In the ever-changing world of WordPress, maintaining your website's performance at its peak is an ongoing challenge. Fortunately, there are a plethora of plugins designed to help you optimize the speed and efficiency of your site. In 2024, several stand out from the pack, each offering a unique range of features to meet various optimization needs. Here's a look at the best free WordPress plugins to boost your site's performance this year.
Optimizing WordPress and file performance
1. LiteSpeed Cache
LiteSpeed Cache stands out for its compatibility with the LiteSpeed web server, providing deep integration that goes beyond typical caching features. It offers server-level caching, minification, CSS/JS file combining, and even UI caching for optimal performance.
It also natively offers image optimization in WebP and a free CDN. If your site is hosted on a LiteSpeed server like Hostinger you benefit from higher quotas for optimizations and CDN (see the Hostinger description below). It also includes database optimization and deferral of loading of CSS and JS files which makes it ultra complete, no need for another additional plugin.
LiteSeed Cache is in my opinion the best free plugin to achieve a high PageSpeed Insights score, however it is complex to handle and requires in-depth knowledge. I recommend carefully checking the appearance of your site in private browsing after activating the different options to be sure that nothing has been broken.
2. WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize is a tool all-in-one that cleans your WordPress database, compresses your images and hides your site. Its ability to clean and optimize the database makes it particularly useful for long-existing sites, eliminating the accumulation of unnecessary data that slows down the site.
It is very easy to use and allows you to achieve a decent PageSpeed Insights score by activating the different options of the plugin. I place it in second position for its intuitive interface and its “all-in-one” aspect which allows you not to overload your WordPress with too many plugins. Installed as the only performance plugin, it therefore maintains a very fast server response time and below Google recommendations.
I recommend it for shared hosting which is sometimes complex to optimize. It can also be used solely for its database cleaning functionality which most performance plugins do not include.
3. W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache is recognized for its Extensive customization options, allowing advanced users to fine-tune every aspect of caching. Although it may seem intimidating to beginners, its impact on site performance is undeniable, offering features like page, object, database, and browser caching.
It is also very complete and offers the main optimization options in its free version. Achieving a high PageSpeed Insights score when configured correctly. Like LiteSpeed Cache, it is complex to use and requires a good mastery of WordPress and web optimization tools. It offers the conversion of images to WebP for free via their API which increases its efficiency.
I put it in third place because it is very efficient but often causes 500 errors during configuration which makes this process rather laborious. I also recommend it for shared hosting and it can be coupled with WP Optimize for database cleaning at an additional cost.
4. Autoptimize & Cache Enabler
Autoptimize and Cache Enabler form a powerful alliance. Autoptimize focuses on optimizing CSS, JavaScript and images, while Cache Enabler, developed by KeyCDN, ensures efficient page caching. This combination provides an integrated solution to reduce loading times and improve the efficiency of your site.
Cache Enabler is widely recognized for its simplicity and its immediate caching efficiency. Autoptimize is just as easy to use and allows you to effectively complement Cache Enabler without overloading its WordPress with optimizations. The options in this duo are comprehensive and allow you to obtain a correct PageSpeed Insights score very quickly. Additionally, Autoptimize supports optimization to fly images in WebP for free.
I place this duo in 4th place because the speed scores are less impressive than for the plugins on the podium. However, the configuration is very intuitive and the user experience on the site is greatly improved when browsing the different pages of your site. Also, its simplicity avoids unpleasant surprises because all the functionalities remain intact.
5. Jetpack, Jetpack Boost & WP Super Cache
Jetpack, developed by Automattic, offers an extensive range of features, including security, performance and content management options. For performance optimization, Jetpack improves image loading speed and offers advanced caching options.
Jetpack Boost, a complement to Jetpack, focuses on improving speed of your site with features like CSS minification, lazy loading of images, and lazy CSS generation. WP Super Cache, also developed by Automattic, completes this package by generating static HTML files from your dynamic WordPress content, reducing page processing time and improving site loading speed.
These three plugins work together to offer a complete performance optimization solution for your WordPress site, this optimization solution is very effective and complete. The plugins work in synergy and are inter compatible, which allows you to take full advantage of the options of each. They offer page caching and a free CDN for your files and images.
I place them in 5th position because the performances are not always there. They are very easy to configure and suitable for beginners which is a good thing. In addition, they are compatible with most common plugins which allows you to simply activate the options without worrying too much about the final functioning of the site.
6. WP Fastest Cache
WP Fastest Cache promises simplicity and efficiency, with easy installation and configuration for beginners. Its features include page caching, minifying HTML and CSS files, and combining multiple scripts into one to reduce HTTP requests.
It can be combined with WP Optimize for scheduled database cleaning in order to have complete optimizations. In its free version, we already obtain very good results on PageSpeed Insights scores and pleasant navigation on the optimized site. This places it in the best optimization plugins of this year 2024.
Optimizing image performance
For plugins that do not offer it natively, it is recommended to combine them with an image optimization plugin to convert them to Webp and reduce their size. This significantly increases your site's performance and PageSpeed score.
EWWW Image Optimizer
EWWW Image Optimizer automates the process of compressing images, reducing their size without compromising quality, which speeds up page loading and improves user experience. It helps reduce image size and aspect ratio while converting to modern WebP format for optimal performance.
This plugin can optimize an infinite amount of images directly using your own server resources. This is very useful if you have a large number of media to optimize at once.
Imagify
Imagify offers real-time image optimization, reducing file size without losing quality. Compatible with WooCommerce, it is particularly useful for e-commerce sites where image quality is paramount.
It uses the Imagify API to optimize images of your site. In the free version, the quota may be sufficient for certain sites. It converts images to WebP & AVIF and reduces them in size to benefit from a good PageSpeed Insights score.
CDN and Hosting Optimization, the basis of performance
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is not just a plugin, but a comprehensive Content Delivery Network (CDN) that provides an extra layer of security while optimizing your site's performance. It works by hiding your site across a multitude of servers around the world, reducing load time for global visitors and protecting against DDoS attacks.
Hosting and Server
Good hosting is the key to a successful website. Here are some recommendations for optimizing your current hosting.
- Adjust your PHP version according to WordPress recommendations, currently PHP 8.1 with WordPress version 6.5.
- Activez les extensions PHP nécessaires au fonctionnement optimal de WordPress.
- Enable object cache
If you are looking for high-performance hosting, I highly recommend Hostinger. Hosted on LiteSpeed servers, it will allow maximum use of the LiteSpeed Cache plugin and therefore obtain a faster-than-light site. In 2024, it is essential to have a fast site and the Hostinger/LiteSpeed Cache combination clearly impressed me with its simplicity and efficiency. In addition, it is currently one of the cheapest on the market.
WP Rocket pure performance
Although WP Rocket is a premium version, its basic features are robust enough to significantly improve the loading speed of your site. Easy to configure, WP Rocket automatically hides your pages, reduces the weight of your JavaScript and CSS files through minification and improves your server response time.
This will be the only premium plugin I would mention as I was largely impressed by its effectiveness and simplicity. For more demanding site creators, I strongly recommend investing a few euros in this solution which contains all the options in a single plugin. It is compatible with all common hosting, themes and plugins and allows you to obtain a PageSpeed Insights score of more than 90/100 in the mobile version without much effort!
Conclusion for performance improvement
Optimizing the performance of your WordPress site is essential to guarantee a quality user experience and improve your online visibility. The mentioned plugins offer various solutions ranging from caching to image optimization and file minification. Depending on your specific needs, using several of these tools combined can significantly help improve the speed and efficiency of your site in 2024.
Leave me your comment about your experience on optimizing the performance of your site, I’m really interested!
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