Title: PlugoSpeed
Author: plugopress
Published: May 29, 2026
Last modified: May 29, 2026
---
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# PlugoSpeed
By [plugopress](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugopress/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/plugospeed.1.1.0.zip)
* [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugospeed/#description)
* [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugospeed/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugospeed/#installation)
* [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugospeed/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugospeed/)
## Description
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.
#### Core Features (Free)
**Static HTML Cache**
Pages are stored as static `.html` 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 `defer` to non-critical scripts, improving Time to Interactive(
TTI) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) scores on mobile.
**Image Lazy Loading**
Adds native `loading="lazy"` to images and iframes below
the fold. Injects explicit `width` and `height` 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.
#### Pro Features
**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 ``, eliminating
render-blocking for a faster LCP. Requires a PlugoPress API key.
**WebP Image Serving**
Automatically serves `.webp` versions of images to supported
browsers, reducing image payload by 25–35% without quality loss.
[Upgrade to Pro plugopress.com/plugospeed/](https://plugopress.com/plugospeed/)
#### Compatibility
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)
#### Technical Highlights
* Apache `.htaccess` rules serve cached HTML at low TTFB — before PHP loads
* `advanced-cache.php` drop-in captures misses and writes cache files
* Optimizer pipeline: Image JS CSS HTML (order matters for correctness)
* WooCommerce cart/checkout pages are automatically excluded from cache
* Logged-in users never receive cached pages (preserves nonces and personalisation)
* Action Scheduler handles background jobs (preload, cleanup, RUCSS generation)
* REST API powers the dashboard — all actions are nonce-protected with `manage_options`
capability checks
#### Links
* [Plugin Page](https://plugopress.com/plugospeed/)
* [Documentation](https://docs.plugopress.com)
* [Changelog](https://plugopress.com/changelog/plugospeed)
* [Support](https://plugopress.com/support)
### External Services
This plugin connects to the following external services:
#### Google PageSpeed Insights API
* **Purpose:** Measures your site’s performance score and Core Web Vitals (LCP,
CLS, FID)
* **When it is called:** Only when viewing the PlugoSpeed dashboard or when a manual
refresh is triggered by the site administrator
* **Data transmitted:** Your site’s public URL — no personal data is sent
* **Terms of Service:** https://developers.google.com/terms
* **Privacy Policy:** https://policies.google.com/privacy
#### PlugoPress Cloud API (api.plugopress.com)
* **Purpose:** Powers Pro features: Remove Unused CSS (RUCSS) and Critical CSS
generation
* **When it is called:** Only when a valid API key is configured by the site administrator
AND the corresponding Pro feature is enabled
* **Data transmitted:** The page URL and rendered HTML of the requested page, used
solely for CSS analysis
* **Terms of Service:** https://plugopress.com/terms
* **Privacy Policy:** https://plugopress.com/privacy-policy
#### PlugoPress Badge Service (plugopress.com)
* **Purpose:** Displays a performance badge in the PlugoSpeed dashboard
* **When it is called:** When the dashboard is viewed and a PageSpeed score is
available
* **Data transmitted:** Only the numeric PageSpeed score is included in the image
URL — no personal data is sent
* **Terms of Service:** https://plugopress.com/terms
* **Privacy Policy:** https://plugopress.com/privacy-policy
## Screenshots
* [[
* **Dashboard Tab** — Performance score, live cache hit rate, Core Web Vitals,
bandwidth saved, and quick action buttons.
* [[
* **Cache Tab** — Cache statistics, purge controls, TTL configuration, and URL
exclusion management.
* [[
* **Optimize Tab** — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript optimization toggles with Pro feature
indicators.
* [[
* **Images Tab** — Lazy load, dimension injection, and WebP serving controls.
* [[
* **Database Tab** — Cleanup item selection, schedule configuration, and one-click
manual run.
## Installation
#### Automatic Installation
1. Go to **Plugins Add New** in your WordPress admin
2. Search for **PlugoSpeed**
3. Click **Install Now**, then **Activate**
4. Navigate to **Settings PlugoSpeed** to review defaults
That’s it. Caching is active immediately after activation.
#### Manual Installation
1. Download the `.zip` from [plugopress.com/plugospeed/](https://plugopress.com/plugospeed/)
or WordPress.org
2. Go to **Plugins Add New Upload Plugin**
3. Upload the `.zip` and click **Install Now**
4. Click **Activate Plugin**
#### After Activation
PlugoSpeed works with zero configuration. The defaults are conservative and safe:
* Cache TTL: 24 hours
* HTML minification: enabled
* CSS minification: enabled
* JS defer: enabled
* Image lazy load: enabled
* Database cleanup: weekly
You can adjust any setting from the **PlugoSpeed dashboard** under your WordPress
admin menu.
#### Requirements
* WordPress 6.2 or higher
* PHP 7.4 or higher (PHP 8.0+ recommended)
* Apache 2.4+ with `mod_rewrite` enabled
* Write permissions on `wp-content/cache/`
## FAQ
### Will PlugoSpeed conflict with my existing caching plugin?
Yes — you should deactivate any other caching plugin before activating PlugoSpeed.
Running two caching plugins simultaneously causes conflicts. PlugoSpeed detects
an existing `advanced-cache.php` drop-in and will warn you if it cannot safely install
its own.
### Does it work with Elementor?
Yes. PlugoSpeed includes a dedicated Elementor integration. The cache is automatically
purged when you save a page in Elementor. The Elementor editor itself is excluded
from caching to prevent interference with its preview mode.
### Does it work with WooCommerce?
Yes. Cart, checkout, account, and order pages are automatically excluded from the
static cache. Product pages are cached and purged automatically when stock levels
or prices change. WooCommerce currency cookies create separate cache variants when
needed.
### My page builder styles look broken after enabling CSS minification. What do I do?
Try disabling **CSS Combine** first (it is off by default). If the issue persists,
you can disable CSS minification entirely from the Optimize tab. For fine-grained
control, use the URL exclusion list in Cache settings to exclude specific pages.
### Why is my admin bar not visible on cached pages?
It is. The WordPress admin bar is rendered client-side for logged-in users. Logged-
in users are never served cached pages — they always receive a fresh, dynamic response
from WordPress. If you are logged in and not seeing the admin bar, check your theme
or another plugin.
### How does preloading work?
After a full cache purge, PlugoSpeed queues a background job via Action Scheduler.
That job walks your XML sitemap and visits each URL using a `PlugoSpeed/Preload`
user agent. Each visit triggers `advanced-cache.php` to generate and write the cache
file. The preloader is rate-limited to 10 pages/second to avoid server overload.
### Does it support Nginx?
Phase 1 supports Apache only. Nginx support is on the roadmap for Phase 2. If you
use Nginx, the PHP-level caching (via `advanced-cache.php`) still works and provides
significant improvement over no caching — you just won’t get the Apache-level static
file serving bypass.
### Where are cached files stored?
In `wp-content/cache/plugospeed/{hostname}/{path}/default/index.html`. The directory
structure mirrors your site’s URL structure. You can safely delete this entire folder—
PlugoSpeed will recreate it as pages are visited.
### What permissions does the cache directory need?
wp-content/cache/plugospeed/ must be writable by the web server user (typically `
www-data` on Ubuntu/Debian, `apache` on CentOS). PlugoSpeed attempts to create the
directory with correct permissions on activation.
### Does it support multisite?
Multisite support is planned for Phase 2. Single-site installations are fully supported.
### I enabled RUCSS and my site looks broken.
RUCSS is a Pro feature that generates per-page stylesheets using a headless browser.
If the generated CSS is incorrect, PlugoSpeed silently falls back to the original
stylesheet — your site will never be left broken. You can also purge the RUCSS cache
from the Tools tab to regenerate it.
### How do I completely remove PlugoSpeed?
Deactivating the plugin removes the `advanced-cache.php` drop-in, removes the PlugoSpeed
block from `.htaccess`, and deletes all cached files. Uninstalling via **Plugins
Delete** additionally removes the database tables and the `plugospeed_settings`
option from `wp_options`.
### Is there a WP-CLI interface?
Yes. Full WP-CLI support is included:
```
wp plugospeed purge [--all|--url=|--post=]
wp plugospeed preload [--sitemap=]
wp plugospeed stats [--date=]
wp plugospeed settings [get|set|reset] [] []
wp plugospeed cloud [validate|refresh]
wp plugospeed debug [on|off]
```
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“PlugoSpeed” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this
plugin.
Contributors
* [ plugopress ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugopress/)
[Translate “PlugoSpeed” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/plugospeed)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/plugospeed/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/plugospeed/), or subscribe
to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugospeed/) by
[RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugospeed/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.1.0
* Added Bloat tab with WordPress bloat removal (disable emojis, jQuery Migrate
free; 11 Pro features)
* Added Settings tab (Cloud API key, Admin Bar toggle, Notifications toggle)
* Added optional Google PSI API key support via PLUGOSPEED_PSI_API_KEY constant
* Fixed: CSS sanitization with wp_strip_all_tags() before wp_add_inline_style()
* Fixed: $_SERVER sanitization in RUCSSService, CriticalCSSService, Elementor integration
* Fixed: Menu position changed from 2 to 81
* Fixed: .wordpress-org excluded from distribution zip
#### 1.0.0
* Initial release
## Meta
* Version **1.1.0**
* Last updated **6 hours ago**
* Active installations **Fewer than 10**
* WordPress version ** 6.2 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.0**
* PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
* Tags
* [cache](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/cache/)[caching](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/caching/)
[core web vitals](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/core-web-vitals/)[Page Speed](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/page-speed/)
[performance](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/performance/)
* [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugospeed/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugospeed/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugospeed/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ plugopress ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugopress/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugospeed/)