Cloudflare APO vs Traditional WordPress Caching: Which Is Faster for Your Website?

I enjoy using new resources to speed up WordPress and I was pleasantly surprised the first time I was introduced to Cloudflare APO. My website loaded so quickly that I thought I broke it--in a good way! So, what is the functional difference between Cloudflare APO and traditional WordPress caching, and is it generally better?

Cloudflare APO's Functionality​

Cloudflare's APO works very smart. It delivers your entire WordPress site from data centers around the world, so people close to those data centers receive your site at much faster speeds, which is essentially what global CDNs do.

Your site sort of acts like a light and static HTML site, which is pretty cool, right?

Normal cached WordPress sites work differently. Traditional caching is stored on your own hosting server; therefore, someone looking from the other side of the country may receive a site with slower speeds.

How Traditional Caching Works​

Many of us have experienced plugins such as W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache or LiteSpeed Cache, which offer increased page speed by:

• Serving static cached versions of your pages
• Reduced PHP processing
• Reduced database load
• A decrease in page load time for repeat visitors

This is effective, but your hosting server is still doing the hard work. When you have lots of traffic all at once, your server may slow down or even crash. I have seen this for sales or holiday or festival traffic.

APO vs Traditional: A Simple Comparison​

Lets take a look at the actual difference.​

Cloudflare APO:

• It uses a network of servers all around the world
• It will relieve significant pressure on your hosting service
• It will remain fast with a very slow host
• Great for users located globally

Traditional WordPress Caching:

• Has a dependency on a servers location
• Typically works best for all local or regional traffic
• Will require additional settings and tuning
• It gives advanced users more control

Which Option is Superior?​

If your audience is international, APO is much quicker. If your audience is primarily local, traditional caching works well.

When Do You Use APO?​

Use Cloudflare APO if you need:

• Fast speed for users all over the world
• Less load on your host server
• Simple setup
• Better performance without many settings

I have APO on one of my busy sites and the speed is incredible.

Final Thoughts​

Both cache methods are good, but Cloudflare APO is faster because it uses Cloudflare's worldwide network. Traditional caching is good if you want to take more control or it is running on LiteSpeed hosting.

If you like fast websites as much as I do, you need to try APO. You will probably be shocked at how fast your site actually loads.