Library·SOP·SEO
Prepare a recoverable WordPress backup, check for an existing page cache, enable WP Super Cache's recommended Simple mode for anonymous public pages, verify its cached homepage and key site functions, and compare the same page before and after.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Prepare a recoverable WordPress backup, check for an existing page cache, enable WP Super Cache's recommended Simple mode for anonymous public pages, verify its cached homepage and key site functions, and compare the same page before and after.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
A baseline gives you a fair comparison. The cache tester checks the homepage, so this guide uses that same public page for the speed check.
Make a working copy of the Technical SEO action plan. Use Speed tests for measurements and Action plan to record setup findings and the final result.
Open PageSpeed Insights, enter your homepage URL, and run the report. After the report loads, choose Mobile if needed and run the same page three times without changing it. Add three Lab rows in Speed tests with the same URL and device, Before/After set to “Before,” and Run set to 1, 2, and 3.
For each row, fill Checked on, LCP (s), CLS, TBT (ms), Performance score, Report URL, and Main finding. Record the score for context; do not use it alone to decide whether caching helped.
Add one Field row for this URL, Mobile device, and Checked on date in Speed tests. Fill URL, Device, Checked on, Data shown, LCP (s), INP (ms), CLS, Assessment, Report URL, and Notes. Use This URL, Origin, or No data exactly as PSI reports it; leave metric cells blank when no data appears.
In Action plan, add a row for this caching trial. Fill Page or issue with the homepage URL and “page cache,” and What you found with the PSI baseline plus “cache status pending precheck.” Set Next action to “check existing caching, then test WP Super Cache Simple mode if suitable.” In Why this comes first, say whether repeated server-response evidence or a suitability trial led you here. Add the Owner, Review date, and Status.
A second active page cache can conflict with this setup. WordPress may also show generic browser-cache headers that do not confirm a cached HTML page.
Check Plugins > Installed Plugins for any active page-cache plugin. Then open Tools > Site Health > Status and expand its Page cache result.
Open Settings > Permalinks and check the selected structure. WP Super Cache requires custom permalinks; if “Plain” is selected, stop this setup and ask a WordPress specialist to move to a suitable URL structure before caching.
Use your site navigation and the site owner's knowledge to identify public pages that show information specific to a visitor, such as a membership dashboard, booking status, or account details. Write their exact URL paths in the Action plan row's What you found field.
Before enabling caching, make a fresh UpdraftPlus backup of the database and site files. Keep it in the storage already configured for UpdraftPlus or download its backup files to a place you can reach. If the backup cannot finish or you do not know who can restore the site, pause here. Ask the website owner for help before installing or enabling caching.
Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups > Backup / Restore and click Backup Now. Include the database and files. If you plan to download this backup instead of sending it to remote storage, clear “Send this backup to remote storage” and select “Only allow this backup to be deleted manually (i.e. keep it even if retention limits are hit).” Click Backup Now and wait for the backup to finish.
In Existing Backups, confirm the new backup is complete and includes the database and every file part. If you did not send it to remote storage, download each part and save it somewhere you can reach if the website is unavailable; confirm each download finishes. If you used remote storage, confirm the new backup is accessible there.
In the Action plan row's Result / how to undo field, write the existing site admin or host-support route that can restore the backup or remove WP Super Cache's configuration if the dashboard fails.
Simple mode is the plugin's recommended PHP-served cache method. It avoids the rewrite rules used by Expert mode.
Open Plugins > Add New and search for WP Super Cache. Check that the result is by Automattic and that WordPress marks it compatible or tested with your WordPress version. Install and activate that plugin.
Open Settings > WP Super Cache > Advanced. Select the Simple cache delivery method. Confirm “Don’t cache pages for known users” is checked so logged-in or recognized visitors do not receive a shared anonymous page.
On the Advanced settings page, find “Rejected URL Strings.” Add each known visitor-specific path from your Action plan as its own line, using the exact spelling shown in the site URL. Save the settings before you turn caching on.
If the site uses WooCommerce, it excludes Cart, Checkout, and My Account pages from WP Super Cache by default. Keep those standard exclusions in place and plan to test each page's current logged-out behavior after enabling the cache.
Open the Easy tab, select “Caching On,” and update the status. Leave other optional cache systems at their current settings; do not enable minification, database caching, script deferral, or CDN features for this trial.
Use the plugin's own visible test for the anonymous homepage, then check important pages as a logged-out visitor and compare the same PSI test as before.
In Settings > WP Super Cache > Easy, find Cache Tester and click Test Cache. The tester requests the homepage twice and compares timestamps.
Open a private browser window and visit the homepage as a logged-out visitor. Check that the right text and images appear and that main navigation, search, and any public form still work as expected.
Visit each dynamic page path you listed in What you found, including customer pages if the site has WooCommerce. Confirm it shows the right visitor state and that logged-in pages still show the signed-in user's information in the normal admin session.
On a safe public test page you can edit, make a small temporary text change, save it, and reload the logged-out page to confirm the new text appears. Restore the original text and save again. If you do not have a safe test page, use a recent known update and note it in Action plan. WP Super Cache clears some related cache files after post or comment changes. If the page stays stale, open Settings > WP Super Cache > Easy, click Delete Cache, and test it again.
If the Cache Tester and page checks pass, open the homepage report in PSI. After it loads, choose Mobile if needed and run the same page three times without another site change. Add three Lab rows with the same URL and device, Before/After set to “After,” and Run set to 1, 2, and 3.
Compare the before and after ranges for the target metric and Main finding. If the ranges overlap, readings move in different directions, or another change happened at the same time, record “Unclear” rather than claiming caching improved speed. Record the conclusion in Action plan's Result / how to undo field.
If you want to check real-user impact, add a new Field row for the homepage and Mobile on a later date when PSI's refreshed 28-day window contains meaningful visits after caching changed. Keep the original dated row and compare only matching Data shown values.
If Cache Tester fails or a page shows stale or incorrect content, open Settings > WP Super Cache > Easy. Select “Caching Off,” update the status, and click Delete Cache. Then open Plugins > Installed Plugins and deactivate WP Super Cache.
If the website or WordPress admin will not load, contact the existing site admin or host-support route recorded before setup. WP Super Cache's emergency instructions remove its WP_CACHE and WPCACHEHOME lines from wp-config.php so WordPress can load without its cache drop-in. Simple mode does not use the Expert .htaccess rewrite rules.
