Search engines consider site speed to be an important factor search rankings. This is why at WPBeginner we try our best to improve site load speed to an optimal level. Doing that, we have noticed that caching our website helped us improve site speed as well as balancing huge spikes in traffic. We use W3 Total Cache to improve performance of our website. However, many of our readers asked us about how to install and setup WP Super Cache. Therefore in this guide, we will show you how to install and properly setup WP Super Cache.
Note: Both W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache are great plugins. We highly recommend that you use one or the other depending on your needs.
First thing you need to do is install and activate WP Super Cache plugin (tutorial: how to install a WordPress plugin). Upon activation, WP Super Cache will notify you that caching is not enabled on your website at the moment.
Setting up WP Super Cache – The Easy Way
To enable cache, go to Settings » WP Super Cache. Under the Easy tab, turn Caching on and hit update status button.
After turning on the cache, click on the test cache button to check if it is working. WP Super Cache will fetch your WordPress site twice and will compare the time stamps of both pages. If the both time stamps match then this means that caching is working on your site now.
WP Super Cache Advanced Set up
WP super cache is a powerful plugin, and it comes with many advance options. These options can further improve your site’s performance. To Set up WP Super Cache with advance options, go to Settings » WP Super Cache and click on Advanced tab.
Enable Caching
First check the box that says Cache hits to this website for quick access. Below that you will see three caching options. By default WP Super Cache uses PHP to serve cache files. However, using PHP to serve cache files can be resource intensive particularly on shared hosting environments. So we would like to recommend that you try using mod_rewrite to serve cache files. After that scroll down and hit the update status button to save these settings.
WP Super Cache will now show you a notification that mod_rewrite rules must be updated and possibly another notification about scheduling garbage collection. Scroll down the page, and you will see mod_rewrite rules that needs to be added. Click on Update Mod_Rewrite Rules button to update these rules. Once mod_rewrite rules are updated this section will turn green.
To resolve the notice about garbage collection, scroll down on the advance settings page to the Expiry Time & Garbage Collection section and set up a time and frequency for garbage collection of cached files on your server.
Enable Compression in WP Super Cache: Compression allows WP Super Cache to serve cached files as compressed files. These files are downloaded by user browsers quickly due to their smaller size. To enable compression, simply check the box that says Compress pages so they’re served more quickly to visitors.
Setting up CDN with WP Super Cache
Most content websites serve a lot of static files with each page request. These files are JavaScripts, images, stylesheets, etc. Unlike your WordPress posts which are dynamically generated by PHP, these files can be served using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). If you don’t know what is a CDN or why you need a CDN, then you should check out our infographic “What the Heck is a CDN“.
At WPBeginner we use MaxCDN. You can read our blueprint on Why we use MaxCDN. If you need help setting up MaxCDN, then we already have a tutorial for how to install and setup MaxCDN for WordPress. The tutorial uses W3 Total cache, but the basic concept is the same.
To setup CDN with WP Super Cache, click on the CDN tab and check the box next to Enable CDN Support option. Enter your offsite URL, which will be the url of your pullzone. For example, http://cdn.wpbeginner.com
In the additional CNAMEs field enter other CNAMEs you have created for your pullzone. For example, http://cdn1.wpbeginner.com, http://cdn2.wpbeginner.com , http://cdn3.wpbeginner.com
Lastly, check the box that says Skip https URLs to avoid “mixed content” errors and save changes. Now your website is now ready to serve static content from a CDN.
Serve a Static Site with WP Super Cache
The preload mode in WP Super Cache allows you to create super cache static files for all your posts and pages and serve a static website. You may ask Why would anyone want to do that?
To conserve server resources.
To serve an old site that is not being updated anymore.
To improve site speed by serving static content only.
These were just a few reasons but there could be many more reasons and situations where you might want to completely disable PHP processes. Don’t worry your WordPress will work normally, and you will still be able to manage your content with WordPress.
Refresh preload cache files options will be set to zero by default, minimum required time is at least 30 minutes. Pre-loading your entire WordPress site takes some time and consumes a lot of resources on your server. You can leave it to 0 if you do not want your static files to expire ever unless you manually refresh cache.
We hope this guide helped you setup WP Super Cache on your WordPress blog. For plugin specific support, please post all your questions in the WordPress support forums for the plugin author. Read our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.
For other feedback and questions, please leave a comment below.
I was able to speed up my homepage significantly but unfortunately it only worked for the homepage. The subpages like i.e. ‘Services’ are still really slow.
What could be the problem?
You would want to run a speed test for that using our guide below to figure that out:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-properly-run-a-website-speed-test-best-tools/
Unable to activate the plugin. I get a warning message that a .php file already exists and I should manually delete it before using the plugin. Since I am not a techie I do not know where to go to delete the file. If you could put language in your update to the tutorial to guide us would be really helpful.
For that error, you may want to follow our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-destination-folder-already-exists-error-in-wordpress/
This post is dated. When will this post be updated? Would like to know the current status of WP Super Cache?
Thank you for letting us know, we do not have a specific date that content will be updated but we will take a look into updating this article
Is there a way to export settings once you get done?
At the moment WP Super Cache does not have a built-in option to export settings.
Thank you for this Awesome Guide.
I’m using WP Super Cache (Version 1.7.0 ). In the above tutorial, many features are not included. plz, Update Post.
Thank you for your request, we will look into updating the post
not as easy as described…
A custom url or permalink structure is required for this plugin to work correctly. Please go to the Permalinks Options Page to configure your permalinks.
Thank you for reminding us of that, we’ll be sure to look into updating the article for clarification.
Hello Support!
Thank you for all your work, I’m a complete newbie and without you, I don’t know how I’d manage.
I’m confused as regards what off-site URLs and CNames are, so I’m unable to fill in that in the form. Do I have to refer to somewhere on my page to find out or do I just create it my indicating something?
Just in case it affects somehow I’d like to inform that I run a multisite.
Thank you so much & hope you can help me,
Ana
Hi Ana,
The off site URL is the URL of your CDN location and CNames are different pullzones you have created on your CDN server. If you are not using a CDN, then you don’t need to make any changes to these settings.
can i use this plugin for testing in localhost ??
i installed this plugin in localhost and in “Cache Contents” nothing cached
displaying this …
WP-Cache (0KB)
0 Cached Pages
0 Expired Pages
WP-Super-Cache (0KB)
0 Cached Pages
0 Expired Pages
is it because i can’t use cache plugin in localhost or some other issue ?
There is nothing called MOD_REWRITE. Everything from that step seems completely different. Please update the tutorial.
No matter what settings I use Pingdom still gives me an F and says “The following cacheable resources have a short freshness lifetime. Specify an expiration at least one week in the future for the following resources:” and I see and “expiration not specified” message in the details. Am I missing a setting?
Hi Team ,
Thanks for the amazing article .
I have installed WP Super Cache with cloudflare (newbie blogger).
Can you please help me, how can I integrate cloudflare with WP super cache .
I did not found any articles or vidoes for the same .
I thought of installing WP Total , but it has not releasedthe update for recent wordpress version 4.8.1
Thank You
Hi, I wanted to speed up my site. I used this guide and customized the settings as you shown. But before installing this plugin I tested my site speed it was 4.20 sec. But after installing I check it was 6.78 sec. Why is it like this? please guide me well.
Hi Sumaiya,
Please test it again. If the result persists, then deactivate the plugin.
hello sir, I’m trying to integrate js and CSS code elements in twenty-seventeen WordPress theme. I use enqueue methods but it does not work, so suggest me to all about.
I just downloaded WP Super Cache and the “Advanced” Page doesn’t have the same setup (or some of the same options!) as your screenshot and instructions. Are those dates, or did I somehow end up with an older version of the plugin?
Same here, my settings are different.
Hi guys – Thanks for sharing this. I am using wp super cache and my wordpress is 4.0.1. At first, i don’t have any problem. Until recently, having a problem. My post did not appear on my website. I tried to put the caching off and my post appear. After that, I put the caching on again. My workaround was after posting article to my website, I will put my caching off to appear the post in my website, then after a few minutes, I will put the caching to on.
Few weeks doing that, and now, when I put the caching on, my post will disappear again to my website. As of now, my caching is still off.
Thanks and hope you can help me.
Hi Abner,
Seems like WP Super Cache is not clearing the cache when you publish new content. Please see our article on how to clear cache in WordPress.
Hello Support,
Thank You for your help with this issue while trying to install WP Super Cache.
Here is a copy of issue :
Warning! Could not update /var/www/website/wp-config.php! WPCACHEHOME must be set in config file.
Warning! /var/www/website/wp-content/advanced-cache.php does not exist or cannot be updated.
1. If it already exists, please delete the file first.
2. Make /var/www/website/wp-content writable using the chmod command through your ftp or server software. (chmod 777 /var/www/website/wp-content) and refresh this page. This is only a temporary measure and you’ll have to make it read only afterwards again. (Change 777 to 755 in the previous command)
3. Refresh this page to update /var/www/website/wp-content/advanced-cache.php
If that doesn’t work, make sure the file /var/www/website/wp-content/advanced-cache.php doesn’t exist:
1. Open /var/www/website/wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/advanced-cache.php$wp_cache_file in a text editor.
2. Change the text CACHEHOME to /var/www/website/wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/
3. Save the file and copy it to /var/www/website/wp-content/advanced-cache.php and refresh this page.
Cannot continue… fix previous problems and retry.
Already use your Envira Gallery and WP Forms and those are fantastic.
Should I just use W3 Total Cache instead?
Thank You so much for your help.
Mark Layton
Hey Mark,
You can try following the instructions shown in WP Super Cache. If you find them too complicated, then you can try W3 Total Cache. Good luck
Initially my website was loading for under 8 seconds which is pretty bad. But using your tutorial I was able get 90/100 for desktop performance.
But the mobile platform it remained 74/100. Could you suggest some resources where I could look up too or what is your suggestion.
Hey Sheikave,
Congrats! That’s impressive. You may also want to see our guide on how to fix render-blocking JavaScript and CSS in WordPress.
Hi, I’d like to know whether your guidance to choose mod_rewrite to serve cache files still stands as opposed to using PHP or Legacy Caching. I notice since you published your article, WP Super Cache have changed their own recommendation from mod_rewrite to PHP.
Thanks in advance!
Greg
Hi there. I’ve followed this tutorial to a T, and for the most part, everything works correctly, but I’m having two problems. First, when I make changes, they don’t appear on the site if I’m logged in. If I log out, they appear just fine. Second, I’m working on a WPMU network, and I only have the plugin installed on one site. But it’s caching the other sites on the network as well. How do I stop it from doing that? Thanks!
This is an awesome guideline for new users.
It helped me a lot.
Thanks from the core of heart.
Hi,
I followed your steps because my site was taking over 5s to load but after setting up the WP Super Cache my site wouldn’t load. At all. It was basic HTML – no content, no pictures, just the header…
So, I guess I’m wondering if there’s a laymen’s guide to literally all the terms you use cause I don’t understand websites or programming and I have a website for a start-up NGO so can’t really pay for any help at this point.
Or maybe you could direct me somewhere that will help me understand all this better? I’m a complete novice and confused easily!
Help!
Hello,
I have a “conceptual doubt” about WP Super Cache, that I didn´t see answered neither in your site neither in other sites.
The question is: the structure of my site is finished. In basic terms, it is mainly a site of videos of football, which means that from this day on I will gradually add posts (that include the videos that I refered) and pages (of the teams).
Since that this will be a long and permanent process, I need right now to speed up my site because nowadays is very slow.
My doubt is: when I install and configue this plugin, what does that mean in terms of the updates that I will do in my site (post and pages that I add)?
I mean, if I cache the site today and tomorrow I add a new page or post, what do I have to do in order that these pages or posts will be also cached? – do I just have to require an update of the plugin? If so, how do I do that, is it possible to define that the plugin will update the cache for example once a week?
Thank you!
Best regards.
If i don„t use set up the CDN ,the wp super cache will be work properly ?
Yes, it will work even without CDN.
I’m getting an error on the first step where you need to click on caching on and update. You mentioned the following in your article:
“WP Super Cache will fetch your WordPress site twice and will compare the time stamps of both pages. If the both time stamps match then this means that caching is working on your site now.”
This is the place where I get the error. I get a message that says:
Fetching to prime cache: OK
Fetching first copy of FAILED
Fetching second copy of : FAILED
I would be glad if you could help me out.
Thank you so much, It works great for me.
My site is a coupon site, so code is included on the coupon so it prints out by itself without lots of other junk that is on the page. If I use WP Super Cache, will that code be lost because it’s now a static page? Will people still be able to click on the coupon to print just the coupon?
Hi Teddy,
You will have to test it out first on your computer or in a staging environment.
Thanks so much for the the help. Do i have to create a cname record to use the CDN service in WP super cache. Thanks
Hi,
How to preload for several languages, I am using qtranslate, that seems impossible, right?
10x
Stefan
This is an ecommerce site using Exchange from iThemes. With WP Super Cache activated certain pages that need to be refreshed don’t get refreshed i.e. Empty Cart. When you Empty Cart it comes back with the same content or in other words it appears unemptied.
When I deactivate WP Super Cache the problem disappears. It was suggested that I Whitelist the pages that shouldn’t be cached. I am uncertain about how to do that. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
John
WP Beginner Staff, when a theme update is applied, or when other plugin updates are made, is WP Super Cache alerted to create new cached versions? Or does the plugin wait until “Expiry Time & Garbage Collection” or a manual cache deletion?
Hello,
I am using WP Super Cache, but it seems that my images don’t get cached. Any ideas on how to configure this?
I did have a lazy load plug-in, but it conflicted with my theme, so I deactivated it…
I have just install wp super cache plugin by reading your article but nor js,css and image is not loading at my blog…plz help my site address is
If you dont want to publish is comment because i include my site link PLEASE reply to my email id.
Thanks.
Seems like you have already resolved the issue.
hi , i am regular reader of your site , i have setup WP Super Cache plugin as you guide in your blog , but its not working its show only 20/100
please guide me ,i have been tried to solve this problem since last 2 days , please guide me .
Hi,
I followed as you mentioned here. Everything has done perfectly but I could not find this option: “Enable Compression in WP Super Cache:”
Where is it please?
Also, Now how can I know whether it is working perfectly or not?
Thank you very much.
How to Install and Setup WP Super Cache with CloudFlare CDN?
after updating the plugin it says “.htaccess file may need to be moved” and this error too
A difference between the rules in your .htaccess file and the plugin rewrite rules has been found. This could be simple whitespace differences but you should compare the rules in the file with those below as soon as possible. Click the ’Update Mod_Rewrite Rules’ button to update the rules.
what to do please help
Same problem here.Anyone help
I installed everything just as you said but I am still getting 52sec load time and if I tried using gtmetrix I get an error saying the URL does not appear to be an HTML.home page . please help site is
This article was very helpful, and I was able to troubleshoot my issues based on your suggested settings. Thank you for the info!
wp super cache does not work
Permlink Structure Error
A custom url or permalink structure is required for this plugin to work correctly. Please go to the Permalinks Options Page to configure your permalinks.
Thank you for your suggestions, I’m trying to apply these settings on my website now. Can you please advise if wp super cache supports minify settings.
I had wp3 total cache and had a score of 97/81 on gtmetrix, after installing wp super cache my score decreased to 82/68.
Was looking for some great guide for super cache plugin. Now I will try it on my test site.
Thanks for such a nice tutorial
Some great tips-now i need to go back and fix my site
How do I get it to work for Mobile without changing the theme?
Any info for Rejected User Agents list from the plugin ?
Installed it and got a lower grade E/D on Gtmetrix…switched to W3TC and it gave me and A/B grade.
Hi
i have a little question , when using this plugin to cashe pages , the google adsense ads will be cashed too ? ,it will show the same ads ?
thank you in advance
No your Google Ads will not be cached.
does nothing for me
Hi, Thank you for this outstandly good article. However, I am facing several issues with WP S. Cache.
The website is : avisdupublic.net
1°) My Home page is a static one. However, when a new article is published, the /home must be changed (new article in the slider and so on). However, it is no the case! Moreover, when I just “update” this static page, by a strange miracle (not so strange because with the update, the cache-page is flushed), the /home becomes “normal”.
2°) From 1°), I decided to tick the Pages, Front page, Is_home in the rejected ones. However no changes appeared in the /home.
Do you have an idea where could be the problem ?
Bests,
(sorry for the poor english)
I’m sorry for my poor English language.
I use now WP Total Cache, CDN is Cloudflare, shared hosting.
Specialists working at hosting company I recommend using wp super cache to replace the WPTotal Cache. What is your opinion?
WP Total Cache internet is recommended, considered superior WP Super Cache.
I use Google translate for this comment. Is OK?
Farcas, W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache are both good plugins.
Thanks for post, but i have a problem below:
Warning! Could not update /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-config.php! WPCACHEHOME must be set in config file.
Warning! /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/advanced-cache.php does not exist or cannot be updated.
1. If it already exists please delete the file first.
2. Make /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content writable using the chmod command through your ftp or server software. (chmod 777 /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content) and refresh this page. This is only a temporary measure and you’ll have to make it read only afterwards again. (Change 777 to 755 in the previous command)
3. Refresh this page to update /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/advanced-cache.php
If that doesn’t work, make sure the file /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/advanced-cache.php doesn’t exist:
1. Open /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/advanced-cache.php$wp_cache_file in a text editor.
2. Change the text CACHEHOME to /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/
3. Save the file and copy it to /home/d2c45a95/public_html/wp-content/advanced-cache.php and refresh this page.
How to fix it, bro