To help optimize your WordPress site, we recommend installing and enabling WP Super Cache. WP Super Cache will help your site load faster and use less backend resources.  To return to the previous course, click on Advertising Plugins.

Please note, before installing the WP Super Cache plugin, you will first need to enable Permalinks for your site.

1. Begin by logging into your WordPress Dashboard, click on Plugins on the left menu and then Add New:

2. In the search box, to help find it faster do a search for "super cache":

3. After the search is finished look on the results for "WP Super Cache."  Once you have located the plugin click on "Install Now" under the plugin:

4. The plugin installation is complete. Click on "Activate Plugin":

5. A red box at the top will remind you to enable the program.  Click on the "plugin admin page" next:

6. Now we will enable caching.  Click the radio button next to "Caching On" and hit "Update Status >>":

7. There are still a few more steps to obtimize WP Super Cache.  On the same screen click on the "Advanced" tab:

8. Select the "Use mod_rewrite to serve cache files" option and click "Update Status >>"

9. Once this is done you will receive a message that looks like this:

10.  Scroll down the page and you will see a big yellow box.  Click on "Update Mod_Rewrite Rules" at the bottom of the yellow box:

11. Once that is clicked the box will turn green and say "Mod Rewrite rules updated":

There are two ways to confirm that WP Super Cache installed correctly.  First, you can check the source code of your site.  The source code will show if the webpage was successfully cached.  In FireFox, right click on any page within your WordPress website and select "View Page Source."  Other Internet browsers have the same option as well.  At the bottom of the page if WP Super Cache was installed you will see this:

You can also make sure it installed by checking the .htaccess file.  You can access the .htaccess file through an FTP client or through your cPanel File Manager.  In the folder that contains your WordPress site, look for the .htaccess file and open it.  In the .htaccess file you should see code similar to this:

If you have confirmed by either of these methods that WP Super Cache installed correctly, you're done!

To review the courses in this class, go to 201: Recommended Plugins.