WP Rocket Settings Guide: Intuitive UI and What You Get for $59 in a WordPress Cache Plugin

WP Rocket is a paid WordPress cache plugin that costs $59.95 a year. This guide explains WP Rocket's basic settings, which are easy to manage thanks to its intuitive interface and settings. WordPress speed matters above all because it keeps users from leaving, whether they come from organic search or paid ads.

With simple settings, about 80% of WP Rocket's features work automatically, so it delivers strong results without complicated management. After setting it up, we run speed tests with Chrome DevTools and Google PageSpeed.

Ⅰ. Why Use the WP Rocket Plugin?

Cache plugins are often either too simple or so complex in options and settings that they leave admins unable to choose. Among so many plugins, questions like “Which one should I use?” or “Isn't there an even slightly faster plugin, that pushes the Google page score past 90 all the way to 100?” can be worries that never end for a WordPress admin running a site.

WP Rocket is one of the few plugins that are simple to set up yet powerful.

1️⃣ WP Rocket Plugin Reviews

On the review site Trustpilot, it has a 4.6 rating. More than 3,000 people have reviewed it, and 93% of reviews are 5 stars. Many of the lower ratings came after the multi-license price increase in 2025.

2️⃣ WP Rocket Pricing & Promo Code

WP Rocket is billed yearly, and new buyers get a 20% discount promo code.

Ⅱ. WP Rocket Features

Once the plugin is installed, click the [Settings] > [WP Rocket] tab in the WordPress admin.

You can see tabs from [Dashboard] settings to [Tutorials] and [Our Plugins].

🚀 WP Rocket settings tabs

├─ Dashboard

├─ Rocket Insights

├─ Content Delivery

├─ File optimization

├─ Media

├─ Preload

├─ Advanced rules

├─ Database

├─ Heartbeat

├─ Add-ons

├─ Image optimization

├─ Tools

├─ Tutorials

└─ Our plugins

⚙️ Key WP-Rocket Features

🚀 WP Rocket settings screenSettings simulator

DashboardDashboard Rocket InsightsPerformance check Content DeliveryCDN File OptimizationFile optimization

CSS Files JavaScript Files Delay JavaScript

MediaMedia PreloadPreload Advanced RulesAdvanced rules DatabaseDatabase HeartbeatHeartbeat Add-onsAdd-ons

Add-ons Varnish Cloudflare

Image OptimizationImage optimization ToolsTools TutorialsTutorials Our PluginsOur plugins

Dashboard

The dashboard shows the license you are using and its expiry. Later, if you need to reset the cache, you can clear and preload [Cache Files] and clear [Priority Elements] on the right. If problems arise, you can get WP Rocket Support through [View My Account] on the right of the page or [Request Support] at the bottom.

Rocket Insights Score — Shows the performance score and LCP, TBT, CLS and TTFB of tracked pages.

Cache Files — Deletes all cache files and runs preloading.

Used CSS — Deletes the used CSS files.

Priority elements — Resets saved optimizations for automatic lazy rendering, critical images, preconnect to external domains and font preloading.

Rocket Insights

Rocket Insights is the tab that tests pages with GTmetrix and shows the performance score and LCP, TBT, CLS and TTFB. You can add page URLs to test, and turning on [Performance Monitoring] tests them automatically at the interval you set.

Content Delivery(CDN)

RocketCDN Free is included in the WP Rocket license and delivers three pages you choose from 10 edge locations. To apply it to the whole site, you upgrade to RocketCDN Pro at ^$7^.99a month, and edge locations grow to more than 100.

If you use a separate CDN, enter the CNAME record set by your CDN provider in [Other CDN]. Note that this is for CDNs other than Cloudflare CDN; Cloudflare CDN can be enabled in Add-ons.

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File Optimization · CSS Files

File optimization is the tab that reduces the size of CSS and JavaScript files and changes their load order. When a cache file is created, it is also applied to that page's CSSand JavaScript.

In the tree below, it falls under the server-side cache's Site cache.

See also: caching concepts and types →

💾 Cache

├── Server-side cache

│ ├── Site cache

│ │ ├─ Converted to static HTML files (CSS, JavaScript, etc.)

│ │ └─ Web cache storage location

│ │ ├─ Memory cache (RAM)

│ │ └─ Disk cache (HDD/SSD)

It splits into two features: CSS file optimization and JavaScript file optimization.

① CSS files

ⓐ Minify CSS files

↳ Minify CSS files removes whitespace and comments to reduce file size. If a plugin's layout breaks after enabling it, add that CSS file to the exclusion list.

In the exclusion list, write one path per line as shown below.

wp-content/plugins/Plugin/(.*).css

ⓑ Optimize CSS delivery

↳ Optimize CSS delivery removes render-blocking CSS and can be turned on together with Minify CSS files. You can choose only one method: [Remove Unused CSS] or [Load CSS Asynchronously].

Remove Unused CSS

WP Rocket recommends [Remove Unused CSS]. It strips CSS each page does not use to reduce page size and HTTP requests; for elements whose layout breaks after enabling it, add the file name, ID or class to [CSS safelist] to exclude them.

Load CSS Asynchronously

[Load CSS Asynchronously] builds the CSS needed for the first screen separately and loads the rest asynchronously. Use it instead when [Remove Unused CSS] causes problems.

File Optimization · JavaScript Files

② JavaScript files

JavaScript file settings fall into four: minify JavaScript files, combine JavaScript files, load JavaScript deferred and delay JavaScript execution.

Setting

Features

Details

JavaScript
Minify files

Smaller files

Removes whitespace and comments to reduce file size.

JavaScript
Combine files

Fewer HTTP requests

Combines multiple internal, third-party and inline JS files into one to reduce HTTP requests.[Not recommended on HTTP/2.]

JavaScript
Deferred loading

Removes render blocking

Makes render-blocking JavaScript files run after HTML parsing finishes.

JavaScript
Delayed execution

Better user experience

Delays loading JavaScript files until the user interacts, such as scrolling or clicking.

ⓐ Minify JavaScript files

Removes whitespace and comments to reduce file size. If some features stop working on visitor pages after enabling it, turn it off.

ⓑ Combine JavaScript files

Combines multiple JavaScript files into one to reduce HTTP requests. It is not recommended for sites on HTTP/2, and it cannot be selected when [Delay JavaScript execution] is on. If you see errors after enabling it, turn it off again and the site returns to normal.

ⓒ Load JavaScript deferred

Load JavaScript deferred postpones JavaScript execution until HTML parsing finishes, removing render-blocking JavaScript. First Contentful Paint (FCP)and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)improve.

How does it work?

It adds the defer attribute to <script> tags so they do not block HTML parsing. This lets the web browser keep rendering other HTML elements while it downloads JavaScript files, so for the user, page loading feels faster.

When should you use Load JavaScript deferred?

It is mainly used for JavaScript files that are not essential for showing the initial screen of a web page.

File Optimization · Delay JavaScript execution

ⓓ Delay JavaScript execution

Delay JavaScript execution does not load JavaScript files until the visitor interacts with the page, such as scrolling or clicking.

One-click exclusions is a convenience feature from WP Rocket: check commonly used plugins, themes and services, and their JavaScript files are excluded from delayed execution.

One-click exclusionslets you exclude the following items by default. Offering checkboxes to pick them is a feature you rarely find in other cache plugins.

If what you need is not in the exclusion list, you can set exclusions yourself.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js
https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js
https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/
https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/
https://code.jquery.com/

[Safe Mode for Delay JavaScript Execution] is a safe mode that excludes all of the site's own scripts from delay.

Media

Media is mainly about images, but this tab also has settings for YouTube and Google Fonts.

Set up ① lazy loading and ② image dimensions.

Lazy loading loads images, iframes and videos when they come into view, reducing HTTP requests. When [Replace YouTube iframe with preview image] is on, YouTube videos appear as a preview image first.

[Add missing image dimensions] fills in missing width and height attributes on images to reduce layout shift.

③ Under Fonts, [Preload fonts] loads fonts used on the first screen first, and [Self-host Google Fonts] downloads Google Fonts to your server and serves them from there.

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Preload

Cache preloading applies to every cache plugin. By preloading content such as posts and pages before visitors arrive, a WordPress page already loads fast at the moment a visitor opens it.

When preload is on, WP Rocket finds the sitemap, stores every URL and builds the cache in advance. [Enable link preloading] downloads a page in advance when a visitor hovers over its link.

This is the result of checking that WP Rocket actually preloads the cache. Roughly up to about 30 per minute, and it creates even more preload cache when first building the cache.

Besides preloading, the ability to clear the cache of individual posts is very useful while running a site.

Advanced Rules

Personally, apart from setting the cache lifespan to 9 hours, I did not change anything else.

The default is 10 hours, and the screen advises lowering it below 10 hours if problems occur periodically.

Setting

Features

Details

Cache lifespan

Set how long cache files are valid

Sets when cache files are automatically deleted from the server.

Never cache URL(s)

Exclude specific pages from cache

Excludes URLs with sensitive information (login/logout pages) from the cache.

Never cache cookies

Exclude cache by specific cookies

Prevents page caching when a specific cookie is set in the browser.

Never cache user agent(s)

Exclude cache for specific users

Prevents visitors with specified user agents from seeing cached pages.

Always purge URL(s)

Force cache invalidation

Specifies URLs that are always removed from the cache whenever a post or page is updated.

Cache query string(s)

Cache specific URL parameters

Forces caching of URLs that include specific GET parameters (e.g. ?utm_source=google).

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Database

The Database tab deletes revisions, auto drafts and trashed posts, spam and deleted comments, and transients, and optimizes tables. Cleanups cannot be undone, so back up the database before running them.

When [Schedule Automatic Cleanup] is on, it cleans up automatically at the interval you set.

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Heartbeat

WordPress Heartbeat is an API that makes WordPress communicate periodicallybetween the web browser and the server. Like a beating heart, it sends regular signals to keep the connection to the server alive.

WordPress uses the Heartbeat API for several features. For example, while a user is editing a post in the WordPress editor, it is used to implement the lock feature that stops other users from editing the same post.

Heartbeat is also used to autosave posts as you write and to send real-time notifications on the admin dashboard.

[Reduce activity] cuts the signal from once a minute to once every two minutes. Turning it off completely may break plugins and themes that use this API.

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Add-ons

Add-ons

Details

User cache

Creates a custom cache file for each logged-in user. In practice, I do not use it myself.

Varnish

When WP Rocket clears its cache, it automatically clears the Varnish cache as well,
keeping content up to date.

WebP compatibility

Builds a separate cache for browsers that support WebP images. WP Rocket does not create WebP images, and there is no need to turn it on if you use a plugin that serves WebP directly, such as IMAGIFY.

Cloudflare

You can manage Cloudflare's cache from WP Rocket and enable optimal settings.

Sucuri

When WP Rocket clears its cache, it automatically syncs and clears the Sucuri cache.

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Add-ons · Varnish

① Varnish Cache

On servers with Varnish cache, Varnish usually sits in front of the Apache or Nginx server. Varnish Cacheis a web accelerator that caches responses to dynamic website and API requests, reducing backend server load and improving page load speed.

WP Engine , Flywheel, Cloudways Or If hosted on WPX WP Rocket automatically detects the environment and enables the Varnish add-on. 

SiteGround ,  Kinsta, Pressable In this case, since WP Rocket's cache is already synchronized with the server's cache, there is no need to enable this option.

Varnish Cache stores the website's final output (HTML, images, etc.)and delivers it directly to users. OpCache and Redis, by contrast, cache the internal data or codethat make up a website, so they work differently.

What is caching? →

Add-ons · Cloudflare

② Cloudflare settings

If you use Cloudflare, you can enable it to connect with WP Rocket, and it can be used alongside other existing CDNs.

When you enable Cloudflare, enter your account email, Global API key and zone ID to connect it.

Image Optimization

It is said that 50% of website load time is spent on images. Imagify is the plugin this page recommends installing; its free plan compresses up to 20 MB (about 200 images) a month and converts them to WebP or AVIF.

Tools

[Tools] lets you export the settings you made in WP Rocket.

You can export settings for testing and import them again, or download the settings file to your PC and upload it to restore your settings.

The newly added [MCP Server] connects AI tools to WP Rocket.

See also: how to connect WP Rocket MCP Server →

[Rollback] reverts to the previous version when something goes wrong, and [Update Inclusion and Exclusion Lists] manually refreshes the compatibility lists that are otherwise downloaded automatically every week.

Tutorials

However well a cache plugin explains itself and however good its performance, it is hard in practice to make 100% use of it.

Because the plugin page provides tutorials for each feature, users can keep improving performance even after installing WP Rocket and running the basic setup and tests.

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Our Plugins

Because WP Rocket is used on so many WordPress sites, a great many plugins advertise that they work with it without conflicts. _{In practice, errors during cache setup are common to every plugin, so you need to find a reasonable compromise.}

The company group.one acquired WP Mediain April 2021 and then, in May 2023, RankMath. This means WP Rocket, IMAGIFY and RankMath are products of the same company and work well together.

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Close ✕

III. WP-Rocket Settings

Here are WP-Rocket's basic settings. [Default] means it is already checked.

Beyond these, these are the most basic settings, with the IMAGIFY plugin not installed. If you need to test with the basic settings, download the file and apply it; if errors appear, you can test by disabling items one at a time.

For the settings when used with Perfmatters, see the WP Rocket With Perfmatters post.

Ⅳ. Conclusion & FAQ

Whether you run a WooCommerce store or a personal blog, if only a few people run it, WP Rocket saves setup time compared with other complicated cache plugins.

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