W3 Total Cache is a popular WordPress plugin that is used to improve website performance by caching website files, reducing server load, and improving page load times. WooCommerce is a popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell products and services online. In this document, we will discuss how to use W3 Total Cache with WooCommerce to improve your online store’s performance.
I wrote another post about Optimizing WordPress Caching for E-commerce, that might be worth a read as well as it covers a very similar topic.
Install W3 Total Cache
To use W3 Total Cache with WooCommerce, you will first need to install and activate the plugin on your WordPress website. You can do this by following these steps:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on the “Plugins” menu item in the left-hand navigation menu.
- Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the page.
- Search for “W3 Total Cache”.
- Click on the “Install Now” button.
- Once the plugin is installed, click on the “Activate” button.
Configure W3 Total Cache for WooCommerce
After installing and activating W3 Total Cache, you will need to configure the plugin to work with WooCommerce. Here’s how:
- Click on the “Performance” menu item in the left-hand navigation menu.
- Click on the “General Settings” tab.
- Scroll down to the “Page Cache” section and make sure that “Enable” is checked.
- Scroll down to the “Minify” section and make sure that “Enable” is checked.
- Scroll down to the “Database Cache” section and make sure that “Enable” is checked.
- Scroll down to the “Object Cache” section and make sure that “Enable” is checked.
- Click on the “Save Settings & Purge Caches” button at the bottom of the page.
Test Your Website
After configuring W3 Total Cache for WooCommerce, you will need to test your website to make sure that everything is working correctly. Here’s how:
- Log out of your WordPress dashboard.
- Visit your website as a regular visitor.
- Browse through your website and make sure that everything is working as expected.
- Check your website’s page load times using a tool like GTmetrix or Pingdom.
If everything is working correctly and your website’s page load times have improved, you have successfully configured W3 Total Cache for WooCommerce.
Not seeing a difference?
You won’t see a massive difference if you were already using a cache plugin, but during tests, I saw that W3’s page cache was one of the best. It’s also a free plugin, unlike it’s rival, WP Rocket.
Something broken?
This is likely down to the minification of CSS/JS, I personally have this turned off on most of my client’s websites to prevent them from having issues.
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to further optimize your website’s performance:
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that helps to deliver your website’s content to visitors from a server that is geographically closer to them. This can help to reduce page load times and improve website performance. W3 Total Cache has built-in support for several popular CDNs, including Amazon CloudFront, MaxCDN, and more.
On most of my client websites, I’ll use Cloudflare, for me, it’s still the best CDN provider out there, and their free tier is pretty good.
Optimize Images
Images can significantly slow down the page load times of your website. Unfortunately, W3 Total Cache does not provide image optimization since it is mainly a cache plugin. To optimize images for web use, you can use tools such as Squoosh or TinyPNG to compress images without sacrificing their quality. Although it would be preferable to automate this process with a plugin, something like EWWW Image optimizer could prove to be helpful.
Use a Fast Web Host
A fast web host can make a big difference in your website’s performance. Look for a web host that specializes in WordPress hosting and offers features like SSD storage, PHP 8 or newer, and server-level caching to improve your website’s performance, OpenLiteSpeed is being supported more hosting companies, and it’s really fast. In a recent update, W3 Total Cache added support for OpenLiteSpeed.
If you’re on a tight budget, I would suggest Shockhosting, I use their services for smaller clients, but they are lightning fast, or another hosting company I use for those clients that need more power is SSDNodes.
Regularly Monitor and Optimize Your Website
Website performance can change over time, so it’s essential to regularly monitor and optimize your website to ensure that it’s running as efficiently as possible. Tools like Google Analytics or Google’s page speed insights can help you track your website’s performance and identify areas that need improvement.
By following these additional tips and regularly monitoring and optimizing your website’s performance, you can ensure that your online store is running as efficiently as possible and providing the best possible user experience for your customers.
Conclusion
Using W3 Total Cache with WooCommerce can significantly improve your online store’s performance by reducing page load times and improving website speed. By following the steps outlined in this document and implementing additional tips to optimize your website’s performance, you can create a fast and efficient online store that provides an excellent user experience for your customers.