How to install xSpeed Cache Pro

xSpeed Cache Pro is a separate plugin that installs beside the free one — which has to stay installed and active, because Pro reads its module registry and settings framework. Pro adds Critical CSS, Unused CSS, WebP and AVIF conversion, real-user monitoring and more — Free vs Pro lists every module on each side. Two things have to happen before any of it runs: the plugin has to be installed, and its licence key has to be activated. This page covers both.

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How to install and activate xSpeed Cache Pro

Step 1 — Download the Pro zip from your account

1. Sign in to your WPDeveloper account. If you haven’t bought a licence yet, the plans are at xspeedcache.com/pricing.
2. Open Downloads.
3. Find the xSpeed Cache Pro row and click Download. The file is named like xspeed-pro.x.x.x.zip.
4. Don’t unzip it. WordPress wants the zip exactly as downloaded.
5. Copy the licence key on the same row — you’ll need it in step 5.

• A — Your licence, with its status, expiry date, and how many of its activations you’ve used.
• B — Download, which gives you the zip.
• C — The licence key. It’s hidden in this screenshot, and worth hiding in yours.

Step 2 — Upload the zip to your site

1. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
2. Click Upload Plugin at the top of the page.
3. Click Choose File and pick the zip you downloaded.
4. Click Install Now.

• A — Choose File and Install Now. The zip goes here, still zipped.

Step 3 — Activate the plugin

1. When the install finishes, click Activate Plugin.
2. Go back to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
3. Check that xSpeed Cache and xSpeed Cache Pro are both listed and active.

• A — xSpeed Cache, the free plugin, still active. Pro does nothing without it.
• B — xSpeed Cache Pro, the add-on you just installed.

⚠️ Activating the plugin is not the same as activating your licence. Until a key is entered, Pro modules stay locked exactly as they were before you installed it. That’s the next step.

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How to activate your licence

Step 4 — Open the licence panel

1. In your WordPress admin, click xSpeed Cache in the left menu.
2. In the xSpeed Cache sidebar, open the Settings group.
3. Click the License card.
4. Check the status: without a key, the panel reads Inactive.

• A — The status, Inactive, with the line “Paste a key to activate updates + Pro features.”
• B — The License key field and the Activate button.

Step 5 — Paste your key and activate

1. Paste the licence key you copied in step 1 into the License key field.
2. Click Activate.

🔒 The key is a credential. Anyone who has it can use your seat. Keep it out of screenshots, support tickets and forum posts.

Step 6 — Confirm the verification code, if you’re asked for one

Activation can ask you to confirm by email, so a key can’t be used on sites you don’t own. When it does, the panel swaps to a code field.

1. Open the inbox of the email address on your WPDeveloper account.
2. Find the 6-digit code xSpeed just sent.
3. Type it into the code field.
4. Click Verify. If the email hasn’t arrived, click Resend first.

• A — The notice: “Check your email for the verification code.”
• B — The code field, with Verify and Resend.

Step 7 — Check that it worked

1. Confirm the panel now reads Active.
2. Check the Expires date is the one you expect.
3. Look at the bottom of the sidebar — it should read Pro Licensed.

• A — Active, with “Receiving updates + Pro features from store.wpdeveloper.com.” Those are the two things the licence buys: the modules work, and updates arrive.
• B — The key, masked to its first and last four characters (blurred entirely here), and the date your entitlement ends.

If the licence won’t activate, the panel states the reason inline — an expired or already-used key, or a server it couldn’t reach. Help & Support opens a ticket with your system report already attached.

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Related

• How to install and activate xSpeed
• How to activate your licence
• Free vs Pro — what’s included
• How to run the setup wizard