This guide concerns website optimization, and more specifically, the use of a caching engine on your website.

Introduction

• When Infomaniak detects that your website is consuming more resources than other websites on the same server, an analysis is performed.
  • Often, it appears that a simple modification of a query or parameter would optimize your site and reduce the server load.
  • You will then be contacted by email with the instructions to follow, which frequently include the installation or activation of a caching engine.
• Resource consumption is not necessarily related to the number of visitors.
  • A well-optimized, up-to-date website with a correctly configured caching engine can handle several tens of thousands of daily visitors, while a poorly optimized website can consume far too many resources with only a few visits per day.
• A caching engine temporarily stores frequently used data in order to provide it more quickly during new requests.
  • This significantly improves the site's speed and reduces the load on databases or web services.
  • To install an advanced caching system (Redis, Memcached) on Cloud Server Infomaniak, please refer to this guide.

Activating a caching engine…

… on WordPress

WordPress has many caching plugins. Here are the most popular and effective ones:

• WP Rocket (paid, the most efficient and easy-to-use "all-in-one" solution).
• WP Super Cache (free, developed by Automattic, very reliable).
• LiteSpeed Cache (free, extremely comprehensive).

Standard activation procedure:

1. Log in to your WordPress administration.
2. Go to Extensions > Add.
3. Search for one of the plugins mentioned, install it, and then activate it.
4. Configure the cache options: page caching, CSS/JS minification, and especially Lazy Load for images.

Also, check out this other guide on the subject.

… on Joomla (v4 & v5)

1. Go to System > Global Configuration.
2. Select the System tab.
3. In the Cache Settings section, enable caching (the Conservative mode is the safest to start with).
4. Select the cache handler (Default: File).
5. Then go to System > Plugins and make sure the System - Cache plugin is enabled to cache entire pages.

… on PrestaShop (v1.7 & v8+)

1. Go to Advanced Parameters > Performance.
2. Smarty: check "Never recompile template files" (in production) and enable "Cache".
3. CCC (Combine, Compress and Cache): enable all options (Smart cache CSS, Smart cache JS, Apache optimization).
4. Cache: at the bottom of the page, enable "Use cache". On shared hosting, prioritize the file system; on Cloud Server, use Memcached.

… on Drupal (v9, v10 & v11)

Caching is natively integrated and very powerful in Drupal:

1. Go to Configuration > Development > Performance.
2. Check "Cache pages for anonymous users".
3. Set a duration for "Maximum cache expiration in the browser and proxy" (e.g., 10 minutes).
4. Enable CSS and JavaScript file aggregation.

… on Contao (v4 & v5)

1. The cache is now primarily managed via the config/config.yaml configuration file or through the administration interface under Layout > Themes > Edit page layout.
2. Define a "Cache expiration time" for the page in question.
3. Use the Contao Manager to clear the production cache (Symfony Cache) after structural changes.

Check the effectiveness

After activation, test your site with these free tools:

• Google PageSpeed Insights
• GTmetrix