WP Super Cache advanced settings not visible when using Cloudflare

A follow up to this as I found another anomaly which may indicate the issue is with the multisite code creating the weirdness when accessing the site from CloudFlare (either that or a completely different issue :-p)

Visiting the site from direct.mydomain.com (basically just a virtual host to mydomain.com which bypasses cloudflare and hits my server directly), the content tab shows a completely different number of cache contents when I refresh than if I visit from mydomain.com.

Example:

From direct.mydomain.com:

WP-Cache (32.99MB)
503 Cached Pages
154 Expired Pages

WP-Super-Cache (0KB)
0 Cached Pages
0 Expired Pages

From mydomain.com:

WP-Cache (37.60MB)
566 Cached Pages
173 Expired Pages

WP-Super-Cache (54.39MB)
502 Cached Pages
442 Expired Pages

I’m using CloudFlare and having the same issue with the Advanced Settings not staying selected.

I’m also having exactly the same problem

Have the same issue here as well using CloudFlare. I was wondering why my settings were never staying selected, at least now I know what is causing it.

Another thing I’ve noticed with CloudFlare enabled, when I press the “Test Cache” button in WP Super Cache it says the “The pages do not match! Timestamps differ or were not found!” – but with CloudFlare disabled it works fine.

I just re-enabled CloudFlare on one of my sites and the advanced settings page is ok. I can change settings and they are ok. The cache tester works ok too.

I could of course be something to do with DNS so I’ll come back to this later.

I work at CloudFlare, and I’d like to make sure we do everything possible so there’s no hiccups.

Questions:

1) Do any/all of you have the CloudFlare WordPress plugin installed, or (even better) mod_cloudflare installed for Apache? The point is to make sure that your server or application “sees” the original visitor IP, not the CloudFlare IP ranges. I don’t know whether WP Super Cache code cares, but it’s a good idea anyway, and might eliminate variables. https://www.cloudflare.com/wiki/Log_Files

2) For the three of you who mentioned settings not staying selected… any other issues to report, or just that? Do you have any CloudFlare beta features enabled? (Rocket Loader or minification of JS/CSS/HTML?)

John
CloudFlare

John,

1) I do not have the CloudFlare WordPress plugin installed (i’m trying to keep my plugins to a minimum and didn’t think it was necessary). I am on Dreamhost shared hosting so I’m gonna guess no to the mod_cloudflare apache question.

2) Haven’t noticed any other issues besides this (settings not staying selected). I have “Auto Minify” beta feature turned on and all three checkboxes (JS/CSS/HTML) selected to be minified. So it must be that, because I never enabled Rocket Loader on my sites and still have this issue.

I am using the latest versions of WordPress (3.2.1) and WP Super Cache (0.9.9.9) by the way, if that matters.

1: i’m using the cloudflare wordpress plugin. Haven’t tried or heard of the apache mod. will look into it.

2: its the Auto minify html that is causing this problem. i turned it off and the checkboxes are working now.

@sean – The CloudFlare WP plug in is not required. It’s useful if you don’t have access to Apache, for the purpose stated: making sure that WP “sees” the visitor IP, which is often used in comment moderation, analytics, etc.

I’d be curious if you tried turning the Auto-Minify features off and on selectively and see if one or more of them might be related to the problem of settings not staying selected.

I’ve asked a colleague to install WP Super Cache on one of our WP demo sites to see if we can replicate problems, once we have it narrowed down a bit.

@scotttswan – if you’re using CloudFlare WordPress plugin, the Apache mod does the same thing, just at the server level instead of the application (WP) level. So, up to you if you want to take the extra step.

Useful to hear that Auto-Minify HTML was the problem for you. @sean, maybe focus your attention on trying that single setting first to confirm?

Thanks John, I will look into the WP plugin.

I selectively disabled the auto-minify stuff in CloudFlare and can report the same results as scottswan – it’s definitely the HTML minify feature that is causing the problem.

Once I disabled that checkbox in CloudFlare, everything in WP Super Cache works as normal again.

@john_roberts:

First of all, thank you for responding and shedding some light on this issue.

I checked with my host (Omnis) and they do not support the mod_cloudflare for Apache. So your saying the plugin will do what mod_Apache does?

Also, how useful is HTML minify? Does that make a big difference in performance?

I have selected Auto-Minify for JS/CSS/HTML as well as RocketLoader. I am also running the latest version of WordPress and WP Super Cache, and have had no other issues besides the Advanced Settings not staying selected.

I just downloaded the Cloudflare plugin. Should I disable WP Super Cache before configuring it, or just turn it on now?

Thanks again John

clangille – I’d say compression is more important than minifying HTML, but one aspect of minification is reducing multiple css or js files into one which saves requests.

@clangille – yes, the WordPress plugin for CloudFlare will do what mod_cloudflare does — for WordPress alone. The only advantage of mod_cloudflare is if you run multiple applications, like a wiki or forums or anything else, then you only need to make one change. But for WordPress alone, the plugin does the job.

CloudFlare gzips automatically, so compression is taken care of. The benefits of minification will vary based on your content.

The WP Super Cache plugin and CloudFlare plugin should have zero impact on each other, so won’t matter during configuration.

Try disabling just the Auto Minify for HTML and see if your results mirror those of others in this post.

Thanks John, I went ahead and disabled the Minify HTML, and sure enough, everything is working inside WP Super Cache.

Thanks again for your input on this!