It used to have a really clear, simple purpose
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I used to really like WP-Optimize. It was simple, but did that one simple thing really well — basically clean up your database. But I’m really disappointed to see the direction this plugin is taking. Instead of doing one thing really well, they’ve decided to become a generic “do it all” plugin by also introducing image optimizing and page caching — two things there are already a million specialized plugins for. I hate this idea of plugins feeling like they need to do everything under the sun. Just pick one thing, do it really well, and stick with it. Stop trying to do it all.
At this point I’m considering looking for an alternative. I have no desire to have a caching plugin sitting on my site when I don’t want/need one.
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Hi NoseGraze,
Let me try to explain some of what’s going on here…
The aim of WP-Optimize is still the same: it aims to optimize performance of WordPress sites. This, fortunately, doesn’t mean we’re going to try to do everything under the sun. But we are aiming to make it so that people who aren’t experts and don’t understand that “site optimization” actually includes a lot of things (all of which make a real impact) are empowered to easily optimize their sites. Not everyone wants to learn about + research + install dozens of different plugins for each of the different functions of database optimization, image optimization, gzip headers, page cacheing, various other forms of cacheing, minification, static headers, power tweaks, etc.
(N.B. Most of the most popular page cache plugins (e.g. W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket, WP Fastest Cache), already include these multiple features (including DB optimization)). In reality, the market won’t support plugins with full-time, paid developers and support teams and features only addressing one small part of a problem (i.e. one small part of site optimization). Only dedicated hobbyists willing to continually donate their labour for free over a number of years can provide those plugins. (The “Donate” link on the free version of a plugin with hundreds of thousands of active free users generally provides about $10-$30 a year – I know, I have maintained several for several years).
The page cacheing code in WP-O is tiny in size. If you don’t want to use it, then it’s not on by default – if you don’t turn it on, it has no impact. There are quite a few content authors out there writing articles that say “don’t install anything you don’t need”, but this is advice that needs a lot of nuancing otherwise it encourages people to invest their valuable time being obsessive about things that make no actual difference. A few tens of Kb of code that isn’t run has about as much performance impact as turning the temperature up 0.001 C in the data centre the server’s in – i.e. nothing anybody could ever measure.
Other page cacheing plugins exist. But look at the user interface in WP-O, and look at it in another plugin. I’ve hated using every page cacheing plugin I’ve used in the last 10 years – complicated, bloated, ugly, or didn’t work. (And yes, not just free ones; I bought WP-Rocket – it didn’t cache the home page (updraftplus.com), I followed every FAQ, checked everything they suggested; it didn’t tell me why… I went back to WP Super Cache). With WP-O, I installed it on my sites, turned it on in 10 seconds, verified it worked, then got back to real work. We are not aiming to reproduce what’s already out there, but to bring real value to our users. We’re not going to please 100% of the people, but please be assured, we’re not looking to add bloat anywhere. I hate bloat!
David
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