HoatzinMedia vs W3 Total Cache

HoatzinMedia is a WordPress media cleaner and storage optimizer that helps you reclaim disk space and improve site performance by identifying unused attachments, oversized uploads, and storage pressure signals. It includes a clear dashboard, a reversible trash workflow, and batch-based scanning designed for large media libraries. Benefits: Reduce storage usage by finding unused and heavy media files Improve WordPress performance by keeping uploads lean and organized Delete with confidence using a safe trash table with restore support Scale to large sites with batch processing and scan locking Modules Dashboard What it does: Shows media health score, server/storage signals, and library breakdowns. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/dashboard, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/dashboard/uploads-breakdown Hook points: Refreshes automatically after content changes via save_post cache bump; scan completion clears the dashboard transient. Smart Scan & Unused Media What it does: Batch-based scanning to detect unused attachments, then review and delete safely. REST endpoints: POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/scan, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/unused-results, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/delete-unused, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/delete-unused-all Hook points: WP-Cron action hoatzinmedia_scheduled_scan runs a full scan when scheduling is enabled; the scanner uses posts_where during content search to reduce query overhead. Large Files Explorer What it does: Lists media files over a size threshold so you can quickly reclaim space. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/large-files?size=1|3|5 (MB threshold) Duplicate Checker What it does: Finds likely duplicate attachments and helps you validate before removal. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/duplicates, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/attachment-usage?attachment_id=123 Hook points: Adds Media Library UI enhancements via manage_upload_columns, manage_media_columns, and manage_media_custom_column. Convert to WebP / AVIF What it does: Converts images to modern formats (WebP/AVIF) and manages converted variants. REST endpoints: Settings: GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/converter-settings, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/converter-settings/scan Converter: /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/image-formats/library, /image-formats/convert, /image-formats/background, /image-formats/background/status, /image-formats/background/log, /image-formats/background/cancel, /image-formats/background/pause, /image-formats/background/resume, /image-formats/delete Hook points: add_attachment can auto-convert new JPEG/PNG uploads based on settings; delete_attachment cleans up converted variants; background jobs run on the hoatzinmedia_convert_job_run action. Regenerate Thumbnails What it does: Rebuilds WordPress image sizes for selected attachments (useful after theme changes). REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate/library, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate/sizes, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate, plus background endpoints under /regenerate/background/* Hook points: Background jobs run on the hoatzinmedia_regenerate_job_run action. Modules & Settings What it does: Enables/disables features and stores global plugin settings. REST endpoints: GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/modules, GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/settings, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/status Hook points: admin_menu registers the HoatzinMedia admin pages; init ensures scan scheduling and updates WebP serving rules when enabled. SVG Upload Support (optional) What it does: Allows SVG uploads with sanitization safeguards (including Elementor compatibility). Hook points: upload_mimes, wp_check_filetype_and_ext, wp_handle_upload_prefilter, wp_handle_sideload_prefilter, elementor/files/allow_unfiltered_upload, elementor/files/allow-file-type/svg Core features: Dashboard with media health score and live metrics Unused media scanner with batch processing and locking Safe trash table for reversible deletions Large file explorer by size threshold Translation-ready UI and REST responses Usage Review the media health score and high-level stats on the dashboard. Run an unused media scan from the Unused media scanner panel. Inspect results and move files to the HoatzinMedia trash. Use the large file explorer to identify heavy attachments by size.

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.