it on, and spend the time you saved on your images instead. <\/div>\n

Why plugin choice matters on our servers<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Both approaches are fully supported. Neither is blocked, throttled or discouraged.<\/p>\n

Plugins that work well here<\/h2>\n

Any of these is a sound choice on HostCrafter:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
Plugin<\/th>\nCost<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
LiteSpeed Cache<\/strong><\/td>\nFree<\/td>\nBuilt for the kind of server we run, so it uses the server-level path. This is the one the tick box installs, with settings already tuned, if you leave it ticked.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
W3 Total Cache<\/strong><\/td>\nFree<\/td>\nVery capable and highly configurable. More settings than most people need, which is a strength once you want them.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WP Rocket<\/strong><\/td>\nPaid<\/td>\nThe friendliest interface of the three, and sensible defaults out of the box. A good choice if you already own a licence.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WP Super Cache<\/strong><\/td>\nFree<\/td>\nSimple and long-established. A fine option if you want something with very few settings.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Adding one later, or switching<\/h2>\n

If you unticked the box, or you have changed your mind, install whichever plugin you want from Plugins<\/strong> in wp-admin exactly as you would any other. Nothing about the account needs changing first.<\/p>\n

If a cache plugin is already there, one rule matters more than which one you pick:<\/p>\n

Run one page cache plugin, never two.<\/b> Two caches serving the same site is how a visitor gets a page that should not exist, and neither plugin can tell you which of them answered. Deactivate the one that is there before you activate the new one. <\/div>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Deactivate the cache plugin already on the site<\/h3>\n

    From Plugins<\/strong> in wp-admin, as you would any other.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Install and activate the one you want<\/h3>\n

    Then go through its setup once. Most of them have a guided first run.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Check a page while signed out<\/h3>\n

    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.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    One thing to expect afterwards: our Clear cache<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

    What about an object cache?<\/h2>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Questions<\/h2>\n
    \n

    Do I have to install a cache plugin?<\/h3>\n

    No. It is a tick box when you add the website, and unticking it is a perfectly reasonable choice, particularly if you already know which plugin you want to use.<\/p>\n

    What happens if I leave the box ticked?<\/h3>\n

    A page cache plugin is installed and configured for you, so the site serves cached pages from its first visitor. You can change or remove it whenever you like.<\/p>\n

    Can I remove it and use my own?<\/h3>\n

    Yes. It is your site and a normal plugin. Deactivate the one that is there first, then set yours up.<\/p>\n

    Can I run two cache plugins for extra speed?<\/h3>\n

    No. Run one. Two page caches produce stale and mismatched pages.<\/p>\n

    Is a paid plugin faster than a free one?<\/h3>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    Why is my site still slow with caching on?<\/h3>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    Will you help me set up a different plugin?<\/h3>\n

    Yes. Open a ticket with the plugin you want and we will make sure nothing else is caching alongside it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Read next<\/h2>\n