Are you looking for a detailed, in-depth WP Rocket review to see if this WordPress caching plugin is worth the investment? You’ve landed in the right spot.
WP Rocket, trusted by 4M+ users, is the #1 WordPress caching plugin on the market. It’s budget-friendly, packed with performance features, and incredibly easy to use. In fact, you don’t need to tinker with complicated settings—WP Rocket starts working as soon as you activate it. That means your WordPress site is instantly optimized for better performance.
But why is page speed so important? Do you really need a caching plugin?
According to Google, 47% of users leave websites that take longer than three seconds to load.
Faster websites don’t just keep visitors around but also increase conversions and improve business outcomes.
Source: Think With Google
On top of that, page speed is a ranking factor in Google’s search results. If you care about SEO, you can’t afford to ignore it.
In short, speeding up your WordPress site helps you attract more traffic, capture more leads, grow your business, and boost your income.
So, how much of a difference can WP Rocket actually make?
In this in-depth WP Rocket review, I’ll break down everything you need to know about this caching plugin. I’ll walk you through its features, share its pros and cons, and most importantly, show you real results from speed tests I ran.
I’ll show you the before-and-after results I got and the exact settings I used to get those improvements.
(Spoiler: it knocked my Core Web Vitals out of the park, improving them by 20-35%).
I’ve spent the last six years building and optimizing WordPress sites, everything from small blogs to online stores. Whether you’re brand new to WordPress or you’ve been using it for years, I’m confident you’ll know if WP Rocket is right for you after this.
Ready to dive in? Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What are Caching Plugins, and Why Do You Need Them?
Ever wondered how some WordPress sites load lightning-fast?
The secret lies in caching plugins.
Think of them as your website’s memory bank – they store ready-made copies of your pages, so visitors don’t have to wait while your server builds everything from scratch each time.
When you use caching on your WordPress site, you’ll notice some impressive benefits right away.
Your pages will snap into view almost instantly, which not only keeps your visitors happy but also catches Google’s attention. Better yet, your server won’t have to work as hard, which means you might even save some money on hosting costs, especially if you’re running a high-traffic site.
Image Source: WP Rocket
I’ve seen how the right caching plugin can transform a sluggish website into a speed demon. When your site loads quickly, visitors are more likely to stick around and explore – it’s just human nature, we all hate waiting.
Here’s the interesting part though: each caching plugin has its own personality.
Some are like that friend who’s ready to help the moment you call – just activate them and you’re good to go. Others need a bit more attention and tweaking to really shine.
If you’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves and diving into optimization settings, these might give you even better results.
The bottom line: Caching plugins are a powerful tool for optimizing your WordPress website. By improving speed and performance, you create a better experience for your visitors and ultimately, for your business.
What is WP Rocket – An Introduction
WP Rocket is a well-loved WordPress caching plugin and for good reason.
They promise some real benefits, like:
- A ridiculously easy setup.
- Great performance right away.
- A user-friendly interface and settings that anyone can understand.
- Fast, seamless CDN integration.
- Tons of settings for even more page speed optimization.
The story behind WP Rocket is pretty interesting. Back in 2013, two web developers, Jonathan Buttigieg and Jean-Baptiste Marchand-Arvier, were frustrated with the existing WordPress caching plugins.
They just weren’t seeing the speed improvements they wanted, and honestly, working with those plugins felt like solving a puzzle.
So they decided to tackle the problem themselves. Their mission? Create something that wouldn’t require a PhD in web development to use. They built WP Rocket to be different – when you open it up, everything just makes sense.
Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the world of caching or you’re a WordPress optimization pro, you’ll find it refreshingly straightforward to speed up your site.
You can find out more about WP Rocket’s beginnings in their first-year report.
What WP Rocket Can Do For You?
Here’s a look at WP Rocket’s main functionalities and what they can do for you.
- Comprehensive caching: WP Rocket caches everything – pages, databases, even individual objects. This creates a lightning-fast experience for your visitors, and if mobile is your priority, it can even create a separate cache just for smartphones.
- File optimization that goes the distance: This plugin doesn’t just minify files; it optimizes how they’re delivered, lazy loads images, and uses Gzip compression to make your website load incredibly quickly.
- JavaScript loading that won’t slow you down: Tired of seeing that ‘Eliminate render-blocking resources’ audit in PageSpeed Insights? With WP Rocket, you can load JavaScript files in the footer or defer them. This means your site loads faster because JavaScript won’t hold up other important files from downloading.
- Preloading for a flying start: WP Rocket analyzes your sitemaps, grabs all the URLs, and preloads the cache for each one. This gives your website a serious speed boost right from the start.
- Database cleanup for a tidy site: WP Rocket helps you declutter your WordPress database by removing unnecessary data like old revisions, trashed content, and outdated comments.
- Seamless CDN integration: WP Rocket works seamlessly with its own Rocket CDN and other leading CDNs. These CDNs speed up loading times by delivering your website’s files from servers located closer to your visitors.
- Image optimization: WP Rocket works perfectly with its own image optimization plugin, Imagify. This powerful duo dramatically shrinks image sizes without sacrificing quality, leading to much faster page loads.
Overall, WP Rocket offers a user-friendly interface and is easy to set up and configure, even for beginners. It is a powerful tool for improving website performance and user experience.
What I particularly appreciate about WP Rocket is the flexibility of its caching settings.
You can easily tweak them, excluding specific files and scripts to prevent any unexpected styling problems.
If you encounter any unexpected issues after activating a setting, simply exclude the problematic assets from caching to quickly resolve the problem.
WP Rocket Updated Pricing Package
WP Rocket keeps its pricing straightforward with three simple license options based on the number of sites you plan to use the plugin on:
- Single: For a single site, it’s $59 per year.
- Growth: If you need to use it on up to ten sites, it’s $199 per year.
- Multi: Use on 50, 100 or 500 sites (from $299 to $599/year).
Whichever plan you go for, you’ll unlock all of the plugin’s features.
Although WP Rocket doesn’t offer a free version or trial, it comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
If it doesn’t meet your expectations, you can easily request a full refund within two weeks. Plus, as a bonus, they give you 30% off renewals if you decide to stick with them after the first year.
WP Rocket Pros and Cons
1. Pros
1.1. Impressive results
WP Rocket delivers real, impressive results, and users are thrilled with its performance. I’ll share the results I’ve achieved in just a moment.
With an impressive 4.8-star rating on Trustpilot, WP Rocket stands out as one of the top-rated WordPress caching plugins, trusted and loved by countless users.
1.2. User-friendly Interface
You’ll love how easy WP Rocket is to use. Right after installation, you’ll see a clean, user-friendly dashboard. From there, you can configure the plugin in just a few clicks—it’s that simple.
1.3. Easy to use
With WP Rocket, you can achieve fantastic results without any hardcore tech knowledge.
1.4. Fast Installation
You’ll find WP Rocket straightforward to install and configure. After installation and activation, you should see an immediate improvement in your site’s speed. I’ll give you a quick overview of the dashboard shortly.
1.5. Expert customer support
The support team is incredibly helpful. They’ve always answered my questions, and I’ve even had reps give me expert advice on optimizing my configuration and website performance. WP Rocket’s support has a 92% happiness score based on customer ratings, which speaks for itself.
1.6. Helpful Tutorials and Guides
The documentation is really well done, which I appreciate. You’ll see a helpful blue Help bubble inside the plugin itself. Just click it and you’ve got the documentation and all the help articles right there, no need to leave WordPress.
1.7. Loaded with powerful features
WP Rocket packs a ton of features to boost your WordPress site’s performance. It handles everything from caching and minification (for HTML, CSS, and JS) to image optimization (thanks to Imagify) and CDN integration. We’ll explore all the settings in detail below.
1.8. CDN Integration
For a truly fast global experience, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for your site.
1.9. Mobile optimization
WP Rocket also makes your website faster on phones and tablets. It does this by creating separate, optimized cache files for mobile.
1.10. Fully compatible with WooCommerce
WP Rocket and WooCommerce are a great match. To give your customers the best possible shopping experience, WP Rocket automatically excludes dynamic pages like the cart and checkout from caching.
1.11. Compatible with most hosting providers and plugins
How your website host works has a big effect on how well WP Rocket does its job. Because many hosts have their own built-in caching systems, WP Rocket is smart and automatically turns off some of its features to avoid any clashes.
Here’s something great: both Kinsta and WP Engine – two leading hosting providers – now exclusively support WP Rocket for caching. While these hosts already deliver blazing-fast speeds, they’ve found that adding WP Rocket can push your site’s performance even further.
2. Cons
2.1. No free version
WP Rocket doesn’t offer a free version or a free trial.
However, they do provide a 14-day money-back guarantee. This lets you try WP Rocket for two weeks and get a full refund if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
2.2. Premium pricing
Though WP Rocket delivers excellent value for most users, the price tag might make you think twice if you’re on a tight budget or just looking for a free caching plugin.
2.3. No live chat
I wish WP Rocket offered live chat or phone support. Having to rely solely on support tickets can be really frustrating, especially when I need to explain technical issues or get quick feedback.
While I can still submit tickets, the back-and-forth communication takes way too long. I’d really prefer to get support through a live chat or even just a phone number I could call.
2.4. No Built-in Image Optimization
Unlike some other caching plugins, WP Rocket doesn’t offer built-in image optimization (e.g., compressing and resizing images). You need a third-party plugin like Imagify (also owned by WP Rocket) for image optimization.
WP Rocket Performance and Speed Test (With Proof)
Caching plugins have one main goal: to speed up your website.
So, does WP Rocket actually deliver on its promise of faster loading times? Let’s find out.
In this section, I’ll show you the performance test results of WP Rocket on my site, Mastery Blogging. To put it to the test, I’ll analyze the speed and performance of one of my most popular posts—the best AppSumo Lifetime Deals. Since the article is packed with content, screenshots, and images, it’s an ideal candidate for testing.
I’ll use two well-known speed testing tools: GTmetrix and PageSpeed Insights. Both are free to use, though you’ll need to create a free account with GTmetrix to get a full report.
Alright, before we start testing, I’d like to give you some brief information about the site:
- WordPress Version: I’m running the latest version, 6.7.1.
- Theme: I went with GeneratePress because it’s lightweight and seriously fast.
- Website Builder: I’m using the Stackable Gutenberg blocks plugin.
- WP Rocket Plugin: I’ve got the latest version installed, 3.17.3.1
- Hosting: I’m currently using a shared hosting plan from A2 (their Turbo Velocity plan).
- PHP Version: It’s running on 8.3
- Total Plugins Installed: I have 17 plugins active.
- Content: It’s a straightforward, long-form blog post—no e-commerce or related plugins here.
- Image Optimization: I’ve optimized all the images by resizing and compressing them, so the pages load quickly.
For Round 1, we ran tests without WP Rocket
To start, we’ll examine our page speed test results without WP Rocket, so we can see the difference later.
Tool No. 1: PageSpeed Insights results (before WP Rocket)
I wanted to get a sense of how well my site is performing on Core Web Vitals, so I used Google PageSpeed Insights. Here’s what I found.
Without WP Rocket Mobile Test
Without WP Rocket Desktop Test
The performance score looks decent (85 on mobile and 93 on desktop), but there’s room for improvement. My biggest concern is the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), particularly on mobile. It’s taking a sluggish 3.2 seconds to load, which is a real drag for users.
On a desktop, it’s much better at 0.5 seconds. The slow mobile loading time seems to be caused by the large number of images in the article, which is definitely something to address.
Tool No. 2: GTmetrix results (before WP Rocket)
For this test, I used GTmetrix’s basic testing environment — that’s Vancouver, Canada, on a desktop. Here’s what happened:
Without WP Rocket
I’m not happy with our overall score of C. It shows we really need to improve. One thing I’m focusing on is Time to Interactive (TTI). That’s how long it takes for people to actually start using our site after it loads.
Right now, our TTI is 3.8 seconds, and I know we can do better than that.
For Round 2, we ran tests with WP Rocket
Let’s see how things change when WP Rocket is switched on.
At first, I wasn’t sure if WP Rocket could truly impact my website speed. I’ve experimented with many popular WordPress caching plugins, and the improvements were usually minor.
But after installing and activating WP Rocket, I can describe the results in one word: IMPRESSIVE.
For my tests, I enabled these settings in WP Rocket:
- Enabled caching for mobile devices
- Minified CSS files
- Optimized CSS delivery (removed unused CSS)
- Minified JavaScript files
- Loaded JavaScript deferred
- Delayed JavaScript execution
- Activated all LazyLoad options
- Added missing image dimensions
- Activated preloading
- Enabled link preloading
Here’s the outcome:
Tool No. 1: PageSpeed Insights results (after WP Rocket)
I activated WP Rocket and immediately checked the PageSpeed Insights scores. Here’s the improvement I saw on mobile.
With WP Rocket (Default Configuration) Mobile Test
With WP Rocket (Custom Configuration) Mobile Test
And here’s the improvement on the desktop.
With WP Rocket (Default Configuration) Desktop Test
With WP Rocket (Custom Configuration) Desktop Test
I’ve seen some huge improvements in both the overall score and the individual metrics, across mobile and desktop.
Here’s a detailed summary for both, and I’ve highlighted the performance differences in green:
Metrics | Mobile – No WP Rocket | Mobile – WP Rocket | Difference |
Performance | 85 | 98 | +13 (+15.2%) |
Accessibility | 93 | 93 | 0 |
Best Practices | 100 | 100 | 0 |
SEO | 100 | 100 | 0 |
First Contentful Paint | 2.0s | 1.3s | -0.7s (-35%) |
Largest Contentful Paint | 3.2s | 2.2s | -1s (-31.25%) |
Total Blocking Time | 20ms | 100ms | +80ms (+400%) |
Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0 |
Speed Index | 6.4s | 2.0s | -4.4s (-68.75%) |
Metrics | Desktop – No WP Rocket | Desktop – WP Rocket | Difference |
Performance | 93 | 100 | +7 (+7.52%) |
Accessibility | 93 | 93 | 0 |
Best Practices | 100 | 100 | 0 |
SEO | 100 | 100 | 0 |
First Contentful Paint | 0.5s | 0.4s | -0.1s (-20%) |
Largest Contentful Paint | 0.5s | 0.4s | -0.1s (-20%) |
Total Blocking Time | 0ms | 0ms | 0 |
Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.046 | 0.046 | 0 |
Speed Index | 2.8s | 0.7s | -2.1s (-75%) |
WP Rocket made a huge difference in my site’s performance. I saw an amazing improvement of 20% to 35% in my Google Core Web Vitals. That’s amazing, especially since it only took me about five minutes to install the plugin and configure the settings I talked about.
Sure, there’s always more you can do to optimize, but I’ve honestly never seen another WordPress caching plugin deliver such impressive results with so little effort. I mean, getting these kinds of results this easily is just unheard of.
Tool No. 2: GTmetrix results (after WP Rocket)
Here’s what we found in GTmetrix after activating WP Rocket.
With WP Rocket (Default Configuration)
With WP Rocket (Custom Configuration)
I’ve outlined the key metrics for you in detail below.
Metrics | No WP Rocket | WP Rocket | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
GTmetrix Grade | C | A | +2 grades |
Performance | 69% | 100% | +31% (44.92% up) |
Structure | 79% | 97% | +18% (22.78% up) |
First Contentful Paint (FCP) | 1.5s | 408ms | -1.09s (72.8% down) |
Speed Index | 2.1s | 426ms | -1.6s (79.71% down) |
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | 4.6s | 408ms | -4.1s (91.13% down) |
Time to Interactive (TTI) | 3.8s | 524ms | -3.2s (86.21% down) |
Total Blocking Time (TBT) | 0ms | 37ms | +37ms |
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Time to First Byte (TTFB) | 672ms | 289ms | -383ms (57% down) |
Onload Time | 8.5s | 534ms | -7.9s (93.71% down) |
Fully Loaded Time | 8.7s | 680ms | -8.02s (92.18% down) |
Total Page Size | 1.82MB | 121KB | -1.69MB (93.35% down) |
Total Page Requests | 120 | 7 | -113 (94.16% down) |
Once again, I’m seeing significant improvements across the board. Just by activating WP Rocket, we’re hitting the best overall score: A.
What really jumps out at me is the huge drop in Total Page Size (down 93.35%) and Total Page Requests (down 94.16%). These results are fantastic.
WP Rocket Performance Test Summary
I put WP Rocket to the test with some performance benchmarks, and the results are in: it boosted every metric and score in both PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix.
Here’s what impressed me the most:
- Largest Contentful Paint: WP Rocket reduced it by 20% to 91.13%.
- Time to Interactive: It slashed this by a whopping 86.21%.
- Fully Loaded Time: This dropped by 92.18%.
- Total Page Size: We saw a massive 93.35% reduction.
- Total Page Requests: This plummeted by an incredible 94.16%.
Clearly, WP Rocket delivers on its promise. It accelerates WordPress sites and tackles the most important factors for overall WordPress performance.
Cutting the number of requests to the web server by over 90% is a huge win—these results are seriously impressive.
My test used a long-form article loaded with images. So, if you publish similar content on your WordPress site and want a simple way to speed things up, this plugin is a fantastic solution.
Of course, every WordPress site is unique, so your results might differ. But based on my testing, you should definitely see a noticeable improvement in page speed with WP Rocket.
How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website With WP Rocket
Now that you’ve seen what WP Rocket can do, you’re probably ready to give it a try. Keep in mind they have a 14-day refund policy if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to get your WordPress site speeding along:
Step 1: Get Your WP Rocket License
First, choose the WP Rocket package that’s right for you. You can do that here.
On the checkout page, fill in your details and complete the purchase. Once done, you’ll be redirected to your WP Rocket dashboard.
Step 2: Download the Plugin
From your WP Rocket dashboard, download the WP Rocket ZIP file.
Step 3: Install the Plugin in WordPress
Now, go to your WordPress admin area. In the left-hand menu, click “Plugins” and then “Add New.” Click the “Upload Plugin” button, and then “Choose File” to select the ZIP file you just downloaded. Once you’ve selected it, click “Install Now”.
Step 4: Activate WP Rocket
Once the installation is done, click “Activate Plugin”.
Step 5: Access WP Rocket Settings
You’ll now see a new “WP Rocket” menu in your WordPress admin bar. Head over to Plugins » WP Rocket » Settings to open the WP Rocket dashboard.
Now you’re ready to explore the plugin’s settings.
Best WP Rocket Settings: How to Configure WP Rocket
Now that the plugin has been installed, you can adjust its behaviour using the various tabs and settings.
Let’s take a look.
1. Dashboard
Your WP Rocket dashboard is easy to find in WordPress: just go to Settings » WP Rocket.
Once you’re there, you’ll see the default settings are already in place. A big green message will even let you know that WP Rocket is “now activated and already working for you.”
That’s because WP Rocket automatically takes care of about 80% of performance best practices right out of the box, so your site should already be loading faster.
The main dashboard gives you access to a few key things:
- My Account: This is where you manage your license, upgrade if you need to, and access your account details.
- RocketCDN: Here you can subscribe to RocketCDN (we’ll talk more about this soon).
- My Status: This lets you choose whether to share anonymous usage data with WP Rocket to help them improve the plugin.
- Getting Started: This section has helpful tutorials and guides to help you get the most out of WP Rocket. Their Help Center is also full of useful articles to make things as easy as possible.
- Frequently Asked Questions: Check here for common Q&As, or you can open a support ticket if you need more help.
- Quick Actions: Need to clear your entire cache? This is the quick way to remove all cached files.
Now, we’ll go over the tabs you’ll find in the WP Rocket WordPress plugin.
2. File Optimization
File optimization within your caching plugin can seriously boost your WordPress site’s speed. But be careful! Playing with these settings can sometimes mess up your site’s appearance or even break functionality for visitors.
So, approach file optimization gradually. Change one setting, then test it thoroughly. Test it again just to be sure. Only then proceed to the next setting.
Here’s what you can do with CSS files:
- Minify CSS files: ON – Reduce file size by removing unnecessary elements.
- Optimize CSS delivery: ON – You can choose between “Remove Unused CSS” and “Load CSS asynchronously.”
You can also exclude specific CSS files or elements from these optimizations.
And here’s what you can adjust for JavaScript files:
- Minify JavaScript files: ON – This removes extra spaces and comments to make the files smaller.
- Combine JavaScript files: OFF – This combines your site’s internal, third-party, and inline JavaScript files, which reduces the number of requests your site makes to the server.
- Load JavaScript deferred: ON – This prevents JavaScript from blocking your page from loading quickly, which improves page speed.
- Delay JavaScript execution: ON – This waits to load JavaScript files until someone interacts with your site (like scrolling or clicking).
If something on your site breaks after enabling these settings, try excluding specific JavaScript files. It often resolves the issue.
3. Media
Unoptimized media files, especially large images, can seriously drag down your site’s performance.
High-quality images are great, but they can make your site painfully slow if they’re too big. So, before you upload anything to your WordPress Media Library, take a minute to resize your images (ReduceImages is a good tool) and then compress them (try TinyJPG, for instance). This simple step makes a huge difference.
WP Rocket also helps a ton with media speed, using techniques like lazy loading. Here’s how it works in the Media tab:
- LazyLoad: ON – This delays loading images, iframes, and videos until they’re actually needed. Basically, images and videos below the fold (the part of the page you don’t see until you scroll) won’t load until they’re about to come into view. This means your pages load much faster initially. For YouTube videos, WP Rocket can even replace the video iframe with a preview image for even better performance.
- Image Dimensions: ON – WP Rocket takes care of missing image dimensions by automatically adding width and height attributes. This stops layout shifts and makes browsing your site a more pleasant experience.
4. Preload
Let’s first talk about what cache preloading actually means before we get into the settings.
Usually, when you use caching, the system creates a cached version of a page only after someone visits it. This means the first visitor doesn’t get the benefit of a faster load time.
Cache preloading changes that. WP Rocket proactively generates your website’s cache in the background.
This ensures blazing-fast page loads, even for pages that haven’t been visited yet.
Here’s what you can do on the Preload tab:
- Preload Cache: ON – Automatically create a complete cache of your entire website. WP Rocket uses your sitemaps to find all pages and stores them in the cache, keeping it always ready.
- Preload Links: ON – Improve the feeling of speed by starting to load a page when visitors hover over a link.
- Prefetch DNS Requests: Speed up the loading of external resources like fonts or videos from places like Google or YouTube.
- Preload Fonts: Load custom fonts hosted on your own server faster. This helps you meet the recommendations from PageSpeed Insights for optimizing important requests.
5. Advanced rules
This tab is for those with some experience. If you’re new to this, you probably won’t need it. I won’t dive deep into it here.
However, if you’re curious to learn more, check out this section of the documentation.
6. Database
Let’s focus on this tab, which helps you clean and optimize your database.
This feature is one of WP Rocket’s biggest advantages. As you’ll notice, it’s far more than just a caching plugin.
Your database is the backbone of your website. It stores everything—pages, posts, comments, and even your theme and plugin settings. In short, it’s critical to your site’s performance.
That’s why backing up your database regularly is non-negotiable. Use a dedicated plugin (like Duplicator) to ensure you’re always prepared.
Over time, your database can slow down your site. The more data it holds, the harder it works, which can impact your site’s speed.
To keep your site fast and efficient, database optimization is a must.
WP Rocket makes this process simple with the following features:
- Post cleanup: ON – This lets you remove revisions and drafts from your database. I recommend enabling this feature. Revisions store copies of each draft of your posts, which is useful for tracking changes, but it can quickly clutter your database.
- Comments cleanup: ON – Similar to posts, you can remove spam and trashed comments by checking these options.
- Transients cleanup: ON – Transients temporarily cache data, which gets stored in your database. You can select the option to remove all transients and lighten your database’s load.
- Database cleanup: ON – By enabling this option, WP Rocket will optimize your database tables as needed.
- Automatic cleanup: WEEKLY – You can set up automatic database cleaning. If you don’t update your site often, a weekly or even monthly cleanup will be enough. However, if you publish content daily, it’s a good idea to go for a daily cleanup schedule.
By taking a few minutes to optimize your database with WP Rocket, you’ll ensure your site stays fast and performs at its best.
7. CDN
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) helps speed up your site’s loading time. It works by storing your files on multiple servers around the world. So, when someone visits your site, the CDN delivers files from the server closest to their location—for example, a server near their city.
With WP Rocket, you can easily enable a CDN. But do you really need one? If you’re just starting out, it’s not something to stress over.
However, if you want to give it a try, WP Rocket offers its own CDN service, RocketCDN, starting at $7.99/month. The best part? It’s easy to use—it integrates seamlessly with WP Rocket, so there’s no extra work for you.
Since October 2023, RocketCDN has been powered by Bunny CDN, one of the fastest options out there, with more than 120 access points worldwide.
In the CDN settings tab, you can manage options like:
- RocketCDN: Seamlessly connect to WP Rocket’s RocketCDN.
- Third-Party CDN: You can also use other CDN services like MaxCDN or KeyCDN.
- Exclude files from CDN: Decide which files shouldn’t be served by the CDN.
You also have the flexibility to create separate rules for different file types (like images, CSS, and JavaScript) to optimize your CDN for the best performance.
8. Heartbeat
Heartbeat is a feature that keeps you updated on real-time activity, like other users editing pages or plugin notifications. It runs frequently, which can sometimes strain your server.
To improve performance, I suggest disabling Heartbeat entirely in the backend and frontend. For the post editor, you can reduce its activity to once every two minutes, which should still allow for essential features like autosaves.
9. Add-ons
The Add-ons section lets you easily add extra features with just a click:
- Varnish: Only select this if you’re using a Varnish server.
- WebP Compatibility: It creates a separate cache for your WebP images. This is most helpful if your images are already in WebP format; otherwise, enabling this setting won’t have any effect. WP Rocket doesn’t create WebP images itself. If you need to convert your images to WebP, tools like Imagify can help.
- Cloudflare: Connect your Cloudflare account and easily manage some of its settings right from your WordPress dashboard.
- Sucuri: Select this only if you use Sucuri to protect your site.
10. Image optimization
Want to make your WordPress images load faster?
Imagify, included with WP Rocket, does the work for you. No need to manually resize and compress every image – Imagify optimizes them right within your WordPress dashboard.
This speeds up your site without affecting image quality.
Simply go to the ‘Image optimization’ tab, install the Imagify plugin, and you’re all set.
11. Tools
The Tools tab allows you to:
- Export settings: Back up your WP Rocket configuration with a simple download.
- Import settings: Easily import and apply your preferred configuration with just a few clicks.
- Rollback: Quickly switch back to a previous version of WP Rocket if you encounter any issues with the current one.
- Mobile Cache: To give your mobile visitors the best experience, enable caching specifically for them.
- Update Inclusion and Exclusion Lists: This tool keeps your lists up-to-date for several WP Rocket features. It usually updates weekly, but you can also update them manually whenever you like.
12. Tutorials
The Tutorials tab is packed with amazing resources. You’ll find tons of helpful guides and easy-to-follow tutorials that show you how to get the absolute most out of WP Rocket.
I personally love this section.
WP Rocket’s User Experience – Is It Really That Good?
WP Rocket’s interface is incredibly user-friendly.
You can easily navigate between tabs, just like I mentioned before.
The team clearly put a lot of thought into creating an interface that’s both user-friendly and intuitive. You don’t need to be a tech guru to figure things out.
Want to activate a feature? Simply check a box and hit save – it’s that easy. They’ve even automated 80% of web performance best practices right from the start.
What really impressed me were some of the thoughtful touches that made the experience even better:
- The eye-catching icons for each tab add a nice visual flair. The vibrant colours really pop and guide you where you need to go.
- Right from the dashboard, you have everything you need – quick access to docs, FAQs, tutorial videos, and support.
I particularly love the option to hide the settings sidebar for a cleaner look. These small details are what truly set WP Rocket apart.
Can WP Rocket Actually Break Your Website?
If you’ve used a WordPress caching plugin before, you’ve probably run into problems where your site’s layout or functionality gets wonky when certain settings are turned on.
But the reality is that any caching plugin can break your site.
If you’re not a tech whiz and don’t totally get how caching works, figuring out what went wrong can be a real headache.
When I browse WP Rocket’s Help Center, one article always catches my eye: “My Site Is Broken.”
It’s featured prominently in their most popular articles, which shows just how common this issue is. Clearly, users want quick solutions for broken sites.
So, how do you avoid these issues with WP Rocket?
Go slow when you’re changing settings. Ideally, change just one setting at a time.
Then, really check out your website on both your computer and your phone.
If you see anything weird, just undo the last setting you changed.
Basically, if your site breaks, the usual fix is to turn off the settings you’ve changed one by one until you find the one causing the issue.
If you need help, WP Rocket’s Help Center has plenty of detailed tutorials and troubleshooting guides.
Does WP Rocket Outperform Free Caching Plugins?
So, how does WP Rocket stack up against those free WordPress caching plugins?
Basically, what are you getting for your money with WP Rocket?
Let’s dive into a few key areas where WP Rocket really shines compared to most of its free counterparts.
1. Convenience
WP Rocket simplifies page speed optimization by bringing all the essential tools together in a single plugin.
This unique approach is a huge time-saver compared to other caching solutions.
Free caching plugins often force you to juggle multiple plugins and dashboards, which can be a real pain and waste a lot of time and energy.
2. Support
Hands down, the best part about WP Rocket is the support they provide. Caching can be tricky, so it’s awesome to have experts you can reach out to. While they don’t offer live chat or phone calls, I’ve always gotten quick replies to my questions.
I’ve been using WP Rocket since 2022, and it’s been a fantastic experience – no complaints at all.
Over 92% of their customers give their support 5 stars, which speaks volumes.
It’s important to remember that caching itself is a complex process. You often need to experiment to find the perfect WP Rocket settings. So, don’t let a few negative reviews about support scare you off.
3. Regular Updates
WP Rocket gets updated often, with the team constantly improving the plugin and adding new features.
They’re also much quicker at fixing any bugs or problems that pop up compared to free caching plugins.
4. No More Plugin Conflicts
WP Rocket packs so many features into one plugin that you don’t have to worry about them clashing or interfering with each other. If you try juggling multiple free plugins to get the same results, you’ll end up spending hours troubleshooting compatibility issues—it’s a headache no one wants.
For me, the way WP Rocket’s caching features seamlessly integrate with their CDN service is outstanding.
Let’s be honest, caching is tricky enough on its own. Trying to pair a free caching plugin with a CDN without messing up your site can feel like walking a tightrope.
And chances are, you’ll end up sacrificing site performance just to make things work.
But with WP Rocket, it’s a completely different story. Everything works right out of the box, with less effort on your part, and the results are better than you’d expect.
5. Integrations
I really like how simple WP Rocket makes it to manage your CDN, optimize images, and clean up your database all in one spot. The dashboard is incredibly user-friendly, even for beginners.
Honestly, WP Rocket is a fantastic plugin that provides significant speed improvements at a reasonable cost.
It’s the most straightforward and user-friendly caching plugin I’ve found for speeding up my WordPress websites. Additionally, the initial setup is much easier compared to other plugins, and you’ll immediately notice a significant improvement in page speed.
WP Rocket Testimonials and Success Stories
Before reviewing WP Rocket, I wondered what others thought of it.
Was it truly worth the hype?
I bet you have the same questions, so let’s find out together.
Here are a few testimonials and inspiring stories from actual WP Rocket customers:
At WPX Hosting we are very picky on what we recommend to our clients when it comes to website performance. WP Rocket has won us over with its instant speed improvements and perfect compatibility with our custom CDN. We happily recommend them since.
TERRY KYLE
Co-Founder at WPX.net
WP Rocket is a great caching plugin that hits all the marks, and their team has been a delight to work with. Our customers love it because it speeds up their sites, simple as that. When a Divi customer asks us what the best caching plugin is, we are happy to recommend WP Rocket.
NICK ROACH
CEO at Elegant Themes
WP Rocket is a complete game-changer for any WordPress website’s performance.
By optimizing your site’s speed using WP Rocket, you not only enhance user experience but massively improve the SEO rankings as well. It’s an essential tool that every website owner should have in their arsenal for unlocking top-notch SEO success.
BHANU AHLUWALIA
Chief Marketing Officer at Rank Math
Conversion rates are 3x higher for e-commerce sites that load in 1 second, so speed should be one of the priorities for every online store. When using a performance plugin, WP Rocket works seamlessly with WooCommerce to deliver outstanding results for e-commerce businesses.
PAUL MAIORANA
CEO of WooCommerce
More real-world customer stories
- Financer.com worked wonders on their website’s speed. With just a few clicks, they skyrocketed their PageSpeed Insights score from a sluggish 40 to a blazing 90 (or even higher).
- Read how Rick, a business owner, sped up his Astra-built site. He achieved a 99 mobile PSI score using WP Rocket.
- Find out the exact steps Joe, from Tribe SEO, took to move from a 37% Google PageSpeed mobile score right up to a perfect 100%.
- Discover how Olga from SEOSLY saw an insane improvement in her Core Web Vitals and PageSpeed Insights score.
WP Rocket Alternatives
WP Rocket delivers serious performance improvements for your website, but if it’s not quite what you’re looking for, here are some other great options:
- NitroPack: This cloud-based service optimizes performance with caching, file optimization (like WP Rocket), and also includes image optimization and a built-in CDN.
- FlyingPress: This is another excellent caching and performance plugin that comes at a great price. They even offer their own CDN add-on.
- WP-Optimize: If you’re looking for simplicity, WP-Optimize is one of the easiest WordPress optimization plugins to use. It’s even free if you only need basic optimization features.
Don’t overlook your hosting provider either. Many WordPress hosts offer built-in caching and CDN services as part of their managed solutions. We especially like Cloudways (they automatically install and activate their Breeze caching plugin on every new WordPress site), Kinsta, and Rocket.net.
For even better performance, we recommend using Perfmatters alongside WP Rocket. While WP Rocket handles some optimizations that Perfmatters also covers, Perfmatters takes things a step further and optimizes areas that most other plugins don’t touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is WP Rocket beginner-friendly?
Yes, WP Rocket is highly beginner-friendly. Its intuitive interface allows users to set up and optimize their website performance in just a few clicks without requiring technical expertise.
Is support included with WP Rocket?
Yes, WP Rocket offers excellent customer support via ticketing. Their support team is known for being responsive and helpful.
Can WP Rocket help reduce Core Web Vitals issues?
Yes, WP Rocket’s optimizations target key metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which are part of Google’s Core Web Vitals.
Can I use WP Rocket on all WordPress hosting environments?
WP Rocket is compatible with most WordPress hosting environments, including shared hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers.
Can WP Rocket be used on an eCommerce site?
Yes, WP Rocket is fully compatible with popular eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce. It excludes essential pages like cart and checkout from caching to avoid conflicts.
How does WP Rocket handle image optimization?
While WP Rocket doesn’t directly optimize images, it supports lazy loading. For image optimization, they recommend using their companion tool, Imagify.
Can I use WP Rocket on multiple websites?
WP Rocket offers different plans based on the number of websites. The single-site license covers one website, while other plans allow usage on multiple sites.
Does WP Rocket offer any free features?
No, WP Rocket is a premium plugin and requires a paid license to use. However, they offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Is WP Rocket worth the price?
Yes, for most websites, WP Rocket is a worthwhile investment. The time and effort saved by automating performance optimizations often outweigh the cost of the plugin.
Final Thoughts on WP Rocket Review
WP Rocket is hands down an amazing plugin. It’s so easy to set up that even beginners can use it to improve their site’s performance. In just a few clicks, you can have WP Rocket running perfectly on your site.
If you face any issues, like CSS problems, most of them are quick fixes. And if not, their highly efficient support team is always ready to help.
When it comes to performance, there’s nothing to complain about. I’ve personally seen impressive improvements just by using the basic settings. A quick search on Google will show you countless glowing reviews, proving how much people love this plugin.
Overall, WP Rocket ticks all the right boxes. If you’re ready to invest in a premium plugin, I’d recommend it without hesitation.
And even if you’re on the fence about spending extra, I’d still say it’s worth it, you might end up saving money by avoiding the need for multiple smaller plugins to do what WP Rocket handles all in one.
Free caching plugins can work, sure. But WP Rocket offers a complete package – all the tools you need in one place, plus expert support when you need it. For $59, it’s a smart investment. You get a wealth of features and options, all wrapped in an incredibly user-friendly interface.
Ready to experience WP Rocket? Click the button below or head over to this page to get 10% off all plans.
And that’s it. Thanks for reading my in-depth review of WP Rocket. Have any questions about it? Feel free to leave a comment below, I’d be happy to answer.