How to set up caching on WordPress website

Caching speeds up your website by storing webpage elements in a user’s browser or device, loading only updated content on return visits. Faster loading improves user retention and boosts search rankings. WordPress offers many caching plugins—choose one that’s updated, compatible with your version, and well-reviewed.

In this tutorial, we have explained how to set up caching on WordPress using popular plugins. We are using WP Total Cache, a plugin with over a million active users for this tutorial.

To set up caching using WP Total Cache, follow the steps:

Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Under the Plugins > Add New.
In the new page search bar, type ‘caching’. A list of all caching plugins will be shown, so if you want to choose another plugin, you can select one here.
Search for WP Total Cache and click the Install Now button.
After the installation is complete, click on the Activate button.
Once you activate WP Total Cache, a new item, Performance, will be added to the left-hand menu of your dashboard.
Go to Performance > General Setting.
In the General section, enable Preview Mode and click Save All Settings. Preview Mode allows you to see the effects that your WP Total Cache settings have on your website before making them live. This will allow you to test your settings options to make sure they don’t stop your website from working properly.
Under the Page Caching section, Check the Enable box and click the Save Settings & Purge Cache button.
Scroll up to the General section, click the Preview button and check that your website is working as expected. If it isn’t, scroll back to the Page Caching section, uncheck the Enable box and click the Save Settings & Purge Cache button. This will disable Page Caching.
If everything is good, repeat the process for the Database Cache and Browser Cache. Remember: enable these one at a time, click Save Settings & Purge Cache after checking the Enable box, and preview the changes before moving on to the next section. If any affect your site, disable them by unchecking the enable box and clicking Save Settings & Purge Cache.
Once your caching options have been enabled and the previews show that your site is working as it should, you can make these changes live. To do this, scroll up to the General box, click the Deploy button, and then click the Save All Settings button.