Enhancing User Experience, Unveiling Performance Secrets, and Unraveling the Cache Conundrum Unveiling the Pros and Cons, Roadblocks and Innovations, and the Future of Website Loading Speed Optimization.
Loading speed for a blog: cache plugin or web hosting with private cache? Many WordPress website owners use a cache plugin to improve its loading speed, while others use it to handle more traffic or because their hosting company requires it.
In any situation, in my opinion, a cache plugin is necessary as a sign of respect towards your visitors, delivering the website content as quickly as possible.
Previously, there were only two prominent cache plugins used by everyone (WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache), along with others that were less noticed. Now, there are more options available, but I have stuck with W3 Total Cache because it offers a wide range of options and does exactly what I need.
Unfortunately, like anything else, there are also downsides when using a cache plugin, especially an older one like W3 Total Cache.
First and foremost, because it is the most noticeable, as much as it speeds up the website, it visibly affects the WordPress interface, making it slower. A WordPress site with W3 Total Cache will move slower than a WP site without the cache plugin, both on shared hosting and a locally installed web server, based on my tests.
Secondly, some plugins are updated more frequently than others, and when it comes to W3 Total Cache, its developers haven’t been very eager to update it. And when they did, I looked with horror at the list of covered vulnerabilities. If those who reported the vulnerabilities knew about them, probably others did too.
Thirdly, it requires expertise to configure and use it properly. A misconfigured cache plugin does more harm than good.
Fortunately, there are also solutions to completely eliminate the need for a cache plugin, which seems to be becoming outdated.
One very good solution would be hosting companies that offer private cache architecture.
One of these companies, which are few in number and reasonably priced, is Coolice Host, a hosting company owned by a Bulgarian.
I don’t mind small companies, the serious ones; in fact, I like them. I like them because they take better care of you in general.
Their website loads extremely fast, as if it’s on steroids. The reason is simple: private cache architecture (Nginx plus Varnish Cache, mod_ruid2, and ZendOpcache).
Those who have tried hosting there have written that they no longer needed a cache plugin, and their website loads phenomenally. I have no reason not to believe them, especially when I see how the hosting company’s website loads. Incredibly fast!
They also have some interesting packages, referring here to VPS Hybrid, which in simpler terms would be regular hosting with CloudLinux and LiteSpeed. Decent prices, multiple entry processes, and DDoS protection. They mention something about 500 Gbps for DDoS protection, so it’s probably Voxility. Anti-DDoS doesn’t go well with shared hosting, and those 500 Gbps might not be entirely accurate, but well…
Of course, there are also disadvantages if you choose hosting outside of your country, such as relying on external speed when downloading large files (images, backups, etc.), which is not particularly pleasant.
I admit, it catches my eye, the idea of not using a cache plugin and having such fast loading speeds, but I’m not sure if I’ll try it.
We’ll see what the future holds.
What are your experiences with cache plugins versus hosting solutions with private cache architecture?
Have you encountered any challenges or found significant improvements in website loading speed? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!