WP Rocket Review 2023: Should You Buy This WordPress Cache Plugin?

WP Rocket Review 2023
wp rocket review

Product Name: WP Rocket

5

Summary

Here’s the only WP Rocket Review you’ll ever need. You can find all the details including performance tests, pricing, pros, cons and so many other things in one place. We are using the same plugin on BloggersPassion.

Are you searching for an honest WP Rocket review 2023? You’re in the right place.

Using the right caching plugin can help you in achieving faster website performance and loading times. But there are so many caching plugins out there.

Over 2,757,000 websites are using this caching plugin to increase their website performance and overall page load times. WP Rocket is definitely one of the best caching plugins to improve your website speeds.

In this detailed review of WP Rocket plugin, you’ll find everything you need. So let’s dive into the details without further ado.

WP Rocket Review 2023: Is It Worth Paying For?

wp rocket review 2023

The Backend of WP Rocket: How It Works

Before getting into the detailed review of WP Rocket, let’s first discuss how the backend i.e the dashboard of this plugin looks like.

Here’s how the dashboard of WP Rocket looks like once it’s installed on your WordPress site.

wp rocket dashboard

As you can see, you’ll find a ton of useful things at one place to speed up your website loading performance and page loading times.

Here are a few things you can find from WP Rocket dashboard;

  • Cache (basic cache options)
  • File optimization (where you can optimize CSS and JS)
  • Media (where you can use options like LazyLoad It can improve actual and perceived loading time as images, iframes, and videos will be loaded only as they see which reduces the number of HTTP requests)
  • Preload (triggered automatically when you add or update content)
  • Advanced rules (touch it only if you know what you’re doing!)
  • Database optimizer
  • CDN
  • Heartbeat, add-ons, image optimization and so on

Not only that, but you will also find a quick overview of WP Rocket where you can do a few amazing things with just a click.

Here’s how it looks like;

wp rocket view

Here’s what you’ll find;

  • Remove all cache files (you can easily remove all your website page cache files with just a click)
  • Start cache preloading (upon plugin activation, it will be preloaded immediately after activating the plugin, to ensure your site is fast right away and you can also preload cache anytime you want)
  • Purge OpCache content (OPCache improves PHP performance by storing precompiled script bytecode in shared memory and thus by removing the need for PHP to load and parse scripts on each request for faster loading times)
  • Regenerate critical CSS (you can also manually regenerate CSS which is critical anytime you want with a click)

Read: W3 Total Cache Vs WP Super Cache: Best Caching Plugin for 2023?

Speed Test Results

We used W3 Total Cache until recently. Although we were happy with its performance once we realized the importance of using WP Rocket, we gave it a try. We are currently using WP Rocket and we’re amazed at the speed test results.

Let us show you the latest speed test results of our blog so that you can better understand the speed and performance, WP Rocket offers.

Here’s our current GTmetrix performance score.

WP Rocket Review 2023: Should You Buy This WordPress Cache Plugin?

Did you see that?

100% Performance | 98% Structure | 0.7s LCP | 0ms TBT | 0.02 CLS

This is just exceptional.

Let’s have a quick look at the performance of our other blogs.

hostingmonks gtmetrix report
makeblogging gtmetrix report

You know what’s common in all these blogs – WP Rocket

Yes, we are using WP Rocket on all of our blogs and getting unbelievable speed and overall performance.

So what are you still waiting for?


Features of WP Rocket Plugin

  • Browser caching
  • Database optimization including Google fonts optimization
  • Remove query strings from static resources
  • Lazyload of images
  • Minification and concatenation
  • Mobile detection and Multisite compatibility
  • E-commerce friendly and Multilingual compatibility
  • Page caching and Cache preloading
  • Sitemap preloading and GZip compression
  • Defer JS loading and Cloudflare compatibility
  • CDN integration and DNS prefetching

By looking at the above list of features, you can clearly say that WP Rocket is fully loaded with exceptional features that help you boost your website loading times and overall speed.


Top 5 KEY Features That Make WP Rocket Worth Paying For

Here are some of the MAJOR features that make WP Rocket an incredible caching plugin to use on WordPress sites in 2023 and beyond.

1. Preload cache

WP Rocket will preload the homepage of your site and the pages linked from it when you either manually click the Preload cache button, when the cache has expired or when you create or update a post. This feature instantly accelerates your website page loading times.

If you just use the Clear Cache feature, the preload won’t get triggered. So either trigger “preload cache” feature manually or just visit your website to generate the cache.

Quick tip: Don’t just test the homepage of your site which typically has a lot more content on it than a regular page or post. Make sure to consider testing various types of content on your website to see how fast your site is loading using this feature.

2. File Optimization

Using WP Rocket, you can easily optimize your files. Under the “File Optimization” menu they give you the ability to optimize your CSS and JavaScript files.

As you can see above, by default, WP Rocket makes sure to better optimize your files by checking all the boxes. You can see the basic settings like;

  • Minify HTML (Minifying HTML removes whitespace and comments to reduce the size. There are several speed tests done by us and we saw almost 1% decrease in load time with this option enabled)
  • Combine Google font files (Combining Google Fonts will reduce the number of HTTP requests. If you are utilizing a host with HTTP/2 enabled, it is no longer recommended though!)
  • Remove query settings (Removes the version query string from static files (e.g. style.css?ver=1.0) and encodes it into the filename instead (e.g. style-1.0.css) and it can actually improve your GTMetrix score)

Apart from the above, there are also settings where you can;

  • Minify CSS files (where you can easily minify CSS removes whitespace and comments to reduce the file size)
  • Minify JavaScript files (where you can minify JavaScript removes whitespace and comments to reduce the file size)

3. Media Optimization

Here’s how the media optimization feature looks like on the backend of WP Rocket plugin;

wp rocket media

As you can see, you have the option to enable LazyLoad feature for both images, iframes, and videos. You can also disable emoji to reduce the number of HTTP requests.

Lazyload is an amazing feature provided by WP Rocket which most of the other cache plugins don’t provide.

By enabling the lazy load option it can improve actual and perceived loading time as images, iframes, and videos will be loaded only as they enter the viewport and reduces the number of HTTP requests.

4. Database Optimization

Here’s how the database optimization feature looks like;

wp rocket database

As you can see above, you can optimize everything from post revisions to spam comments to database optimization.

You will have the option to optimize your Post revisions and drafts where they will be permanently deleted if you check the box. Make sure not to use this option if you need to retain revisions or drafts.

5. Excellent Cache Options

WP Rocket offers great cache options to speed up your website. Here’s how it looks like;

wp rocket cache

As you can see above, you’ll notice things like;

  • Mobile cache (you can speed up your site for mobile visitors) and you can also disable this option if you want
  • User cache (you can use user cache if you’ve password protected content on your website)
  • Cache lifespan

You can also specify the amount of time after which the global cache is cleared as seen above.

Apart from the above features, you’ll also find few incredible and useful features like;

  • GZip compression (GZip compression helps you reduce the size of data to save storage space or increase the data transfer rate and it’s widely used to compress web pages on the server end for decompression in the browser)
  • CloudFlare compatibility (you can easily use a CDN like CloudFlare and integrate it along with WP Rocket for superior performance in your website loading times)
  • It’s also eCommerce friendly (where WP Rocket automatically excludes the shopping cart and checkout pages from caching)
  • Sitemap preloaded (sitemaps generated by Yoast SEO, All-in-one-SEO, Rank Math SEO, or The SEO Framework are detected and you can check the box to automatically use them)

Read: 10 Essential WordPress Plugins for Your Blog


What are the pros and cons of using WP Rocket Plugin?

This detailed review is incomplete if we don’t cover the pros and cons of WP Rocket.

Pros of using WP Rocket

  • WP Rocket is extremely easy to use and fast to set up. You just need to purchase, install and activate the plugin and you’re done (but if you want more options, you can discover all the features from WP Rocket dashboard)
  • Improves the overall performance and loading times of your site (even if you’re already using any other caching plugin, you will notice a lot of improvement after installing WP Rocket)
  • Over 618,000+ websites optimized by WP Rocket
  • You can install and configure WP Rocket in less than 3 minutes
  • WP Rocket integrates lots of useful features to increase your website performance including lazy loading of images, deferred loading of JavaScript, minification of HTML code, concatenation and minification of CSS and JavaScript files
  • Your website visitors immediately get the fast, cached version of the page because it uses preload and sitemap preload features
  • 50% discounts for existing customers upon renewal of their license which is cool
  • You’ll get access to experience customer support
  • WP Rocket is also compatible with multisite (which means, even if you use subdomains or subfolders, one license is enough)

Cons of using WP Rocket

  • It’s a premium plugin which costs you $49 per 1 site (and there are few plugins available which are at free of cost)

How much does it cost?

This caching plugin offers the following 3 pricing options.

WP Rocket Review 2023: Should You Buy This WordPress Cache Plugin?

1. Single (costs you $49 where you’ll get 1 year of support and updates for 1 website)

2. Plus (costs you $99 where you’ll get 1 year of support and updates for 3 websites)

3. Infinite (costs you $249 where you’ll get 1 year of support and updates for unlimited websites)

Quick note: WP Rocket offers a 14-day refund policy which means, they provide a refund if it’s requested within 14 days of purchase. So if you’re not happy, ask for a refund. You’ve nothing to lose if you try.

So what are you still waiting for? Use the following link to get started with WP Rocket.


Are there any alternatives to WP Rocket?

Yes, there are a ton of alternatives to WP Rocket. Let’s discuss few of the popular WordPress caching plugins now. Then, we’ll cover how good WP Rocket is when compared to most of the other popular caching plugins.

Here are the alternatives to WP Rocket plugin you might want to consider in 2023.

  • W3 total cache (free)
  • WP Super Cache (free)
  • WP Fastest Cache (free + premium version is also available)
  • Hyper Cache (free)
  • Comet Cache (free + premium version is also available)

Let’s now talk about how good is it WP Rocket when compared to other caching plugins like;

  • Hyper Cache
  • WP Super Cache
  • W3 Total Cache

Have a look at the screenshot to compare few features of these caching plugins.

wp rocket features list

As you can see above, WP Rocket checks all the boxes whereas the other 3 caching plugins have limited options.

With other caching plugins, you’ll need to install extra plugins to get exclusive features like database optimization, Google fonts optimization, Lazyload images etc whereas WP Rocket offers all such amazing features by default.

So what are you still waiting for? Go grab the WP Rocket plugin now using the following link.


Why should you pay for a premium cache plugin?

If you’re wondering why should I pay for a premium cache plugin where there are so many free caching plugins available in the market, you’re asking the right question.

Premium caching plugins have their own advantages including;

  • Customer support
  • Frequent updates
  • Developer friendly (with extensive documentation)
  • Premium features
  • Affordability

Let’s now talk about few of the above things briefly so will get a better idea about why should you pay for premium caching plugins like WP Rocket.

Read: WP Rocket vs W3 Total Cache: Which is The Best WordPress Caching Plugin In 2023? 

Customer support

The #1 reason most people go for premium stuff (including plugins, themes etc) is “access to customer support” as all premium plugin developers offer dedicated customer support assistance.

This is the major reason why you should be paying for premium caching plugins including WP Rocket so you can contact their support staff whenever you need any help or if you ever ran into any caching related glitches on your website.

Fortunately, WP Rocket offers a huge knowledgebase where you can find all the articles and tutorials around WP Rocket and troubleshooting. If you still need any more help, you can submit a ticket and get help from their friendly and knowledgeable Rocketeers.

Read: W3 Total Cache Plugin Review: Is It A Better Cache Plugin for WordPress?

Frequent updates

Another big reason is, most premium caching plugins (or any premium plugins for that matter) offer frequent updates. Apart from that, they are also developer friendly (with extensive documentation) so you can customize your cache plugins for top website performance.

Premium features

As you can see WP Rocket is a premium caching plugin but it offers you premium features like preload cache, LazyLoad and a ton of other features that you don’t find in free plugins like W3 Total cache and so on.

If you’ve gone through all the above reasons, WP Rocket ticks all the boxes which are the reasons why it’s worth paying for if you’re looking to accelerate your website speed.


FAQs

Here are a few important questions around WP Rocket you might want to read to better understand about this #1 premium caching plugin for WordPress.

What is the best cache plugin for WordPress?

WP Rocket is considered as the most powerful caching plugin in the world.

Is WP Rocket good?

Absolutely, WP Rocket does its job perfectly to improve the speed of your WordPress site, SEO rankings, and conversions. No coding required.

What does WP Rocket plugin do?

WP Rocket is a caching and performance optimization plugin that you can install on your WordPress sites to improve the overall loading speed of your websites. It basically comes equipped with out of the box performance optimization features so you can just install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard to improve your site’s performance.

Do I need any technical knowledge to use WP Rocket?

Absolutely no. In fact, WP Rocket integrates more than 80% of web performance best practices even without any options activated. So you’re good to go and you don’t need any technical skills to get the most out of it.

Having said that, they also provide extensive documentation and the plugin is also developer-friendly so you can play with their options (including advanced options) however you want.

Is WP Rocket free?

No, WP Rocket is a premium plugin and you will have to spend a minimum of $49 for a single site license.

Are there any discounts or free trials available for WP Rocket?

Currently, there are no free trials offered by WP Rocket but you can take advantage of their refund policy if you’re not happy.

What is the latest version of WP Rocket?

The latest version of WP Rocket is 3.8.7.

How do I update my WP Rocket?

All WP Rocket plans come with 1 year of updates and support. So, if you have a valid license, you will get a notification for each update in the plugin section of your WordPress dashboard where you can update WP Rocket at a single click.

What are various types of cache supported by WP Rocket?

WP Rocket is currently offering 2 types of cache:

Browser cache (where browser caches your website’s static resources such as CSS files, images, and JavaScript).

Server cache (where it creates a static HTML page to avoid any PHP processing to improve your page loading times).

What’s the money back guarantee of WP Rocket?

WP Rocket offers you a 14-day refund policy which means, if you’re not happy with WP Rocket features or plugin performance, you can ask for a refund and get your money back 100% no matter what plan you’re using within 14 days after purchasing it.

What are some best alternatives to WP Rocket?

W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache could be the best alternatives to WP Rocket.

Is WP Super Cache free?

Yes, WP Super Cache is a free plugin with over 2 million active installations.

Is W3 Total Cache free?

W3 Total Cache is completely free to use and that is the reason it has 1+ million active installations.

Browse more WordPress Plugins:


Final Thoughts

WP Rocket is one of the best caching plugins for WordPress and if you’re someone who is looking for an affordable and high performance caching plugin, WP Rocket is a great choice.

As you can see from the above results, we were able to increase our site speed and page loading times to a great extent after moving to WP Rocket from W3 total cache.

We hope you liked the detailed WP Rocket guide for 2023. If you have any questions, do let us know in the comments below.

About Author
Anil Agarwal is the Founder of Bloggerspassion. He is a full-time blogger and SEO expert who has been helping people build profitable blogs for over a decade Now. He has been featured in Over 100 Publications including Forbes, The HuffPost, HubSpot, Shopify, Semrush, Kinsta, Bluehost, Hostinger and G2.com etc.

Reader Comments (3)

  1. Hello Anil,

    Great article. WP Rocket is my favorite caching plugin for the last two years. Earlier, I was using W3 Total Cache which is a little bit complicated to configure. But WP Rocket is easy to use.

    Initially, I bought the plugin for a single site. But later upgraded the license to add more websites. It is one of the essential plugins for WordPress websites.

    Reply
  2. Hello, Anil Sir

    I would say Wp Rocket is one of the necessary plugins for our blogs. It’s a really worth investment for improving performance of our site.

    Thanks for putting a detailed review.

    Btw, a detailed video on how to do proper settings for Wp Rocket would be great to put it here. your thoughts?

    Regards,
    Aakash Patel

    Reply
  3. Hi Anil,
    WP Rocket seems like the one in all option. Although I am using LiteSpeed Cache and one other optimization plugin. For now it has been working great but will make the shift to WP rocket once the budget allows.
    Thanks for sharing this.
    Regards
    Vineet Saxena

    Reply

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