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Hello and welcome to the latest video guide brought to you by TheCodingGeek.com
Today we'll be improving your WordPress performance by using the free W3TotalCache plugin along with a free CloudFlare CDN account
W3TotalCache will handle the page and browser caching
Cloudflare will handle CDN and Minification
We're going to start by creating a free Cloudflare account at Cloudflare.com
I've already signed up so I can't show you that process, but it is easy
Type in your website and click Add Website
After the DNS scan completes review your DNS information
Click Continue
Select the Free Plan
Select CDN + Full Optimizations
Select Low for Security Level
Medium security results in more false positives so low is the best option for most sites
Next, you're going to login into your domain registrar and update your DNS servers
Back at the Cloudflare page, select Continue and verify you have a green "Congratulations" box
Your DNS settings could take up to 24 hours to propagate
Your icon will change from a red wrench to a green check when DNS is ready
While we wait, we're going to install W3TotalCache
Go to your Dashboard and select Plugins
Click Add New to add a new plugin
Search for W3TotalCache
It should be the first entry, click Install and Okay
Now we're going to activate W3TotalCache
Let's do a basic setup of W3TotalCache...
Select General Settings and Scroll Down to Page Cache
Make sure Page Cache is Enabled and set to Disk: Enhanced
Scroll Down to Browser Cache and Enable
At this time, save your settings
Browser cache needs to be configured, so select Browser Cache from the
Performance Menu
Enable everything in the first set except for 404 Errors
Save your settings
Head back over to Cloudflare to check on our DNS status
Green check mark...we're good to go
At your WordPress dashboard, select Performance and then General Settings
Click the Cloudflare Sub-Menu
Make sure enable is selected
Enter your email address and API key from CloudFlare
Select Low for Security
Automatic for Rocket Loader
Select CSS, Javascript, and HTML for Minification
Be sure to leave Development Mode Off
Save your settings
At this point, you have successfully boosted your WordPress performance using free plugins and a free CDN service
Enjoy the performance!