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Requirements

The writable requirements are not optional for page caching. Lightify has to add a WP_CACHE constant to wp-config.php and an advanced-cache.php drop-in to wp-content. If either write fails, everything else still works but pages are not cached, which is the largest single win the plugin offers.

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Install the free plugin

1

Search the plugin directory

In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New and search for Lightify.
2

Install and activate

Select Install Now, then Activate. A Lightify item appears in the admin menu.
3

Check your site

Lightify enables a set of safe defaults on activation, so look at your front end before changing anything. See what is on by default.

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Install Pro from a ZIP

Pro is a separate plugin rather than an unlock applied to the free one, so it is distributed as a ZIP.
1

Download the ZIP

Sign in at daftplug.com/account and download the Lightify Pro archive.
2

Upload it

Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, and select Install Now.
3

Activate

Select Activate Plugin. If the free version is installed and active, Lightify deactivates it for you.
Your settings survive the switch. Both versions read the same lightify_settings option.

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Activate your license

1

Open the activation screen

After activating Pro, WordPress shows an activation notice. You can also reach it from Lightify > Account.
2

Enter your license key

Paste the key from your purchase confirmation email, then select Activate License.
3

Purge the cache

Pro enables several optimizations by default. Purge everything from the admin bar so cached pages are rebuilt with them applied.
DaftPlug is sold as one membership rather than as separate plugins. The same license key activates Lightify and every other DaftPlug Pro plugin. Plans differ only in how many sites you can activate on.

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Confirm page caching is active

This is the one check worth doing after installing, because caching can fail silently. Lightify records its own status and repairs it on every admin page load, so a problem that was temporary fixes itself once the blocker is gone. To set the constant yourself, add this to wp-config.php above the line that says That's all, stop editing:
Or with WP-CLI:
Managed hosts often make wp-config.php read-only on purpose. That is not a bug to fight; just add the constant yourself, and Lightify picks it up on the next admin load.
Then confirm a page is actually being served from cache:
On Apache without mod_headers enabled, the header is silently skipped even though caching is working. If the header is missing, check for the cache files themselves under wp-content/cache/lightify/ before concluding anything is wrong.

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What is on by default

Lightify ships with the optimizations that are safe on nearly every site already enabled. Everything with a real chance of breaking a site is off until you turn it on: removing unused CSS, delaying JavaScript, lazy rendering, minifying HTML, preventing layout shifts, and the whole database cleanup section.

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What the plugin creates

Set up in ten minutes

The order to turn things on, and what to check after each.