What is Caching?

In computing, a cache is a high-speed data storage layer which stores a subset of data, typically transient in nature, so that future requests for that data are served up faster than is possible by accessing the data’s primary storage location.

Complex pages like those on e-commerce sites can require dozens of steps to complete to display a page.

Most of the functions happen in milliseconds. But when you start to add them up, they can take some time. Which, in turn, increases the time needed to load a page.

A caching plugin will make a copy of that completed page, made up of all those parts. Then it displays that copy when the page is requested (for a predefined period).

That way, if three visitors request the same page within a minute or two, the page only has to be “built” once. The second and third visitors see the pre-built copy, which loads much faster since there’s no build time.

So caching gives your site the ability to respond more quickly, giving it an overall SEO boost. And perhaps most importantly, making for a better visitor experience.

LiteSpeed Cache

It is a free and open source WordPress plugin. It communicates with your installation of LiteSpeed Web Server and LSWS’s built-in page cache to dramatically reduce page load times.

With advanced cache-management tools and optimization features, LSCWP is an all-in-one site acceleration solution. It’s the only optimization plugin you need!

With LiteSpeed, your site can employ the best practices that make for a high PageSpeed score, and – more importantly – an exceptional user experience.

Installing the plugin

To install LSCWP on your WordPress site, follow these steps:

• Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
• In the left sidebar, click Plugins.

• Click Add New.
• In the Search plugins text box, type litespeed cache, and then press Enter:

Locate LiteSpeed Cache, and then click Install Now:

• After WordPress finishes installing the plugin, click Activate.

Configuring the plugin

• After you install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, you can view and customize settings for your site. To do this, follow these steps:
  • Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
  • In the left sidebar, click LiteSpeed Cache, and then click Settings. The LiteSpeed Cache Settings page appears:
• Review the settings for your site:
  • The General tab contains TTL (time-to-live) settings that control how long various content types are saved in the cache.
  • The Cache tab contains settings that control caching for special types of content, such as login pages and REST API calls.
  • The Purge tab contains settings for purging content stored in the cache. By default, LSCWP automatically purges the cache when plugins, themes, or WordPress itself is updated.
  • The Excludes tab contains settings that define which types are content are not cached.
  • The Optimize tab contains settings that may further optimize your site.
  • The CDN tab contains Content Delivery Network settings.
  • The ESI tab contains Edge Side Includes settings. ESI is an advanced caching technique that enables you to cache portions of pages.
  • The Advanced tab contains some miscellaneous advanced settings.
  • The Debug tab contains debugging settings that you can use to help troubleshoot problems.

If you make any changes to the settings, click Save Changes to save the new configuration.