Caching is temporarily storing resources (cache) from one request so that subsequent requests can be executed quickly. The cache can be stored either on the server or on the user’s device.
It’s one of the easiest ways to speed up your WooCommerce store. And it’s also the most important one.
Multiple requests from thousands of users at the same time will put an enormous load on the server and eventually leading to a slower website.
This is where caching comes to the rescue. It reduces the amount of work required to generate a pageview, thus reducing WordPress’ dependency on PHP and a database. Caching makes WordPress perform almost as fast as static websites, if not the same.
There are 2 major types of web caching, each with their own subsets:
Server-Side Caching
- Bytecode Cache (OPCache)
- Object Cache
- Page Cache
- CDN Cache
Client-Side Caching
Caching not only makes the website load faster, but it also reduces load on the server.
If your hosting provider doesn’t handle caching at the server-level, then you need to depend on third-party caching plugins to do the work for you. While they aren’t an ideal solution, something is always better than nothing.
Our top WordPress caching plugin is W3 Total Cache (free).
