Avoid. Bad plugin, bad ethics and bad hosting

    1. They just renamed their plugin from “SiteGround Optimizer” to “Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One WordPress Performance-Boosting Plugin”, which at first confused me thinking it was a new plugin in the market, while it just seems to be a new tactic to get more clients for their hosting service, because they won’t even be able to fully use the plugin, as most of the cache features are only available to people on SiteGround servers.
    2. It is not an “all-in-one performance boosting” plugin. The biggest boost you will get happens if you are on SiteGround servers (because of the cache), and it’s not going to be a big one. In my experience there are much better providers.
    3. Over-styled interface, not following any WordPress UI guidelines. Seems tailored to either kids or 90 year old people with vision problems.
    4. The image optimization is subpar. They just decrease the quality level of a JPG/PNG with a command, not taking into account the actual image or the difference between the original and optimized. Basically your images may get ruined.
    5. If you are on SiteGround, you must have this plugin installed if you want to have the cache disabled. Yes, tried it myself. If the plugin is not installed, the pages from SiteGround are served from their server cache, so if I’d like to use a different cache method, I have first to install their plugin, disable the cache, and then keep it installed.
    6. Apparently they only take the time to reply to reviews if they are negative. Most of the positive ones are ignored.
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  • Plugin Support Plamen M

    (@plamenm)

    Dear @sixaxis,

    I sincerely appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into writing such a comprehensive review. Even though it’s critical, it provides valuable insights that will guide us in making future enhancements.

    I regret to hear that our plugin and hosting services didn’t meet your expectations. We strive to deliver services that are meticulously crafted to meet a wide range of needs. However, we acknowledge that our offerings may not align with the specific requirements of every customer who is seeking standard solutions.

    Our plugin has undergone significant evolution since its inception. It now boasts high-quality performance optimization features that are not exclusively tied to our hosting but can benefit all WordPress users. The recent name change is a reflection of our commitment to providing highly sought-after features, often at no cost, which are typically paid for in other plugins. We hope that users who find value in our plugins might also discover our hosting services to be a good fit for their needs. This aspiration is backed by the positive feedback from millions of satisfied customers who appreciate our hosting services for numerous reasons.

    It’s important to note that the performance of a website cannot solely rely on a plugin. Optimizing a site’s performance is a comprehensive task that requires a holistic approach. A performance-boosting plugin can significantly contribute, but it cannot replace the necessary steps that a skilled developer should undertake.

    Our plugin interface has been meticulously designed by our UI developers to be universally useful, easy to navigate, and adaptable to various user scenarios. We believe it aligns well with WordPress design standards. However, we understand that it may not align with the expectations or preferences of every individual user.

    Our plugin includes several image optimization features that align with the image size requirements of the active theme on the site. If the optimization results don’t meet your needs, you might consider trying a new optimization with a higher image quality, and perhaps consider WebP support as well.

    All our SiteGround customers, including those who choose not to use our plugin, have complete control to flush the cache in our environment through the Site Tools hosting management. For more information, please visit:

    https://eu.siteground.com/kb/clear-site-cache/

    You’re absolutely right in saying that positive reviews also deserve attention and responses. We do make an effort to reply to these reviews as well. Our plugin developers and support team, consisting of some of our top developers, balance their time between developing new features and responding to forum topics. This might explain why there are fewer responses to positive reviews, as the team prioritizes assisting users who encounter issues with our plugins.

    Your feedback is invaluable to us. Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts.

    Best Regards,
    Plamen Martinov
    Tech Support Team

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
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