Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching
by Razvan Stanga · Performance
Also makes 1 other plugin · 610+ installs across the portfolio →
Wordpress Varnish Cache 3.x/4.x/5.x and Nginx Proxy Cache integration
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Open vulnerability
Active installs
600+
≈670 estimated
Momentum
+73%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “cache”, “caching” and “nginx” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
46 health vs 69 average across 1,807 Performance plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.0%
of downloads still active
At least 600 of 62.3K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Performance plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,101 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Performance plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, well behind 6.8.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2567 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 10 reviews, smoothed to 4.25★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2567 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| cache your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| caching your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| nginx your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| purge your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| varnish your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “cache”, “caching” and “nginx” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 827 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
7.0y ago
latest release · v1.8.3 · 21 Oct 2019
35
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 94% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “600+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 65% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Feb 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Patrick_D19856.9y ago
There are a bunch of Varnish purging / banning plugins out there but this is the only one that seems to work with a Plesk Docker container setup. Very much appreciated 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ billyengler8.3y ago
I’ve spent months (on and off) trying to achieve what the VCL generator this plugin has gives to you. Simply amazing. And the few tweaks I needed I learned from my months of failure. Thank you for this great plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Sinclair8.6y ago
Configuring Varnish is so hard and even if you get varnish to work usually it does not cache. Well, with this plugin, the nightmare is over. Great work. Thank you.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aelsharawi9.5y ago
Just great plugin with rapid support
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jugadelpi10.0y ago
A great way to test if Varnish is truly and totally working on website is verifying if the “age” value is increasing in page’s header when checking the website using a tool like Chrome’s Developer Tools. http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/5415e7bfe4b01e2a68fe8243/images/58058721c697915a23d7a629/file-a9Lg9golUw.jpg I was having a problem where this age value in header was always 0 which meant that Varnish was not caching pages properly. After testing different Varnish configs from Google, I was never able to make it work. After installing this plugin, this age value is now increasing. It integrates perfectly with wordpress. However, the purge option was not working properly on my website and the age value (which was now increasing thanks to this plugin) was not being purged when purging Varnish using this plugin, therefore, it was constantaly increasing without rolling back to 0. Nevertheless, this purge problem was also resolved after installing the “Varnish HTTP Purge” plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ David_V10.2y ago
No more “Guru meditation” and integates nicely. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Matheus Bavaresco10.3y ago
Running the varnish 4!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ shaundma10.7y ago
Works very well with multi host varnish 4
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence2 open vulnerabilities affect the current version (1.8.3). 0 of 2 disclosed are patched.
- 2025-12-31 CVE-2025-62126 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor Affects <= 1.8.3 No patch available
- Open Medium · 4.4 Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching <= 1.8.3 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-08-20 CVE-2025-48360 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.8.3 No patch available
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 132 languages, 4 at 90% or more
Plus 108 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Wordpress Varnish Cache 3.x/4.x/5.x and Nginx Proxy Cache integration"
- ✓ Has a FAQ 11 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 9 of 11 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("designed for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Cloudflare.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 4 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,197 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-27 800+ → 600+ down after 96 days in tier
- 2026-03-23 900+ → 800+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-22 800+ → 900+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-21 900+ → 800+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-19 800+ → 900+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-18 900+ → 800+ down after 89 days in tier
- 2025-12-19 1K+ → 900+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2025-12-13 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ installs · 4.3★ · 4 shared tags A -
Purge Varnish Cache 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 4 shared tags B -
CLP Varnish Cache 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B - S Server-Side Cache AutoPurge 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B
-
Nginx Cache 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags B -
Hestia Nginx Cache 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/vcaching" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching: 600+ active installs, 5.0★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/vcaching
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