wp super cache -vs- w3 total cache

[jhguynn]

This question may be for Brad Dalton: any thoughts on how these plugins differ, and which I might preefer over the other (and why)? Naturally, I googled a comparison of the two, and the results are either (1) old = 2012 and prior, and/or (2) seem to provide compelling evidence for one or the other, but for reasons I don't really grasp.

I saw how Brad Dalton promotes WP Super Cache in one of his posts on "must have" plugins.

Any further thoughts Brad? Updates?

[nutsandbolts]

I'm not Brad, but I recommend WP Super Cache over W3TC for two simple reasons:

(1) WP Super Cache is easier to configure. W3TC has about four million pages of settings (maybe a slight exaggeration) and the average website owner has no clue what any of the options mean. WP Super Cache has a simple on/off option, with more advanced options for people who know what they're doing. But the advanced options aren't 100% necessary (though there are several marked as "recommended" to make it easier to decide what to select).

(2) WP Super Cache plays nicer with others. I used to offer web hosting as part of my business and had 200 customers. A good 75% of the issues people had with sites breaking, CSS not loading, or other wonkiness could be solved by getting rid of W3TC. It just seems to have conflicts with a lot of server configurations, plugins, and themes. For that reason, I banned it on my servers and required customers to use WP Super Cache; once I did that, I got to spend less time fixing broken sites and more time doing actual work. 🙂

There are other, nerdier reasons why I dislike W3TC but those are the ones that matter most for end users. Hope that helps!

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Andrea Whitmer, Owner/Developer, Nuts and Bolts Media
I provide development and training services for designers • Find me on Twitter and Google+

[jhguynn]

nutsandbolts: Thanks for the "nerdy" response - very helpful indeed. I notice that W3 Total cache has been downloaded 2.8M times, WP Super Cache has been downloaded 5.1M times. I'll be giving WP Super Cache a try.

[azTami]

I have been using w3 Total Cache for a year or so now. It is causing all kinds of problems with my genesis wordpress site. I have had to deactivate it and reactivate it. It has caused my responsive design to not work and several of my plug ins like simple social icons have had problems working with it. It may be my settings but I have followed all the guidelines I can find. I deactivated it today and am going to try WP Super Cache.

[azTami]

Ok. well I tried it and it crashed my site. Back to the drawing board. Need to find another option to speed up site and caching

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