What is WordPress Caching & How to Install W3 Total Cache Plugin

Website Development

In this article, we will explore WordPress caching and discuss the process of installing a caching plugin like W3 Total Cache.

Caching is primarily utilized to enhance the speed of WordPress sites. It boosts the performance of a WordPress site in the quickest manner possible. To apply caching in WordPress sites, there are various caching plugins available, such as W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, Cache Enabler etc. are available in the market. These plugins save WordPress posts and pages as static files, which are then provided to users, decreasing the server’s processing load. This can enhance performance by several hundred times for relatively static pages.

W3 Total Cache enhances the performance of WordPress sites in two primary ways. First, it reduces the time required to create pages that are commonly accessed on your site. Additionally, it utilizes established best practices such as optimizing JavaScript and CSS to decrease the duration needed to load your site in a web browser.

Here are the instructions for installing, setting up, and resolving issues with the W3 Total Cache Plugin on WordPress sites.

Steps to Install the W3 Total Cache Plugin on WordPress

  1. Log in to your WordPress account.
  2. From the Settings menu, click Permalinks.
  3. Select a permalink structure, and then click Save Changes.
  4. From the Plugins menu, click Add New.
  5. Search for W3 Total Cache.
  6. Click Install Now under W3 Total Cache, and then click OK.
  7. Click Activate Plugin.

Steps to Configure the W3 Total Cache Plugin on WordPress

  1. From the Performance menu, click General Settings.
  2. In the Page Cache area, click Enable.
  3. From the Page Cache Method list, select Disk: Enhanced.
  4. In the Minify area, click Enable.
  5. For the Minify mode select Auto.
  6. From the HTML minified list, select Default.
  7. From the JS minified list, select JSMin (default).
  8. Also From the CSS minifier list, select Default.
  9. In the Database Cache area, click Enable.
  10. From the Database Cache Method list, select Disk.
  11. In the Object Cache area, click Enable.
  12. From the Object Cache Method list, select Disk.
  13. In the Browser Cache area, click Enable.
  14. In the Miscellaneous area, click Optimize disk enhanced page and minify caching for NFS.
  15. Click Save all settings.

Steps to Troubleshoot the W3 Total Cache Plugin on WordPress

Initially, clear your cache by selecting Performance, and then clear all caches. You should also check your site using a different browser since W3 Total Cache typically does not display cached content for users who are logged in.

If your website continues to experience issues, there may be a conflict between W3 Total Cache and another plugin or your theme. To determine which one it is, follow these instructions:

  1. De-activate all plugins except W3 Total Cache.
  2. Click Performance, and then empty all caches to clear your cache.
  3. Check your site in a different browser.
  4. Enable each plugin, one-by-one, and clear your cache after you activate each plugin until you find which one is the problem.
  5. You can optionally temporarily switch to one of the WordPress default themes to see if any custom code in your theme interferes with caching.

If you’ve found a conflict between W3 Total Cache and another plugin, you must choose to enable only one of them on your website. You may reach out to the authors of the plugins for possible solutions.

If your site remains unresponsive, you should fill out a bug submission form by selecting the Performance tab, then clicking on Support to send the form for complimentary assistance and troubleshooting. After that, temporarily disable W3 Total Cache until your request for support is addressed.

If your website is displaying a 500 error and you can’t log in, you’ll need to access your site via FTP or the FTP File Manager and modify your .htaccess file. Be sure to eliminate any code sections that resemble the following:

# BEGIN W3TC [section name here]
[code here]
# END W3TC [section name here]

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