Today we’re releasing the largest update to the Servebolt Optimizer plugin for WordPress. The release is the result of multiple projects at Servebolt, including the introduction of Accelerated Domains.
In the release, we have also rewritten a lot of the code to support automated PHP Unit tests, which will make sure the stability of the plugin at each release is much better.
As the release is a major release, please remember to back up your database before updating.
What’s new?
For the full changelog, check out the changelog in the plugin repository.
Rewritten codebase
The entire plugin code base is rewritten. This was done as the previous structure did not allow for automated testing (using PHP Unit), nor was it up to par with modern PHP. To achieve this, the code base was rewritten to use PSR-4 autoloading as well as making the existing code testable. The code standard was also changed to PSR-1. The new required PHP version is 7.3 or higher.
Support for Accelerated Domains
The big new thing in this version is the support for Accelerated Domains. The Servebolt Optimizer plugin makes implementing Accelerated Domains dead simple, and the plugin also makes sure that Accelerated Domains runs smoothly with WooCommerce.
The plugin now automatically purges pages, posts, and other post types in WordPress when they are updated. The Accelerated Domains features in the plugin do not require special configuration.
This update also includes new PHP functions for cache purging that can be used by other plugins. Third-party developers can now call publicly available cache purge functions. This allows for purging by post, term, URL, or purge all.
WP Rocket Compatibility
In this version, we ship the first version of compatibility with the popular performance plugin WP Rocket. Servebolt Optimizer now makes sure that WP Rocket does not create cache files, as this should be done by either the Servebolt server itself or Accelerated Domains.
Other minor updates
Log viewer GUI update
The log viewer GUI is overhauled with better styling.
JSON-support in CLI-commands
The CLI commands now has an optional JSON return format. This can be done by adding --format=json to the command call. Note that the cache-related commands do not have this support yet, but all other commands have.
Check the changelog for a full list of changes and updates
What’s coming?
The rewrite of the plugin makes it much easier for us to develop and release new features at a higher pace. We have planned new performance-focused features in the plugin to be released very soon!
Image resize on the fly
The first big feature to be released after the 3.0.0 release is the release of Accelerated Domains Image Resizing support. This feature enables you to resize all your images at the Accelerated Domains edge on the fly and deliver the right image size to the right browser size. This will reduce the number of unused bytes sent to the browser and relief the browser of a lot of work when it comes to downscaling images on smaller viewports. All good things for performance, especially for performance on small-screen devices.
Preloading static assets at the Accelerated Domains edge
In the Accelerated Domains network, we have the capability of preloading a set of assets and pages. That means pushing the assets to the edge before the browser requests them. Resulting in faster delivery of assets once the browser requests them and, in many cases, faster loading of the next page view.
This is a feature we will start experimenting with in the coming versions of the Servebolt Optimizer plugin for WordPress, and we expect to see a steady performance increase, especially for sites with globally distributed traffic or sites with low traffic both globally and locally.
WP Rocket compatibility vetted by WP Rocket
In this version, we ship the first batch of code for better compatibility with WP Rocket. We have, however, already received new suggestions from the WP Rocket team to make Servebolt Cloud and Servebolt Optimizer even better together with WP Rocket. These improvements will be shipped very soon!
WooCommerce improvements
At Servebolt, we have a dedicated focus on WooCommerce this year, and this will also be visible in the plugin. Our R&D department is researching and experimenting with multiple new features which will increase the performance of WooCommerce stores drastically and make it possible to scale WooCommerce more efficiently. This includes both features for WooCommerce stores running Accelerated Domains, as well as improvements for those that haven’t onboarded Accelerated Domains yet.
Servebolt API
Accelerated Domains is the first use case of the new Servebolt API in the plugin, but for sure not the last! The Servebolt API enables the plugin to automate otherwise overseen tasks, make setup on Servebolt easier, and will introduce a lot of new possibilities for the plugin. Stay tuned for new features utilizing the API!
As always, we highly recommend you test this update thoroughly before deploying it to your production site and always back up your database before doing so. If you have any questions about this update, please reach out to our Support Team, and we’ll be happy to help you.
