[Plugin: W3 Total Cache] Is this plugin still being maintained?

Good question. I didn’t think about it lately. May be because I stopped using it a long ago, replacing it with APC/Batcache combination and other server side implementations. I loved this plugin when I was using it and I still help with W3 Total Cache related questions on this forum.

At the same time, I don’t find this strange with some other plugins. When the code is solid enough, there is little reason to update a plugin frequently (except for bug fixes). There are some excellent plugins that work without any issue, even though they are updated long ago. I already mentioned two such plugins. ??

But, I do agree there are (a few?) forum posts (bugs?) that are not answered lately by Frederick who has done a fantastic job with this plugin so far.

Yes, it looks like this plugin is become obsolete and unmaintained. Too many bug reports and too much ignorance from the developers.

I’ve been using this plugin for roughly a year now with minor problems here and there and a few major panic attacks in other places, but on the whole it’s doing the job. I can’t help the impression, though, that the thing is becoming increasingly buggy.

The latest hick-up is the minify part (again): Even with only html minification enabled it produces a server error (500 and 324 alternatively) and make the site disappear.

All of a sudden it’s also complaining about non-writable config files which have been set to being writeable by the server all the time. Now it wants a 777 where it is absolutely not necessary.

In one and the same multisite install setting vary greatly from site to site, which is extremely unnerving as I have to go through a trail and error routine with every new subdomain I’m installing.

I stopped using that monstrous thing after it crashed one of my sites. Now I use QuickCache for WordPress ( I’ve been using it for about a year and a half with no problems). It’s free, works brilliantly and is updated regularly. I actually just updated my plugin with no problems at all. This is the link to the developers’ website/plugin if you would like to try it (just scroll down the list of plugins and it should be fifth in the list):

https://www.primothemes.com/category/wordpress-plugins/

I’ve been using quick cache before and it was driving me potty with complaints about directory settings even though they were exactly as requested.

I also quite like the CDN stuff. But this caching stuff continues to be a constant source of spiritual enrichment.

It is being maintained. I sent an email to the author about some issues I was having and a few days later he replied asking me to submit a formal bug report using the tool built into the plugin.

However, I have decided not to use this plugin for the time being. Don’t get me wrong – it has a ton of features, and includes tools that I haven’t seen in any other plugin. But I haven’t even been able to get it up and running fully, despite following the installation instructions to a T. I’ve found others reporting the same problems I’m having, and there is no resolution anywhere. What’s more, this plugin seems overly buggy based on the shear volume and variety of issue people are having.

I messed with this off and on for a few days trying to use it, and I’m calling it quits and going back to the simpler, robust QuickCache plugin that I have been using. I may come try W3 again after the next release.

It is not maintained. The current version is half a year old, has tons of bugs and there is not even a single bug fix in the last 6 months. Looks dead to me.

The plugin is still being maintained.

I’m delighted to hear that, Frederick.

??

last update is over 1 year old guaranteed to work with 3.2.x but now WP is almost at 3.5… is this plugin still mantained?

if no update required and no bugs are reported for more recent versions of wp perhaps the developer could mark it wp 3.4.x compatible, at least people know it’s still supported…

Good point Substrato. I can confirm that it works with 3.4.x without any issues on a default WP install. I hope it works for many others too.

Still works great for me!

I love this plugin, and use it on every WordPress site I build. I also do a bit of consulting, setting up servers and tuning WordPress sites to work properly with W3TC.

W3 Total Cache works great on budget hosting accounts, virtual servers, dedicated servers, and cloud hosting. You need to do some research to figure out the best settings for your particular application.

I am having good luck with the 0.9.25b (development) version of this plugin on Apache and NginX servers, with APC cache. W3TC also works well with CloudFront CDN. Varnish reverse proxies take a bit more configuration, but that has more to do with WordPress to Varnish communication, and setting up a proper VCL and Varnish config.

Be aware that this plugin can only really shine if you know a bit about web server setup (or have a knowledgeable host or developer), and are willing to do some trial and error if the auto minification does not work for you.

W3 Total Cache is not an automatic solution unless you are running a vanilla WordPress site. Add the complexities of custom themes and several plugins (not to mention various hosting configurations), and you will need to do some homework.

The guys at W3 are very knowledgeable and helpful if you contact them through the proper channels. Pay for support, and they will give you a great deal of actionable information. Disclosure: I have never paid for W3-Edge support, but several clients have: Willy and Frederick really know their stuff.

You may not figure out the proper minification options. However (even without minification), the browser cache, page cache and CDN features are amazing, and they automate some very important performance tunings.

Hi Gilligan,

May I know where you got the 0.9.25b (development) version of this plugin?

Thanks,
Pothi