WordPress Acceleration 2023 Top 10 Plugins (Caching And More)

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Are you in search of a plugin for WordPress that can help with caching or minifying? Or are you interested in optimizing your WordPress website's speed?

Well, you're in luck because I've got just the thing for you.

In this article, I'll be sharing the top WordPress performance plugins with you. You'll find plugins for caching, minifying, lazy loading, and other plugins that enable you to make necessary adjustments to your website.

With these plugins, you'll no longer have to worry about losing traffic, subscribers, or customers due to slow loading times.



So, let's get started:

The best WordPress speed optimization plugins

1. WP Rocket



WP Rocket is a comprehensive WordPress performance plugin that offers a variety of caching features, as well as unexpected functionalities. Its user-friendly interface sets it apart from other caching plugins, which can be difficult to navigate. In addition to basic caching, WP Rocket provides image lazy loading, database optimization, and even the ability to host Google Analytics code on your own site, all of which would typically require separate plugins. With the option to delay Javascript execution time, WP Rocket can significantly improve page load times and Core Web Vitals. By installing WP Rocket, you may be able to replace multiple other plugins. Its features include a user-friendly interface, minimal tweaking, minification of CSS, HTML and Javascript, page caching, cache pre-load, advanced caching rules, CDN integration, direct Cloudflare integration, Google Analytics integration, settings import and export, version rollback, and delay of Javascript execution time. WP Rocket is available from $49 and is an excellent choice for those seeking a complete speed optimization plugin.

2. NitroPack



NitroPack is not just any WordPress performance plugin; it is a comprehensive speed optimization platform that aims to simplify the process of speeding up websites. Unlike other plugins, NitroPack optimizes everything for you, removing the need for multiple plugins and manual optimization.

Once you add your website and install the connector plugin, you can select the level of optimization you desire. NitroPack will then proceed to automatically optimize your site by implementing a global CDN, various caching types, minification, compression, image optimization, serving images in next-gen formats, DNS prefetching, deferring of JavaScript, and more. All of these optimizations are run on NitroPack's servers, which helps reduce your own server usage.

These changes can significantly improve time to first byte (TTFB), minimize main-thread work, improve your Web Core Vitals, and more. You can further customize the settings for even better performance. Even on the "strong" setting, you will observe substantial improvements in page load times and Google PageSpeed scores.

In a recent review, Colin reduced load times by over 3 seconds using Elementor. Meanwhile, using GeneratePress, the mobile PageSpeed score improved to the 90s.

While there is a free plan available, it comes with a "powered by" badge in your website's footer. Although this plan is suitable for small sites or testing purposes, it is recommended that you opt for a paid plan to remove the badge.

NitroPack offers a range of features, including automatic website optimization, support for WordPress and other content management systems, global CDN with automatic configuration, various caching types (page, browser, and more), automatic image optimization, conversion of images to next-gen formats, DNS prefetching, deferring of JS loading, HTML, JS and CSS minification, and HTML, CSS and JS compression.

3. Perfmatters



Perfmatters is a WordPress performance plugin that takes a unique approach to improve page load times compared to most plugins on the market. By default, WordPress has several options enabled that are not required for most sites and slow down performance. Perfmatters enables you to disable these options effortlessly with just a few clicks.

However, the most significant factor that slows down the rendering of your pages is HTTP requests that are not necessary. Perfmatters allows you to disable these scripts on a per-page basis, preventing plugins from loading code where it is not needed.

Additionally, you can benefit from performance-boosting features like DNS prefetch, preconnect, local Google Analytics script hosting, and more. Therefore, even if you have a WordPress caching plugin installed, it is still advisable to use Perfmatters to enhance your website's speed.

In a recent test, using Perfmatters and WP Rocket, one of the smaller sites improved its PageSpeed score from 59 to 95, a remarkable difference.

Perfmatters offers several features, including working with your existing caching plugin, disabling WordPress options that slow down your site, disabling scripts on a per-page/post basis, supporting advanced performance-boosting functionality like DNS prefetch and preconnect, REST API control, Heartbeat control, and being a lightweight plugin.

4. WP Fastest Cache



WP Fastest Cache is a performance plugin that focuses on caching, making it effortless to speed up your website. The plugin is well-balanced, with a great set of features and ease of use. Unlike other plugins that are either too basic or too advanced, the developer of WP Fastest Cache has found a middle ground.

After installing and activating the plugin, you can run through the settings and hit save to start caching. One of the unique features of this plugin is how simple it is to set cache expiration times for certain URL strings.

What's more, WP Fastest Cache has over 1 million active installations and great reviews on WordPress.org, making it a popular choice among website owners.

The plugin allows you to minify CSS and HTML, exclude certain posts or pages, integrate with a CDN, and clear cache and/or minified CSS with just one click. While a premium version is available with extra features, the free version provides sufficient functionality to enhance your website's speed.

In summary, WP Fastest Cache is an easy-to-use caching plugin that helps speed up your website, making it an excellent option for those looking for a user-friendly performance plugin.

5. Cache Enabler



KeyCDN's Cache Enabler plugin is an excellent tool for website caching. This lightweight plugin can be easily installed within minutes, and it offers several useful options such as cache expiry time, minification setup, and more. Although this plugin doesn't offer many features, that's the beauty of it, as it focuses on its primary purpose.

If you're looking to add a content delivery network service, KeyCDN's CDN Enabler plugin is an ideal solution. This plugin is also lightweight and easy to set up.

Cache Enabler's features include straightforward setup, one-click cache clearing, customizable cache behavior (such as clearing after new posts), minification options, and the ability to set post IDs to exclude from the cache. You can also set expiration times.

Best of all, Cache Enabler is available for free.

6. WP Super Cache



WP Super Cache is a highly popular caching plugin for WordPress, with over 5.5 million downloads as of the time of writing. It's easy to set up, but also offers advanced settings that allow users to optimize the plugin's performance.

WP Super Cache supports multiple caching types, including Mod_Rewrite, PHP, and Legacy. It serves static HTML files, and has a cache preload feature to ensure that your site's content is always ready to load quickly. Additionally, it supports content delivery network (CDN) integration to further enhance the user experience.

Best of all, WP Super Cache is completely free to use.

7. W3 Total Cache



W3 Total Cache is a popular plugin that enhances website speed. Unlike simple caching plugins, it offers a wide range of options and supports various caching methods. Advanced support is provided for CloudFlare and other CDN services.

However, due to the sheer number of options available, setting it up can be challenging, and inexperienced users may risk causing damage. Therefore, I recommend this plugin to advanced users.

It's worth noting that uninstalling W3 Total Cache can be tricky as it requires more than just deactivating and deleting it.

Some of its features include CDN support, browser caching, database caching, object caching, minifying, and more.

8. WP Super Minify


Minifying involves merging JS, HTML, and CSS files, which can then be compressed and delivered to website visitors to reduce loading times.

It's important to be cautious when setting up such plugins, as conflicts may arise between particular themes and plugins. WP Super Minify provides the option to disable JavaScript and/or CSS compression in case of conflicts.

WP Super Minify's features include the ability to minify JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, and it's straightforward and easy to use.

9. Smush


Smush is an image optimization plugin that is built on the Yahoo Smush.it service. It's designed to optimize images and eliminate unnecessary bytes from image files.

Unlike other tools that use 'lossy' formats which degrade quality, Smush uses lossless formats, ensuring that no difference in quality is noticeable.

Smush's features include the ability to strip unused color from images, remove meta data from JPEGs (which is unnecessary), optimize JPEG compression, and integrate with the Smush.it API. It also allows you to run existing images through the plugin.

Best of all, Smush is free!

10. LazyLoad by WP Rocket



When a visitor attempts to load a webpage, the entire page typically loads. However, for longer pages with numerous images, this can cause loading times to increase significantly.

The concept of 'lazy loading' involves loading specific elements only when they are required. This is where LazyLoad by WP Rocket comes in.

This plugin has an interesting feature that allows you to replace YouTube iFrames with preview thumbnails. It also replaces post images and post thumbnails. Additionally, it's ultra-lightweight as it doesn't use jQuery or Javascript.

Best of all, LazyLoad by WP Rocket is free!

Bonus: 5 top tools to test the speed of your website


This article focuses on introducing WordPress plugins that can improve your website's loading times by caching, minifying, and enabling features like lazy loading. While the original plan was to solely discuss WordPress plugins, I believe it's essential to mention some non-WordPress tools that can be used to measure your site's speed. These tools allow you to enter your website's URL and run tests to assess its loading times. Here are three such tools to help you get started: Google's PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Web Page Test. Google's PageSpeed Insights tool is particularly beneficial as it uses real-world data and provides information on your Core Web Vitals.

Choosing the best WordPress performance plugin

If you're struggling to improve your WordPress site's loading speed, installing even one of these plugins can make a significant difference. It's important to note that you shouldn't install all of them at once. Instead, only install what you need, as less is more when it comes to optimization. While there are other methods to increase your site's speed, these plugins are an excellent starting point.

If you're looking for the best performance boost, NitroPack is the way to go. This plugin offers optimization features, including a global CDN, and has a free plan for small websites. For a cost-effective solution, a combination of WP Rocket and Perfmatters can significantly reduce costs while providing several optimization features, including caching and lazy loading. It's worth noting that Kinsta only allows WP Rocket as a caching plugin.

Using WP Rocket and Perfmatters, I was able to increase my smaller website's page speed score from 59 to 95 - a remarkable improvement. If you're seeking a free WordPress performance plugin, WP Fastest Cache is a great option to start with, even for beginners.

There are many more ways to optimize your WordPress website. I recommend checking out our list of the best content delivery networks (CDNs), as these can considerably improve page load times.