I have always disliked cache. It wreaks havoc on designs and content and I feel like I need the phrase “clear your cache” tattooed on my head.

But because of speed and Google and SEO, sometimes you gotta dance with the devil.

I started out using WP Super Cache because it’s what was created by Automattic and they should know how to cache WordPress, right? Well, I didn’t get much out of that, even though I used it for a long time. I added other plugins, like a3Lazy Load, Async JavaScript and even Autoptimize. I would test and retest over and over. I just didn’t get close enough to those green circles that I was looking for.

I seemed to always hover in these numbers.

Testing

One of my co-workers invested in WP Rocket and for a long while, I didn’t see much of a change. Then I found a fantastic cheat sheet and it explained reasons for each of the settings. Jake Pfohl at Start Blogging 101 has a great tutorial on the settings for WP Rocket. Once I found these tips, my speed scores did some serious jumps!

While I haven’t employed a CDN due to client constraints, my current numbers for mobile look like this, an improvement of over 10 points!

And it’s consistently in the high 80s.

Nothing seems to help!

What’s holding me back? Why can’t I get this speed circle to turn green?

Server issues. There’s nothing you can do if your server is holding you back. How does one find out? Here’s a great resource:

TTFB, Time To First Byte, should be less than 400 ms to pass the test on the KeyCDN tool. Even if your site isn’t quite that fast, it’s been cited that if it’s not less than 600ms, you should consider a new server.

Live and let live

While I can’t control the server that was brought to me on this project, I can do the best with what I have. And take solace that my desktop results will reach the green happy place for SEO speed, at least some of the time.