If you’re a WordPress user, you know that one of the most important aspects of a successful website is its speed and performance. Not only do visitors expect a fast-loading site, but search engines also factor in page speed when ranking websites. That’s where the LiteSpeed Cache plugin comes in.
In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of using LiteSpeed Cache on your WordPress site and how the plugin’s cache profiles can help you optimize your site’s performance even further.
What is LiteSpeed Cache?
LiteSpeed Cache is a WordPress plugin that uses server-level caching to speed up your website. It works by storing a copy of your website’s pages and posts in the server’s memory, so that they can be quickly served to visitors without the need to access the database or rebuild the page every time. This results in faster loading times, which can help improve user experience and increase your site’s search engine rankings.
Advantages of using LiteSpeed Cache:
- Improved page loading times: As mentioned, one of the main benefits of using LiteSpeed Cache is that it can significantly reduce the time it takes for your pages to load. This can lead to a better user experience and lower bounce rates, as visitors are more likely to stay on your site if it loads quickly.
- Enhanced search engine rankings: In addition to improving the user experience, faster loading times can also help your site’s search engine rankings. Google and other search engines place a high value on page speed, so using LiteSpeed Cache can give you an SEO boost.
- Easy to use and configure: LiteSpeed Cache is user-friendly and easy to set up, even for those with little technical knowledge. The plugin also offers a variety of options and settings to allow you to customize its functionality to fit your specific needs.
LiteSpeed Cache Profiles:
In addition to its core caching functionality, LiteSpeed Cache also offers the ability to use cache profiles. LiteSpeed Cache has introduced LSCache Profiles for WordPress which now lets you use a set of pre-tuned options to optimize any WordPress site using LiteSpeed Cache.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am new to Litespeed Cache, which profile should I apply to?
We recommend using the Advanced Profile as it takes a balanced approach to Optimization and Speed, and you shouldn’t need to manually tweak any settings. That said, if you experience difficulty, you can always revert to your previous settings, or try the Basic Profile.
Can I modify Litespeed Cache settings after setting up this profile?
Yes, it is absolutely possible to edit any options after applying this profile. Profiles are just an easy way to give you a good base optimization to start with. Most complex websites will need more fine-tuning to achieve their best possible score.
If my website breaks after applying a profile, Is it possible to change back to the setting I was before?
Yes, but only if you have previously saved a backup of your settings as instructed. A backup will provide you with a config file of your own website, which you can restore later if needed. Alternatively, you can always use the Basic Profile, which has the default settings.
How should I get more fine-tuning specifically for my website?
You can start with the Advanced Profile, and then go through the options in the Page Optimization section to see what more you’d need. Then try to enable them one by one to get the best for your website.
Are there any known bugs?
Yes. The Domain Key removes itself when you apply a new profile, and requires you to manually refresh your domain key from the General settings. LiteSpeed plans to patch this issue in an upcoming version.
Let’s begin!
Overview of the LiteSpeed Cache Profiles
The new profiles from LiteSpeed come in 4 stages:
- Basic
- Advanced
- Aggressive
- Extreme
Let’s review what is included and pre-configured in each Stage, below.
Basic
This profile features the bare minimum of features from the LSCache plugin enabled and is good for any website.
This profile sets the following:
- Default options are enabled.
- TTLs (Time to Live) are set to high.
- Browser Cache is enabled.
Click here to download the configuration file for the Basic Pre-Set.
Advanced
This profile has the safest amount of options enabled & takes a balanced approach to aggressiveness and optimization. This profile will work fine with most WordPress and WooCommerce websites.
This profile has the safest options enabled, and takes a balanced approach to aggressiveness and optimization. It will work well with most WordPress and WooCommerce websites. A free Domain Key is required to use this profile.
This profile includes everything from the Basic Profile, plus enables the following settings:
- Image Optimization for all Images in the Media Library (both Original and WebP)
- CSS, JS and HTML Minification
- CSS & JS HTTP/2 Push
- Font Display Optimization
- JS Defer for both external and inline JS
- DNS Prefetch for static files
- Gravatar Cache
- Remove Query Strings from Static Files
- Remove WordPress Emoji
Click here to download the configuration file for the Advanced Pre-Set.
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Aggressive
Fairly experienced WordPress Administrators should be able to use this profile, though testing is a must. Because of its aggressive nature, you might be required to exclude a few resources from CSS/JS Combine, and you might need some advanced configuration for Critical CSS and Localization. A free Domain Key is required to use this profile.
This profile includes everything from the Advanced Profile, plus enables the following settings:
- CSS & JS Combine
- Asynchronous CSS Loading with Critical CSS
- JS Localization with most commonly used 3rd party JS
- Lazy Load for Iframes
Click here to download the configuration file for the Aggressive Pre-Set.
Extreme
This profile includes ESI which can supercharge your WooCommerce store. It might require some help from a developer to integrate ESI properly. In addition, some images like Logos and slider images might require exclusions from Lazy Load. A free Domain Key is required to use this profile.
This profile includes everything from the Aggressive Profile, plus enables the following settings:
- LazyLoad for Images
- ESI
Click here to download the configuration file for the Extreme Pre-Set.
How to Apply a Predefined LiteSpeed Cache Profile
Before proceeding, be sure you have installed the LiteSpeed Cache plugin from the WordPress Plugins repository.
Step 1: Login to your /wp-admin and hover over the LiteSpeed option in the menu on the left and click Toolbox.
Step 2: Click Import/Export from the row of options in the menu at the top.
Step 3: Take a backup of your current LiteSpeed configuration by clicking Export.
Step 4: After taking a backup of your current configuration, look for the “Import Settings” area and click Choose File.
Once you’ve located the Preset file you downloaded from the earlier steps (above), click Open in the dialog, then click Import.
This will import the LiteSpeed preset into your installation and you’ll be good to go, minus any changes you may need to make.
Conclusion:
LiteSpeed Cache is a powerful WordPress plugin that can help improve your site’s speed and performance. Whether you’re looking to enhance the user experience or boost your search engine rankings, LiteSpeed Cache is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal. And with the ability to use cache profiles, you can tailor the plugin’s functionality to fit your specific needs.
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