WP Rocket is a caching and performance optimization plugin used to improve the loading speed of WordPress websites.
Things to keep in mind
- WP Rocket requires a paid subscription (pricing information).
- We only apply file optimization settings. We don’t set up caching through WP Rocket; we leave this to your host/server manager.
- The Critical CSS that is auto-generated by WP Rocket isn’t always reliable. This can cause “jumping” on page load. So we recommend using an alternate setup (see below) to prevent the need for Critical CSS.
Alternate Setup to Avoid the Need for Critical CSS
This setup entails leaving the theme’s styles render-blocking, so Critical CSS is not needed.
Benefits:
- Prevents the need to rely on WP Rocket’s auto-generated CCSS, which isn’t always reliable.
- Prevents “jumping” on page load due to the use of incorrect Critical CSS. The Critical CSS that is auto-generated by WP Rocket isn’t always reliable.
Drawbacks:
- Produces an additional render-blocking warning, but it may not have a significant impact on scores.
WP Rocket file optimization settings (for developer use):
– Minify HTML, CSS and JS
– Combine JS or CSS files
– JS deferred
– Defer jQuery, test & disable safe mode
– Exclude themes styles from minification
– Optimize CSS Delivery with CCSS fallback
Additional plugins
WP Rocket | Exclude Files from Async CSS
This plugin is used to prevent the theme’s styles from being deferred.
Resource: https://docs.wp-rocket.me/article/977-exclude-files-from-optimize-css-delivery
WP Rocket | No Auto-generated Critical CSS
This plugin is used to prevent Crtical CSS from automatically being generated by WP Rocket.
Resource: https://docs.wp-rocket.me/article/108-render-blocking-javascript-and-css-pagespeed