Performance Optimisation is a WordPress performance plugin for teams that want measurable improvements without a stack of overlapping optimizers. The current release is 2.4.0 and requires WordPress 6.2+ with PHP 8.2+.
The plugin combines a static HTML cache, optional Redis object caching, asset and image delivery controls, database cleanup, PageSpeed Insights, first-party Web Vitals, and compatibility adapters for LiteSpeed and WooCommerce. The dashboard exposes seven working areas: Dashboard, File Optimisation, Preload, Image Optimisation, Database, Object Cache, and Tools.
Request layers
A request can pass through several layers. Each layer is optional or conditional, and the plugin never silently replaces a foreign cache drop-in.
- Edge CDN — Cloudflare, Bunny, Varnish, or a configured CDN mapping can serve and purge assets or HTML.
- Server cache — LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed can own responses through the coexistence adapter; Apache and nginx use generated server rules where applicable.
- Static page cache — complete HTML files under
wp-content/cache/wppo/, served by the ownedadvanced-cache.phpdrop-in before WordPress boots. - Redis object cache — an optional
object-cache.phpdrop-in for repeated database reads and transients. - PHP and WordPress — the normal request path, where asset, image, CSS, preload, and monitoring policies run.
Safe starting defaults
| Area | Fresh default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Page cache | enableCache: true | The static cache is available; confirm behavior on staging before relying on it. |
| Native lazy loading | lazyLoadNative: true | WordPress/browser lazy loading is preferred; the legacy JavaScript observer is opt-in. |
| Minify, combine, defer, delay | Off | Aggressive delivery changes are tested one at a time. |
| WooCommerce safe mode | On | Cart, checkout, account, Store API, faceted, and other dynamic routes fail closed. |
| LCP guardrails | On | Above-the-fold images are not blindly lazy-loaded; critical preloads stay conservative. |
| PageSpeed, RUM, Redis, edge purge, ESI | Off or opt-in | External services and infrastructure integrations require explicit configuration. |
First run
- Read Installation and verify filesystem and server requirements.
- Open the Dashboard and confirm the detected server, cache status, and diagnostics.
- Keep the default cache and native lazy-loading behavior while you test one optional feature at a time.
- Enable CSS/HTML/JavaScript changes, then images, preload, Redis, or edge integrations only after each change is verified.
- Run
wp wppo verifyand compare a fresh PageSpeed or field-data baseline with your own traffic.
Documentation map
- Features Guide — one page for each functional area.
- LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed — coexistence modes, headers, TTL, purge sync, and crawler behavior.
- Configuration — settings, hooks, WP-CLI, and REST routes.
- Troubleshooting — symptom-first checks for cache, assets, images, Redis, monitoring, and LiteSpeed.
- FAQ — short operational answers.
- Code reference — generated from the current recursive source tree.
The documentation describes the 2.4.0 source and live dashboard. Results depend on hosting, theme, plugins, content, and traffic; benchmark figures are examples, not guarantees.