plugopress

PlugoSpeed is a WordPress performance plugin that combines page caching, asset optimization, and Core Web Vitals improvements in a single lightweight package.
It generates static HTML cache files served directly from disk via Apache — bypassing PHP and WordPress on cached requests. In testing on a standard VPS, this approach achieves sub-50ms TTFB and PageSpeed scores of 95/100 on desktop.
A React 18 dashboard provides real-time cache hit rates, bandwidth saved, and PageSpeed score tracking — no jQuery required.
<h4>Core Features (Free)</h4>
Static HTML Cache 
Pages are stored as static <code>.html</code> files on disk. Apache serves them directly — no PHP, no database, no WordPress bootstrap. Cache TTL is configurable (default: 24 hours).
HTML Minification 
Removes unnecessary whitespace and comments from the final HTML output, reducing page size without affecting content or functionality.
CSS Minification 
Minifies stylesheet files inline, reducing transfer size. Combine is intentionally disabled by default for HTTP/2 compatibility.
JavaScript Defer 
Adds <code>defer</code> to non-critical scripts, improving Time to Interactive (TTI) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) scores on mobile.
Image Lazy Loading 
Adds native <code>loading="lazy"</code> to images and iframes below the fold. Injects explicit <code>width</code> and <code>height</code> attributes to reduce Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Database Cleanup 
Scheduled cleanup of post revisions, auto-drafts, spam comments, and expired transients. Configurable schedule: daily, weekly, or monthly.
Cache Preloading 
After purge, PlugoSpeed re-warms the cache automatically by walking your XML sitemap. Rate-limited to avoid server overload.
Auto Cache Purge 
Cache is invalidated on post save, theme change, plugin activation, and WooCommerce stock/price updates.
PageSpeed Dashboard 
Tracks your Google PageSpeed Insights score over time with a 30-day graph. Shows live cache hit/miss ratio, bandwidth saved, and page count.
<h4>Pro Features</h4>
Remove Unused CSS (RUCSS) 
Generates a per-page stylesheet containing only the CSS rules that are actually used. Eliminates render-blocking CSS from page builders and plugin stylesheets. Requires a PlugoPress API key.
Critical CSS 
Inlines the above-the-fold CSS directly in <code><head></code>, eliminating render-blocking for a faster LCP. Requires a PlugoPress API key.
WebP Image Serving 
Automatically serves <code>.webp</code> versions of images to supported browsers, reducing image payload by 25–35% without quality loss.
<a href="https://plugopress.com/plugospeed/" rel="nofollow ugc">Upgrade to Pro → plugopress.com/plugospeed/</a>
<h4>Compatibility</h4>
PlugoSpeed is tested and verified compatible with:
Page Builders: Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Bricks, Oxygen, WPBakery 
Themes: Astra, GeneratePress, Kadence, Hello Elementor, OceanWP, Blocksy, Neve, Flatsome 
E-Commerce: WooCommerce (cart exclusion, stock purge, vary by currency) 
Multilingual: WPML, Polylang (vary cache by language) 
SEO: Rank Math, Yoast SEO, All in One SEO 
CDN: Cloudflare (Pro: API purge integration)
<h4>Technical Highlights</h4>
<ul>
<li>Apache <code>.htaccess</code> rules serve cached HTML at low TTFB — before PHP loads</li>
<li><code>advanced-cache.php</code> drop-in captures misses and writes cache files</li>
<li>Optimizer pipeline: Image → JS → CSS → HTML (order matters for correctness)</li>
<li>WooCommerce cart/checkout pages are automatically excluded from cache</li>
<li>Logged-in users never receive cached pages (preserves nonces and personalisation)</li>
<li>Action Scheduler handles background jobs (preload, cleanup, RUCSS generation)</li>
<li>REST API powers the dashboard — all actions are nonce-protected with <code>manage_options</code> capability checks</li>
</ul>
<h4>Links</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://plugopress.com/plugospeed/" rel="nofollow ugc">Plugin Page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.plugopress.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://plugopress.com/changelog/plugospeed" rel="nofollow ugc">Changelog</a></li>
<li><a href="https://plugopress.com/support" rel="nofollow ugc">Support</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
This plugin connects to the following external services:
<h4>Google PageSpeed Insights API</h4>
<ul>
<li>Purpose: Measures your site’s performance score and Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FID)</li>
<li>When it is called: Only when viewing the PlugoSpeed dashboard or when a manual refresh is triggered by the site administrator</li>
<li>Data transmitted: Your site’s public URL — no personal data is sent</li>
<li>Terms of Service: https://developers.google.com/terms</li>
<li>Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy</li>
</ul>
<h4>PlugoPress Cloud API (api.plugopress.com)</h4>
<ul>
<li>Purpose: Powers Pro features: Remove Unused CSS (RUCSS) and Critical CSS generation</li>
<li>When it is called: Only when a valid API key is configured by the site administrator AND the corresponding Pro feature is enabled</li>
<li>Data transmitted: The page URL and rendered HTML of the requested page, used solely for CSS analysis</li>
<li>Terms of Service: https://plugopress.com/terms</li>
<li>Privacy Policy: https://plugopress.com/privacy-policy</li>
</ul>
<h4>PlugoPress Badge Service (plugopress.com)</h4>
<ul>
<li>Purpose: Displays a performance badge in the PlugoSpeed dashboard</li>
<li>When it is called: When the dashboard is viewed and a PageSpeed score is available</li>
<li>Data transmitted: Only the numeric PageSpeed score is included in the image URL — no personal data is sent</li>
<li>Terms of Service: https://plugopress.com/terms</li>
<li>Privacy Policy: https://plugopress.com/privacy-policy</li>
</ul>

PlugoSpeed

A WordPress cache plugin delivering static HTML cache, page caching, CSS minification, JavaScript defer, lazy load, and Core Web Vitals improvements.

GTmetrix

GTmetrix has created GTmetrix for WordPress – a WordPress plugin that actively keeps track of your WP install and sends you alerts if your site falls below certain criteria.
Run analyses, schedule reports on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and receive alerts about the status of your site all from within your WordPress Admin!

GTmetrix for WordPress

Plugin isn't showing the toolbar link in the latest version of WP now :(

Fantastic plugin but...

GTmetrix can help you develop a faster, more efficient, and all-around improved website experience for your users. Your users will love you for it.

PlugoSpeed vs GTmetrix for WordPress