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Leverage Browser Caching WordPress Plugin

by | Nov 3, 2016 | Web Development | 0 comments

There are multiple different WordPress plugins that will leverage browser caching. Although, a plugin is not necessary to achieve this since it can be done manually through the WordPress .htaccess file. Browser caching is great as it will help speed up your website load time for repeat visitors. Elements of your website will be stored locally on the visitors computer. When browser caching is set up elements are given a time that they should be stored based upon the type of element and the frequency in which it may be updated.

.htaccess Browser Caching

The simplest and most resource friendly way of leveraging browser caching is by adding a browser caching configuration to the WordPress .htaccess file in the root directory of the website. Simply add the below configuration to the .htaccess file. Be sure not to remove any of the default WordPress entries or other lines of code that currently exist in the .htaccess file.

#Browser Caching#
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/gif "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/png "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType text/css "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/pdf "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access 1 year"
ExpiresDefault "access 2 days"
</IfModule>
#End Browser Caching#

WordPress Plugins

There are several WordPress plugins that support browser caching as well as a number of other caching methods. WordPress plugins make configurations simple, but they do increase the bloat and overhead on your web server. This should be taken into account when deciding if a plugin is the best option for your site. Below is a list of a few top rated plugins that are well supported. These plugins can be used if you do not want to manually enable browser caching through .htaccess.

  1. W3 Total Cache
  2. WP Rocket
  3. WP Super Cache