How to Set up Full Page Caching in WordPress
If you are not using Full Page Caching in WordPress, then you are missing a lot.
Since the introduction of Core Web Vitals from Google, the attention towards website speed has been great, as it's evident from more visits to our speed optimization posts.
Through this guide, I'm going to share how to use Full Page Caching in WordPress in the most efficient way.
What is Full Page Caching in WordPress?
By default, every CDN service provides caches your static files like CSS, JS, etc. and stores it on their global POP locations, thus reducing the site's load time. This method is not efficient enough to fully harness the power of CDN.
Through Full Page Caching, the CDN will cache the entire page and store all the page contents on their POP location. In this way, the Time to First Byte (TTFB) is greatly reduced and thus, fixing the Largest Contentful Paint in WordPress.
To provide you with pictorial representation, the below site using regular CDN vs. comparing it to the site using full page caching. You can see the TTFB is lesser with full page caching in all global locations.
Set up Full Page Caching WordPress
There are two ways to use Full Page Caching in WordPress. You can either sign up with top CDN providers or use a hosting that provides full-page caching by default.
Full Page Caching with StackPath
StackPath is my most recommended CDN for full page caching. Apart from the usual CDN setup, you just need to enable “URL caching,” and StackPath instantly stores your whole site in their global POP location.
Why choose StackPath over other CDN? Because it's the fastest. Below is the site with full page caching powered by StackPath, and the right next site is Cloudflare. You can see there is at least 15-30 ms better load time with StackPath.
Compare | StackPath | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
New York | 20.22ms | 24.54ms |
San Fransico | 27.92ms | 55.99ms |
London | 19.24ms | 33.67ms |
Amsterdam | 25.8ms | 62.94ms |
Singapore | 18.9ms | 30.61ms |
However, the only concern with StackPath, there is no Indian POP, so skip it if you have a lot of Indian traffic. In this case, Choose Cloudflare, which is next best for full page caching in WordPress.
Full Page Caching with Cloudflare
To use full page caching with Cloudflare, you need to check this page rules option. The free plan has got five-page rules, which are enough to get started. Here are the settings you need to choose and follow the same exact order.
Flywheel Full Page Caching
Flywheel, the managed WordPress hosting, provides full page caching for WordPress by default. Flywheel uses Fastly, which is a premium CDN service that starts at $50 per month. However, Flywheel users enjoy their CDN for absolute free of cost with all POP zones included.
You can just enable their CDN from the Flywheel dashboard to get started. No, configurations are required, and the easiest way to enable full page caching in WordPress is here.
Rocket.net Full Page Caching
Rocket.net is a relatively new managed WordPress hosting company but its features are on par comparable with established brands in the industry.
Rocket.net uses Cloudflare Enterprise Plans and automatically provides full page caching through their 200+ global POP locations. Apart from full page caching, you can also enjoy Cloudflare Enterprise features like Mirage, Polish, Mobile Optimisations, etc. Here is the site hosted on Rocket.net
There are no settings involved with Rocket.net. Every site is automatically configured with Cloudflare Enterprise full page caching.
