Should I use the Preloader option

@isaumya yeah, CF has image opt BUT it costs a ton more than the smallest plan of $50/year for 100K images optimized [can be used on any number of websites] via Converter for Media plugin.

And CFM plugin doesn’t bill per number of users accessing the optimized and cached images.

CF may be better in that it creates up to 100 versions/sizes per image, to further cut down the asset size,

However, for a small to medium site with max 500 images [plus all their versions WP/WC/theme creates] and max 1M visitors per month, CFM plugin does an amazing job.

Even without a CF Pro, my super long landing pages with a ton of images load under 1-1.5 sec above-fold and no lag when scrolling.

I guess also other CF uprades for better pageload speed, like tunneling etc also make some positive impact.

CF, IMO, is mostly vital for eCommerce sites where every millisecond has some effect.

LOVE YOUR PLUGIN and thank you so much for it!

@jvf – what I once did was create a custom xml file and use the option in this plugin to call pages from there to the preloader.

Honestly, I USED to use the preloader, since I assumed maximizing usage of all possible options is best for optimization.

Sometimes though, it’s an overkill!

However, as this awesome plugin author keeps saying it is not really needed and can cause more server load and CF may ignore it if too if it preloads too often.

I saw zero utility in it and stopped using it.

Plugin clears cache. You can play with that part with various settings.

And I also turn on the setting to preload upon mouse hover on button/link. No real need [for me] to preload from all links existing on a page – why cause more work in the browser when on hover it already prefetches in BG and once clicked it’s loading fast.

Additionally, you can manually optimize stuff in CF dash. Activate smart tiered cache, early hints, etc.
Recently I noticed that what once used to break /ruin like Rocket Loader, now works like a charm and speeds page-loading.

I have question about Preloader: can I preload only some URLs?

@jvf Well, technically you can. You have to make a sitemap XML file that consist of those URLs and then mention that xml file in the preloader

Hi @mobizma,
If you don’t want to use Cloudflare Images, you can always get the Cloudflare Pro plan and use Cloudflare Polish which will provide you unlimited image optimizations and serve images from the cloud and WebP conversion.

@isaumya Yes, true but what about AVIF? Last time I checked, that needed the CF Images plan addon.

With the free Converter for Media [CFM] plugin there’s also no AVIF image output.

If CF Pro is purchased, some image optimizations can be done.
And they’ll serve your optimized WebP images from their edge.

With the Pro Plan, CF serves from their edge – for FREE – the AVIF versions [or WebP/normal] the CFM plugin creates. This is of course perfect for times of a launch when a ton of traffic hits on the landing page. Or for busy eCom sites, to get that extra little speed boost from having images served from CF Edge [ak, CDN] and to offload images from Origin [i.e., your server] for less server incoming traffic overage costs.

However, the CF Pro costs $25/mo and if it’s just to convert images to WebP on an average site/blog/small shop, one can simply save money and get a free WP plugin instead.

The CF Pro is for a single domain.
So if one has 20 sites to optimize, that’ll cost $500/month!
Whilst, the Converter for Media plugin Pro plan costs $50/year for 100K image AVIF conversions.

CF Pro optimizes some extra stuff for page load speed which their Free Plan does not have, but it’s MINIMAL impact.
IMHO it only makes sense for eCom site with lots of traffic and sales.

Thank you so much for your great support and all your time working on your excellent plugin!
Did I mention, I stopped using premium caching plugins even I still had few years to use them. So much simpler, faster, and better results just yours and the CFM plugin tandem.