Here goes my ridiculous half-objective/half-fanboy review of Gijo Varghese’s latest creation…FlyingPress…a new WordPress cache plugin that claims to take your site to new heights.
Of course…I can’t even take a sh*t without my phone ringing off the hook. The people are talking. The press is outside. The readers are flooding my inbox.
Everybody wants to know…
…will FlyingPress make your WordPress site fly?
Don’t listen to anything I say
This review is 100% bought and paid for (metaphorically) a year ago when I first noticed Gijo’s work. Forget about the plugin. Just get to know the guy and what he’s done. He’s the kind of developer you dream of on your team…except he’s not for hire because he’s too talented to be fixing your lame site!
Lucky for all of us…Gijo’s passion is in WordPress performance and speed optimization. (I’m so relieved it’s that and not pagebuilders, lol.)
He runs one of the best website resources (WP Speed Matters) and Facebook groups on WordPress speed optimization. And also released an adventure bag of performance plugins…all appropriately named under his “Flying” brand label:
- Flying Analytics
- Flying Images
- Flying Pages
- Flying Scripts
- …also Swap Google Fonts Display (don’t worry, it still flies!)
And now, we have his latest release—FlyingPress (cache plugin).
Haha. He’s referred speed optimization clients to me on numerous occasions (some that I’ve even tried to refer back to him). But now, we can refer them all to FlyingPress!
My totally honest (but still biased) thoughts about FlyingPress
1. It’s made by Gijo Varghese.
Because this freaken matters! Gijo is a WordPress speed optimization icon. There are few people more qualified than him to lead us into the frontlines of the speed optimization battlefield. He’s been there. He’s done that. And he’s lived to retell his stories through many beautifully written (and illustrated) guides for the speed-up community.
My point is…he KNOWS what you need to win the battle, fight off the bloat, and make your WordPress fly!
Seeing how Gijo is with everything that he does (great code, great UI, great character). I know FlyingPress will mature into an incredible cache plugin. I have every bit of faith in his work. It’s like predicting the sunrise, really. Excellence is in his DNA.
2. The UI is pretty damn perfect.
I’m a total UI guy and I loved his interface design. I don’t just throw the word “perfect” around but FlyingPress deserves it. And it was perfect when I was testing the BETA version months ago. Perfect in what ways you ask?
- Feels simple – feeling matters! Even if you don’t know what things mean, the design calms you and makes you feel like it’s simple. This is absolutely key for people who are afraid or inexperienced at caching. He makes 50 settings feel like 8. (Other plugins—hahahah—they do the opposite.)
- Clean layout – WP Rocket had the cleanest cache plugin layout but I think FlyingPress just stole the crown. I’ll have to go back and look again but yeah…I think FlyingPress actually has more features and still looks simpler. Shocking!
- Intuitive labels – the option labels are very intuitive and help you understand what you’re clicking on and what they do. You don’t see annoying things like basic features renamed to gimmicky ambiguous terms (like “CSS minify” into “super-mega CSS hackamizer!”).
3. Feature-filled.
This is something I spoke about with Gijo on several occasions. We traded ideas. Added some. Scratched some off. Made up other ones. FlyingPress is set for a very ambitious trajectory. I have no idea how the feat will be done.
It aims to have a full-range of features yet still be simple and easy to use. Many cache plugins have tried…and most, while not failing were eventually resigned to their respective subsets of WordPress users (either USERS or DEVS).
My favorite features so far? (Just two.)
- It works.
- Doesn’t blow up your site when it doesn’t work.
Other awesome features (not commonly found in other cache plugins):
- Remove unused CSS
- Locally-load Google webfonts
- Preload links upon hover or browser-initiation
- Can exclude images above-the-fold from lazy loading
4. Responsive bug-squashing.
Does FlyingPress have bugs?
Yes, it does. I found several during beta testing even on a super simple site. Gijo responded quickly and squashed them without any issue.
Are there still bugs?
Yes, new ones. I see little posts here and there on Facebook groups. Most of them seem to come from people with WooCommerce or uncommon setups/plugins. In all cases Gijo was highly-responsive and came out with a fix almost immediately.
5. FlyingPress is exciting.
I don’t know what any of this has to do with speed optimization…but it matters to me. I’m so sick of boring ass themes and plugins all copying the same features from each other and trying to be only marginally better, or doing the same but pricing cheaper.
I love to see people doing new things and FlyingPress certainly feels new. And when I say new, I don’t mean “same shit but new logo”…I mean “new shit, new ideas, new way of thinking!”
There were times when I was so adamant about my ideas and then upon seeing Gijo’s execution, I decided to just shut my mouth because his ideas are better than mine. I have almost zero to contribute to his work. He’s one of those dudes that you gotta just give them space. Whatever they’re working on is infinitely better than your simple-minded suggestions.
6. The price is too cheap.
I begged Gijo to stick with his original launch price (which was 2x higher). Because it’s worth more than what he’s charging. All of y’all have no idea what this mad scientist is scheming up for you. If I had my way, ALL OF US would be paying more for it.
No crying. If you want good stuff and good support…then do your part and pitch in like a good customer. I assume everybody here is a professional, has clients, has a budget. FlyingPress is pro-grade and worthy of a pro-level price tag.
Until then, I hope you people appreciate his introductory rates and take advantage while they’re still around. I will be doing everything I can to make them go away.
Should you use FlyingPress NOW?
Yeah…that’s the million dollar question I keep getting in my Facebook inbox.
And just so all of you know, I’m getting sick of doing reviews. I’m not paid for them. I only do them so I don’t have to keep answering the same questions over and over! (Actually, that’s the main reason why my site exists…and ironically, having this site has caused me to get more questions than ever. 🤦🏻♂️)
Anyway, let’s get these out the way…
Is FlyingPress ready for production sites?
- I haven’t tried it on more than 2 or 3 sites. I imagine it’s ok for some and might have issues on others.
- When it works…yes, it’s very fast! And very few settings to get to that speed.
- What you’ll really love is how much airy space is between all the settings. You never realized full-featured caching could be so simple.
Is FlyingPress better than Swift/Rocket/LiteSpeed?
No, no, and no. FlyingPress just got released. I like many things about it more than the others but you can’t just take away from the longstanding champions because there’s a new kid on the block with lofty claims.
But keep in mind, FlyingPress has only been out for days and it’s already matured a lot since the beta version. I can’t imagine what it’ll be in one year. And I’m not going to judge from my limited vision of it.
For those of you wanting real-world specs, I urge you to follow the Facebook groups. Some people experienced better load times and scores with FlyingPress over other cache plugins. Some people experienced the opposite. As with anything, your results (*cough* and your skills *cough*) may vary.
Should you buy FlyingPress now?
I think it’s worth it because the price tag is low and it’s fun to use. It’s still a high quality product from a great developer. Bugs are being taken care of quickly as it’s Gijo’s main focus every minute of every day. Being made by Gijo is good enough for me.
But would I try it on a million-dollar production site where any margin of error will cost me thousands of dollars? C’mon…don’t be stupid.
What does Johnny think FlyingPress will become?
I think it will steal WP Rocket’s crown and become the easiest hassle-free cache plugin. It’s hard to take from Swift’s share because it has a free version that’s really powerful. And hard to take from LiteSpeed because it’s integrated with the server and comes with many developer features (which can also be a drawback for regular users).
Best users (or use scenarios) for FlyingPress?
- Simple sites (to be safe) – not such crazy or uncommon plugin setups. Be cautious if you have WooCommerce. Obviously, this will soon change.
- Simple cache users – who don’t like the complexity of Swift or LiteSpeed.
- WP Rocket users – looking for another premium-but-simple cache alternative.
- Multi-cloud integration – good for sites using many cloud services (image optimization, CDN). FP will go a step further with cloud-CSS services and who knows what else. Having one plugin is more convenient.
- WP Speed Matters community – no brainer for me. Look at how much help you got for free. Imagine what you’ll get for a paid plugin. The more of us in there with this plugin, the more we can contribute to make the plugin and the community better.
Are you ready to fly?
- Then takeoff to new heights with FlyingPress!
You nailed my own conclusion about his plugin, great days is coming .. =)
Indeed!
Loved this article, thank you for taking the time to do it.
Could this review be any more biased!
I just love it and, to be honest, it has a lot of room for growth, eg. some sites have problems with Javascript Defer, ads not showing up, etc. But the good thing is that Gijo is already working on fixing it and it should soon be fixed after an update.
All in all, like I said I just love it.
Delivered as promised, crazy biased!
As an SEO consultant, I´ve been reading, learning, and research a hell lot about WordPress Speed Optimization for the last couple of months.
That´s where I found Gijo´s blog and Facebook group.
In the short time I´ve been a member there I must say Gijo and the community behind WP Speed Matters have been nothing short but amazing!
I started implementing his recommendations and his plugins and I was able to fully improve my client´s site pages loading speed without even having to touch any line of code on their themes.
I haven´t tested Flying Press but if there´s anything like his other plugins I know what to expect.
Watch out WP Rocket there´s a new kid on the block!
Welcome to the club, Roger! Glad you were able to find helpful tricks for your client sites. FlyingPress is really clean. WP Rocket betta watch out!
You know Gijo??!! Johnny this is like my dream come true! You by any chance know Tom from Online Media Masters? Great article though, I am going to purchase it soon!
Haha yes, I chat with Gijo almost every other week. I have spoken to Tom and a big fan of his site. Great resource, very detailed and helpful. Do come back and let me know how you like FlyingPress!
Very soon. I purchased a pro licence of swift performance, and using it currently along with WP Rocket. I will be switching to FlyingPress after both are expired 🙂
Biased or not, this is a great review. I came across FlyingPress on Facebook, and it looked interesting. This review does a great job of describing what kind of plugin I’d be getting. Most importantly, the picture you’ve painted of Gijo is what sold me. Also, I see him replying to a bunch of posts/comments in the group as well. Thanks, Johnny!
I’m glad it helped! Do share your honest thoughts after you try it.
About to pick this one up. Are you using FlyingPress on wpjohnny.com?
No, I’m using LiteSpeed Cache on WPJohnny.com
Does it make sense for me, an OpenLiteSpeed user, to drop Litespeed Cache in favor of FlyingPress? I’m not sure how much of an improvement I’ll see, if any.
It really depends on the sites. The main advantage of FP over LSC for me is the more aggressive cache preload mechanism. And also that FP has a few little optimization and simpler UI than LSC. Try both and see which one fits you better.
UI is not an issue for me, I can navigate either.
My current setup is LSCache + CloudFlare Workers + the numerous Flying addons.
I’d love to test FlyingPress but there’s no trial unfortunately.
Best plugin ever. i am currently using all of his plugins.
Remembered your name and your site from a different WP Rocket Article you have. Found this one instead, damn refreshing to see someone just be honest, everything reviewed is tinted one way or the other with personal experiences and biases, that’s not a bad thing! If something is good, you are biased, if something is bad you are biased that’s what reviews are for! Claiming to be unbiased is about almost anything is what’s routinely disingenuous.
Love reading your stuff man! Keep up the great work!
Wonderful review. I just started using FlyingPress and it is fantastic. The results are just wonderful and it is super simple plugin.
Great one! i just bought this one today
Thank you 🙂
What are your thoughts now, after close to a year?
I still like FPC and believe in it but I don’t use it due to the cost since I’m more of a high-volume user and don’t need all the fancy features it has.
I bought FlyingPress when it was released and was really happy at first. I had a few issues at the beginning (random 404 errors on some pages) but it got fixed pretty quickly and I kind of expected it considering it was a new plugin.
My problem is that their support is super slow. I accidentally purchased 2 licences and asked for one to be refunded which seems to have accidentally caused my remaining licence to be disabled as well. I emailed their support 2 weeks ago to ask them to reactivate it and didn’t hear back. After one week, I sent another message. It has now been 2 weeks since the first message and they haven’t responded. This means I have been stuck with a deactivated licence for the past 2 weeks. I’m honestly considering asking for a chargeback at this point since I’m not sure they will ever reply.
Awww man, I’m very sad to hear this. I hope you get a reply soon. Gijo’s a good guy but maybe he’s swamped.
Hi Benjamin, extremely sorry about this.
During our anniversary (where all subscriptions started to renew), we faced some issues with PayPal which resulted in automatic cancellations for all subscriptions. This created a flood of support tickets, which resulted in super slow support.
Luckily we solved all issues with PayPal now and everything is back to normal. I’m making every step to make sure that this won’t happen again.
Is FlyingPress better than Swift/Rocket/LiteSpeed now?Johnny🤔
Apart from the simplicity, is the final result up to par or better than monsters like swift performance or wp rocket?
Obviously…I wouldn’t be wasting any of my time if this couldn’t produce results. C’mon now.
Better than WP Rocket, most definitely. Better than Swift….it depends on your skill level and what your site needs. Either way…you have to try it out and see if it’s right for your site and your optimization skill level.
It’s one of the best plugin i have uses. Matter of fact, the first time i read Gijo blog on wpspeedmatter, i had given my 2 days tome to read all his articles. i am currently using all of his plugins.
What are your suggestions for FlyingPress now Johnny🤔
i don’t know man… i’m having mixed results with it. It depends on how heavy your site is to begin with. I have a handful of clients who use elementor, and even when i optimize everything about elementor the page score is in the 50’s. With nitropack the scores are green all day. So, i’m not sold.
Your problem is not related to the frontend side but backend side that will never be solve in WordPress ecosystem, and certain page builder contribute to the problem or known problem if other experience the same issue. The question is why did you choose WordPress plugins in the first place? Or Why WordPress at all when tons of other non-WP sites are running smoothly?
It’s disappointing to come across a totally biased review of the FlyingPress cache plugin. Objective and unbiased reviews are crucial in helping users make informed decisions. It’s important for reviewers to present both the strengths and weaknesses of a product to provide a fair assessment. As readers, we rely on honest evaluations to gauge whether a plugin is the right fit for our needs. Hopefully, future reviews will strive for objectivity and transparency.
There are no fair assessment in WordPress ecosystem, you need to try on your own and evaluate whether it’s compatible with your plugins and does really help.
Web developers know better how the frontend and backend works, web designer knows their tools. This author and many average know how to use the plugins and that’s definitely biased. What do you expected from a who is not a developer? What do you really know about WordPress?
My experiences are mixed. On the one hand, the plugin has good functions, but on the other hand there are bugs that are not really addressed.
In my case, the support is not good either. I have the feeling that my requests are not really read. It takes me a lot of time and effort and in the end nothing comes of it. Maybe they’ll be better in a few years, if they still exist then. I will probably end the subscription and go back to the tried and tested.
Can you list what bugs you had?
– Preload is triggered for some actions even though it is deactivated. Not so important for me, but for others (e.g. there’s is an Facebook post in the Flyingpress Group).
– When I update a post, the entire cache (posts and pages) is deleted. However, Flyingpress shows that everything is still cached.
I don’t know if it’s just me. Support is currently working on this.
It seems like a scripted review with forced humour to attract people. Honestly, this plugin offers nothing new compared to any other cache plugin available.