Leverage Browser Caching is a factor responsible for the browsing speed of your website. Fetching resources over the network can be slow and expensive as some downloads need multiple roundtrips between the client (where the website is requested) and the server i.e. where the website is being hosted. This delays the processing, may block the rendering of webpage content, and sometimes also incurs data costs for the visitor.
Specifying a server caching policy helps the client determine when it can use the previously fetched response. Google Page Insights also uses this in counting the performance of your website.
So, Leverage Browser Caching is a website performance optimization technique that involves specifying how long web browsers should store certain resources, such as images, CSS files, JavaScript, and other static assets, locally on the user’s device. By doing so, the browser can reuse these resources for future visits to the site, rather than downloading them again from the server.
This type of browser catching can be activated either by using some plugin like Leverage Browser Caching or by manually setting up an expiry date or maximum age for static resources such as images etc in the HTTP headers which can be done with the following code:
## EXPIRES CACHING ##
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpg “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/jpeg “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/gif “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType image/png “access 1 year”
ExpiresByType text/css “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType application/pdf “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType text/x-javascript “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash “access 1 month”
ExpiresByType image/x-icon “access 1 year”
ExpiresDefault “access 2 days”
## EXPIRES CACHING ##
Simply open your .htaccess file located in your website’s root directory and paste the given code.
Key Aspects:
- Caching Duration: The website owner or developer sets a cache expiration time (e.g., days, weeks, or months) for specific resources through HTTP headers.
- Reduced Load Time: Once cached, resources are loaded from the user’s local storage, significantly reducing page load times during repeat visits.
- Lower Server Load: Since resources don’t need to be downloaded repeatedly, server requests are minimized, improving server performance and reducing bandwidth usage.
WordPress Plugin for Leverage Browser Caching
Leverage Browser Caching plugin fixes the leverage browser caching issues on your website improving the page speed score on website testing tools like Pingdom, GTmetrix, PageSpeed, Google PageSpeed Insights, YSlow, etc.
Simply find, install, and activate this plugin from Plugins -> Add New page on your website’s admin area dashboard. It does not have any option. It will start working as soon as you activate it.
The plugin works for the Apache server simply by adding browser caching code inside the htaccess file. To remove the code you just need to deactivate the plugin.
How Leverage Browser Caching Works?
When a visitor first accesses a website, the browser downloads the necessary resources. With browser caching enabled, these resources are stored locally and remain available for a set period, so they don’t need to be downloaded again unless the cache expires or is cleared.
It improves user experience and search engine rankings by speeding up website performance.