Edge Images vs W3 Total Cache

Edge Images automatically uses your edge transformation service (e.g., Cloudflare, Accelerated Domains, Imgix, etc.) to apply performance optimizations to markup. ⚠️ Important: This plugin requires a supported edge provider with image transformation features enabled (e.g., Cloudflare Pro, BunnyCDN, etc). See the Requirements section for details. 🚀 Why should I use Edge Images? Instant Performance Boost: Automatically optimize and serve images in modern formats (WebP/AVIF) through your existing CDN Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with your existing images and themes No Local Processing: All transformations happen at the edge – no server load or storage overhead Perfectly Sized Images: Automatically generates the exact image dimensions needed for every device and viewport Cost Effective: No need for expensive image optimization services or additional storage 🎯 Perfect For Sites with lots of images that need optimization Performance-focused developers and site owners Anyone using Cloudflare, BunnyCDN, or similar services Sites that want modern image formats without the complexity Developers tired of managing multiple image sizes 💡 How It Works WordPress typically creates multiple copies of each uploaded image in different sizes. This approach is inefficient and often results in: Images that are too large or small for their display size Unnecessary storage usage Missing sizes for modern responsive designs Lack of modern format support (WebP/AVIF) Edge Images solves these problems by: Intercepting image requests Determining the optimal size and format needed Using your CDN to transform the image on-demand Caching the result for future requests ⚡️ Features Core Features Automatic WebP/AVIF conversion Intelligent responsive image handling Smart srcset generation Automatic image optimization Optional element wrapping Zero local processing Maintains original images Advanced Features Fine-grained transformation control Multiple CDN provider support Developer-friendly filters Yoast SEO & Rank Math integrations Bricks integration Gutenberg compatibility 🔌 Supported Providers Cloudflare (Pro plan or higher) Accelerated Domains BunnyCDN Imgix 🛠️ Technical Example Your Code echo wp_get_attachment_image(1, [640,400], false, ['fit' => 'contain']); What WordPress Usually Outputs That’s multiple different images files, none of which are the right size! What Edge Images Outputs That’s a range of perfectly sized options for different devices and viewports, automatically optimized images in modern formats, served from your CDN, futureproofed for supporting next-generation capabilities, and with no storage overheads. 🎨 Customization Transform Parameters Control every aspect of image transformation with attributes like: * width/height: Exact dimensions * fit: Resizing behavior (contain, cover, crop) * quality: Compression level * format: Output format (auto, webp, avif) Filtering Disable transformations globally or selectively: // Disable all transformations add_filter('edge_images_disable', '__return_true'); // Disable for specific images add_filter('edge_images_disable_transform', function($should_disable, $html) { if (strpos($html, 'example.jpg') !== false) { return true; } return $should_disable; }, 10, 2); // Override max width for constrained content add_filter('edge_images_max_width', function($max_width) { // Example: Use a different max width for single posts if (is_single()) { return 800; } return $max_width; }); // Customize srcset width multipliers add_filter('edge_images_width_multipliers', function($multipliers) { // Add more granular steps between sizes return [0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2]; }); 🔧 Requirements Essential A supported edge provider with image transformation features enabled: Cloudflare Pro plan or higher with Image Resizing enabled Accelerated Domains with Image Resizing enabled BunnyCDN with Image Processing enabled Imgix with a configured source Technical PHP 7.4 or higher WordPress 5.9 or higher ✅ Getting Started Install and activate the plugin Go to Settings > Edge Images Select your CDN provider That’s it! Your images will now be automatically optimized 🤝 Integrations Yoast SEO Automatically optimizes images in: Meta tags (og:image, etc.) Schema.org output XML sitemaps 🔒 Privacy Edge Images processes images through third-party edge providers. Here’s what you need to know about privacy: Data Processing Images are processed through your chosen edge provider (Cloudflare, Accelerated Domains, etc.) No personal data is collected or stored by the plugin itself Image URLs are passed to the edge provider for transformation Original images remain on your server; only public URLs are processed Edge Provider Privacy Different providers have different privacy implications: Cloudflare: Images are processed according to Cloudflare’s Privacy Policy Accelerated Domains: Images are processed according to Accelerated Domains’ Privacy Policy BunnyCDN: Images are processed according to BunnyCDN’s Privacy Policy Data Storage The plugin stores your selected settings in your WordPress database No user data is collected or stored No analytics or tracking is performed Cache files may be created in your uploads directory for optimization GDPR Compliance The plugin is GDPR-compliant as it does not collect, store, or process personal data Users should review their chosen edge provider’s privacy policy and data processing terms Site owners should update their privacy policy to reflect their use of third-party image processing services Development GitHub Repository Report Issues

W3 Total Cache (W3TC) improves the SEO, Core Web Vitals and overall user experience of your site by increasing website performance and reducing load times by leveraging features like content delivery network (CDN) integration and the latest best practices. W3TC is the only web host agnostic Web Performance Optimization (WPO) framework for WordPress trusted by millions of publishers, web developers, and web hosts worldwide for more than a decade. It is the total performance solution for optimizing WordPress Websites. BENEFITS Improvements in search engine result page rankings, especially for mobile-friendly websites and sites that use SSL At least 10x improvement in overall site performance (Grade A in WebPagetest or significant Google PageSpeed improvements) when fully configured Improved conversion rates and “site performance” which affect your site’s rank on Google.com “Instant” repeat page views: browser caching Optimized progressive render: pages start rendering quickly and can be interacted with more quickly Reduced page load time: increased visitor time on site; visitors view more pages Improved web server performance; sustain high traffic periods Up to 80% bandwidth savings when you minify HTML, minify CSS and minify JS files. KEY FEATURES Compatible with shared hosting, virtual private / dedicated servers and dedicated servers / clusters Transparent content delivery network (CDN) management with Media Library, theme files and WordPress itself Mobile support: respective caching of pages by referrer or groups of user agents including theme switching for groups of referrers or user agents Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) support Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) support Caching of (minified and compressed) pages and posts in memory or on disk or on (FSD) CDN (by user agent group) Caching of (minified and compressed) CSS and JavaScript in memory, on disk or on CDN Caching of feeds (site, categories, tags, comments, search results) in memory or on disk or on CDN Caching of search results pages (i.e., URIs with query string variables) in memory or on disk Caching of database objects in memory or on disk Caching of objects in memory or on disk Caching of fragments in memory or on disk Caching methods include local Disk, Redis, Memcached, APC, APCu, eAccelerator, XCache, and WinCache Minify CSS, Minify JavaScript and Minify HTML with granular control Minification of posts and pages and RSS feeds Minification of inline, embedded or 3rd party JavaScript with automated updates to assets Minification of inline, embedded or 3rd party CSS with automated updates to assets Defer non-critical CSS and JavaScript for rendering pages faster than ever before Defer offscreen images using Lazy Load to improve the user experience Browser caching using cache-control, future expire headers and entity tags (ETag) with “cache-busting” JavaScript grouping by template (home page, post page etc) with embed location control Non-blocking JavaScript embedding Import post attachments directly into the Media Library (and CDN) Leverage our multiple CDN integrations to optimize images WP-CLI support for cache purging, query string updating and more Various security features to help ensure website safety Caching statistics for performance insights of any enabled feature Extension framework for customization or extensibility for Cloudflare, WPML and much more Reverse proxy integration via Nginx or Varnish Image Converter extension provides modern image format conversion (e.g., WebP, AVIF) from common image formats (on upload and on demand) W3 Total Cache Pro Features With over a million active installs, W3 Total Cache is the most comprehensive WordPress caching plugin available and has robust premium features that help deliver an exceptional user experience. Full Site Delivery: Serve your entire site from a Content Delivery Network (CDN), ensuring faster load times worldwide. Fragment Cache: Optimize the caching of dynamic content while still improving performance. REST API Caching: Speed up your headless WordPress site by caching REST API calls. Eliminate Render-Blocking CSS: Ensure your CSS doesn’t hold up page loading, providing faster initial paint. Delay Scripts: Improve performance by delaying the loading of non-essential scripts until they are needed. Preload Requests: Boost page performance by preloading critical resources before they’re requested. Remove CSS/JS: Clean up unnecessary CSS and JavaScript files that slow down your pages. Lazy Load Google Maps: Load Google Maps only when it’s visible, reducing unnecessary requests. WPML Extension: Optimize performance on multilingual sites powered by WPML. Caching Statistics: Get detailed insights on cache usage and performance improvements. Purge Logs: Keep your site clean by automatically purging unnecessary cache logs. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee Try W3 Total Cache Pro risk-free with our 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied, we will refund your purchase. PAGESPEED SCORE IMPROVEMENTS To help you understand the impact of individual features on your website’s performance, we’ve tested each feature separately to see its effect on Google PageSpeed scores. While optimal results come from configuring several different caching tools together, the following individual features also show significant improvements on their own: Remove Unused CSS/JS This feature removes CSS and JavaScript files that are not needed for the current page, reducing the load time. Added over 27 points to the Google PageSpeed score (Before: 57.2 / After: 86.7) Reduced the Potential Savings From Unused JavaScript from 127.5 KiB to 84 KiB View the test results Full Site Delivery Full Site Delivery optimizes the delivery of your entire site, enhancing the server response time. Added a 99% performance enhancement to the Average Server Response Time (Before: 3413 ms / After: 34 ms) View the test results Eliminate Render Blocking CSS This feature eliminates CSS that blocks the rendering of your page, speeding up the initial load time. Added over 17 points to the Google PageSpeed score (Before: 53.75 / After: 71) Reduced the Potential Savings From Render-Blocking Resources by over 94% (Before: 2432.5 ms / After: 125 ms) Improved the Largest Contentful Paint time by over 56% (Before: 7s / After: 3.04s) View the test results Delay Scripts Delay Scripts postpones the loading of certain scripts until they are needed, reducing initial load times. Added 14 points to the Google PageSpeed Performance score (Before: 54.25 / After: 68.5) Reduced the Time Third-Party Code Blocked The Main Thread For by 62% (Before: 825 ms / After: 197.5 ms) View the test results Rest API Caching This feature caches API responses, reducing server load and speeding up API interactions. Reduced the Average Server Load by 40% (Before: 0.62 / After: 0.37) Sped up API Responses by 84.5% (Before: 968ms / After: 150ms) Reduced the Average Server Load by 24% under during a major traffic spike (Before: 34.55 / After: 26.19) View the test results Modern Image Formats Converts images to modern formats like WebP or AVIF, which are more efficient and faster to load. Added over 9 points to the Google PageSpeed score (Before: 84.67 / After: 93.83) View the test results Lazy Load Google Maps Delays the loading of Google Maps until the user interacts with them, reducing initial load time. Added 10 points to the Google PageSpeed score (Before: 66 / After: 76) Reduced the Total Blocking Time Performance score by 72% (Before: 287.5 ms / After: 80 ms) View the test results Speed up your site tremendously, improve core web vitals and the overall user experience for your visitors without having to change your WordPress host, theme, plugins or your content production workflow. What users have to say: Read testimonials from W3TC users. Who do I thank for all of this? It’s quite difficult to recall all of the innovators that have shared their thoughts, code and experiences in the blogosphere over the years, but here are some names to get you started: Steve Souders Steve Clay Ryan Grove Nicholas Zakas Ryan Dean Andrei Zmievski George Schlossnagle Daniel Cowgill Rasmus Lerdorf Gopal Vijayaraghavan Bart Vanbraban mOo [villu164] (https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/researchers/villu164) Please reach out to all of these people and support their projects if you’re so inclined.