Every published result starts from the same restored WordPress lab, uses documented setup rules, runs repeated mobile measurements, and is reviewed before it appears on the public index.
Before a plugin is measured, the lab is restored from the guarded Astra Love Nature baseline package. This avoids carrying cache files, generated assets, options, scheduled tasks, or database leftovers from the previous plugin.
Plugins are activated as shipped. Required onboarding uses default, recommended, or pre-selected choices only. Free built-in optimization controls may be used when they do not require paid features, companion plugins, external services, or new third-party accounts.
The selected testers run repeatedly against each measured URL. Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights mobile are active; WebPageTest is registered for future expansion. Public summaries use medians and visible ranges rather than a single best run.
Individual test runs, raw tester artifacts, QA evidence, and publication records remain the source of truth. Summary rows are generated from reviewed measurements and never replace the underlying evidence.
The site is checked after plugin setup and measurement so faster metrics do not hide broken pages, missing content, failed navigation, or damaged forms.
Results are strongest when compared inside the same round, scenario, tester, URL set, and repetition count. Historical rounds remain visible, but methodology changes are called out instead of being silently merged.
This round measures WordPress performance plugins on the same corporate site: Hostinger shared hosting, Astra, the Love Nature Starter Template, Gutenberg blocks, Spectra, SureForms, and the Home, Services, and Contact pages. Plugins are configured with the best available free, built-in, or clearly recommended options that do not require paid features, companion plugins, external services, or new third-party accounts.
Some plugins expose more free defaults than others. For example, Breeze enables cache, mobile cache, Gzip compression, and browser cache on activation; those built-in defaults count as part of its free setup, while CDN, Varnish, paid services, extra plugins, and external-account features remain out of scope.
This matrix is not a vendor feature comparison. It records which categories were allowed or used in this benchmark round, so results can be interpreted against the measured setup.
| Capability | No plugin baseline | Breeze | LiteSpeed Cache | WP Super Cache | WP Fastest Cache | WP-Optimize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic page cache | Not applicable | Enabled by free setup | Enabled by free setup | Enabled by free setup | Enabled by free setup | Enabled by free setup |
| Minify / file optimization | Not applicable | Standard one-click preset | Free built-in options only | Not part of plugin setup | Free built-in options only | Free built-in options only |
| Image optimization | Not applicable | Only if included in free preset without external account | External service excluded | Not part of plugin setup | Free-only scope | Free-only scope |
| External CDN / paid services | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded |
Rounds are comparable inside their own scope. When the setup profile or selected testers change, that difference is recorded here instead of being hidden inside the ranking table.
This round measures WordPress performance plugins on the same corporate site: Hostinger shared hosting, Astra, the Love Nature Starter Template, Gutenberg blocks, Spectra, SureForms, and the Home, Services, and Contact pages. Plugins are configured with the best available free, built-in, or clearly recommended options that do not require paid features, companion plugins, external services, or new third-party accounts.
Some plugins expose more free defaults than others. For example, Breeze enables cache, mobile cache, Gzip compression, and browser cache on activation; those built-in defaults count as part of its free setup, while CDN, Varnish, paid services, extra plugins, and external-account features remain out of scope.
The first public benchmark round used the same Astra Love Nature corporate lab on Hostinger, but kept plugin configuration intentionally narrow: enable the plugin's basic cache behavior only and publish reviewed Lighthouse mobile results. Image optimization, minification, CDN features, PageSpeed, and WebPageTest were left out of this pilot scope.
This legacy round is useful historical context, but it should not be treated as identical to later rounds that allow broader free built-in optimization options or include PageSpeed results.
The Methodology page explains how results are produced and compared. The Test Environment page documents the fixed WordPress lab, baseline, hosting, theme, and measured URLs.
