Why You Should Not Activate any Page Speed Plugin / Module During Production
Latest update: April 12, 2019 | Reading time: 2 to 3 minutesCaching and minifying plugins and modules are among the most popular add-ons for WordPress, no wonder why. Although they are not the panacea for long loading times, with moderate use they can speed up your website and, keep your visitors connected for more time.
When it comes to developing your website, those add-ons may interfere with the default functions, resulting in unexpected behavior, that’s why it’s better to keep them off until you’re done.
Let’s take an example. Most themes utilize LESS.js which is a special CSS processor based on the most popular web language Javascript. Now, if you activate a caching plugin (or even a special module in the Hostin Panel) while still developing your website you’re taking your chances. Most caching / speeding mechanisms try to compress the files of the themes. The files may become unreadable (by a… human user) but, they can be processed faster by the browser. This is cool as long as you have ended developing your website. If you’re still in the process there are chances while changing something, the compression will not be applied as expected, especially if your code is created dynamically. Now, imagine having another add-on activated that does exactly the same job; a minified stylesheet is getting another minification attempt… can you get the point?
So, it’s best to finish production first (at least up to the point you expected to) and, then activate the caching. In case you need to keep deploying or revise the website, consider disabling the caching until finished. And, remember, a well-developed website will get a boost from a caching plugin; a poor-developed or bloated website will not get any better this way.