What Is Server Side Caching?
Server side caching stores pre-generated copies of your web pages and data so the server can deliver them quickly without rebuilding them from scratch on every request. This dramatically reduces server load and improves page load times for your visitors.
Types of Server Side Caching
- Opcode caching (OPcache) – PHP compiles scripts into bytecode every time they run. OPcache stores the compiled bytecode in memory so PHP does not need to recompile scripts on subsequent requests. This is enabled by default on SillyHost servers.
- Page caching – The fully rendered HTML of a page is stored so the server can serve it directly without executing PHP or querying the database. LiteSpeed Cache and WP Super Cache are popular page caching solutions.
- Object caching – Frequently used database query results are stored in memory using systems like Redis or Memcached. This is especially beneficial for database-heavy applications like WooCommerce.
- CDN caching – Static assets like images, CSS, and JavaScript files are cached on servers distributed worldwide. Cloudflare is the most commonly used CDN with SillyHost.
LiteSpeed Cache
SillyHost uses LiteSpeed web servers, which include a powerful built-in caching engine. To take advantage of it:
- Install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress
- Go to LiteSpeed Cache > General and enable the cache
- Configure the Cache > Cache Control settings — enable caching for logged-in users only if necessary
- Enable CSS/JS Optimisation to minify and combine your assets
When to Clear the Cache
You should purge your server cache after:
- Making design or content changes to your site
- Updating plugins, themes, or your CMS core
- Modifying CSS or JavaScript files
- Encountering display issues that a browser cache clear does not fix
Purging the Cache
In the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, click the Purge All button in the admin toolbar. For other caching plugins, look for a similar purge option in the plugin settings. If you use Cloudflare, you can purge from the Cloudflare dashboard under Caching > Purge Everything.
Proper caching can reduce your page load times from several seconds to under one second. Contact support if you need help configuring caching for your specific application.