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Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most, each with a link to the page that explains it in full. If yours is not here, write to support and we will add it.
Is the free version really free?
Yes. It is on WordPress.org, works on unlimited sites and does not expire. Page caching, browser caching, GZIP and Brotli, lazy loading, minify and defer, and the full Page Audit are all in it. Caching Out Pro adds the rest; every paid plan has every Pro feature.
Do visitors from my social posts and ads get the cached page?
Yes. When someone taps your link on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or in a Google ad, the link picks up a tracking code (fbclid, gclid, utm_ and the like). To a page cache that can look like a brand-new page, so the visitor waits while it is built from scratch – the very visitors your posts and ads brought in. Caching Out ignores those codes out of the box, so they get the same cached page as everyone else. The codes stay in the address bar, so analytics that reads them in the browser still sees them. This is in the free edition. The parameters it ignores are listed in the Settings reference, under Ignored query parameters.
What if a setting breaks something?
Turn that one switch back off, or exclude the one file: every optimisation is independent. The Page Audit names what is wrong on a page and whether one of our settings is behind it. With Pro, every change Caching Out makes is recorded and most can be undone in one click from the Activity page, and the assistant can point to the change that explains what you are seeing; nothing is undone until you confirm. And one line in wp-config.php turns all caching off immediately. Step by step: Troubleshooting and Activity (change record).
Will it work with my theme?
Caching Out caches the HTML your theme produces and uses standard WordPress APIs, so it does not depend on a particular theme. Anything that can change how a page looks – minification, combining files, deferred and delayed JavaScript, CSS delivery – is off until you switch it on, and each switch can be turned off on its own.
Does it work with WooCommerce?
Yes. Cart, checkout and account pages are excluded from caching from the moment caching is switched on – before you configure anything. So is any visitor carrying a cart, login or session cookie. See Compatibility.
My host already has caching. Will this help?
Yes, in the places a host cache does not reach: file optimisation, media loading and database cleanup all still apply. On a well-configured managed host the page-cache gain itself may be small; everything else still counts. And Caching Out never overwrites another cache's files.
What happens when I edit a post?
Caching Out clears that page plus every archive it appears on – category, tag, author, date, post type and the homepage. You do not need to clear the cache by hand. See Page Caching.
Can I use it on a multisite network?
Yes. Each site in the network keeps its own cached pages and its own settings, and each is switched on by its own licence. With Pro, Network Admin lists every site, purges one site at a time and can copy one section of settings to the sites you choose, showing every change per site before anything is written. See Multisite.
Can I use it on client sites?
Yes. Every plan allows use on sites you do not own, and settings export and import plus the WP-CLI commands mean a new client build starts from your own baseline rather than from ours. See Import and export.
What happens when the licence runs out?
The plugin keeps working. Plans renew yearly by themselves and we email you about two weeks before; if you cancel, or a renewal cannot be charged, the licence lapses and what stops is updates, support and the assistant. Nothing is switched off. See Licensing.
Does Caching Out compress my images?
The free plugin does not change your image files: it lazy-loads images, adds missing width and height, gives the hero image priority, and the Page Audit tells you when a hero image is heavier than it needs to be. Caching Out Pro adds image compression for JPEG, PNG and WebP images in the Media Library: you pick an image, see it before and after, and decide. The smaller file keeps the same address, so every browser gets it, and an exact backup lets you restore the original at any time. One image at a time, on your own server; images are never sent anywhere and never resized. How much smaller an image gets depends on the image. See Image compression.
How do I remove Caching Out completely?
Deactivate it, then delete it from the Plugins screen. Deleting it removes everything it added – its settings, its cache folder, the advanced-cache.php file, the WP_CACHE line and its .htaccess rules – with no separate clean-up step to run first. Pro keeps only the backups of images you compressed and did not restore. If you use Pro and want to move your licence to another site, click Deactivate on the License tab before you delete it. See Getting started.
What is your refund policy?
Every paid plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee. Email us within 14 days of purchase and we refund to the original payment method; how long it takes to reach you depends on your bank or card issuer.