Knowledgebase

Recommended LiteSpeed Cache Settings (Firstserv Guide)

This guide outlines recommended LiteSpeed Cache settings to help improve your website’s speed and performance. While these settings work well for most sites, every website is different—so always test thoroughly after making changes.

⚠️ Before you begin:
Take a backup of your current settings and website to avoid issues if something needs to be reverted.

1. General Settings

• Automatically Upgrade: ON
• Domain Key: Connect to QUIC.cloud
• Guest Mode: Optional (enable for high-traffic sites)
• Guest Optimization: Optional (requires Guest Mode)
• Server IP: Set your server’s IP
• Notifications: ON

✅ Connecting to QUIC.cloud enables advanced optimisation features.

2. Cache Settings

• Enable Cache: ON
• Cache Logged-in Users: OFF (enable only if needed)
• Cache Commenters: OFF
• Cache REST API: ON
• Cache Login Page: ON
• Cache favicon.ico: ON
• Cache PHP Resources: ON
• Cache Mobile: Optional (enable for AMP/mobile setups)
• Cache URIs: Default (no changes needed)
• Drop Query String: Default

✅ These settings ensure efficient caching without unnecessary resource usage.

3. TTL (Cache Duration)

• Default TTL values: Suitable for most websites

Only adjust if:

• Your site updates frequently
• You need faster cache refresh times

4. Purge Settings

• Purge All on Update: ON
• Auto Purge Rules: Default
• Serve Stale: OFF
• Scheduled Purge URLs: Optional
• Purge Hooks: Default

✅ Automatically clearing cache after updates prevents outdated content being shown.

5. Exclusions

• Leave default settings unless you need to exclude specific pages or content from caching

6. ESI (Edge Side Includes)

• Enable ESI: OFF

✅ Only enable for advanced use cases (e.g. dynamic content sections).

7. Object Cache (Advanced)

• Object Cache: ON
• Method: Redis (recommended on Business plans)
• Persistent Connection: ON
• Cache WP-Admin: ON
• Store Transients: OFF

✅ Redis improves performance for dynamic sites (e.g. WooCommerce, memberships).

8. Browser Cache

• Browser Cache: ON
• Browser Cache TTL: 31557600 (1 year)

✅ Stores static files locally in visitors’ browsers for faster repeat visits.

9. Advanced Settings

• Login Cookie: Default
• Improve HTTP/HTTPS Compatibility: OFF
• Instant Click: ON

✅ Instant Click preloads pages when users hover over links.

10. CDN Settings

• QUIC.cloud CDN: ON (if using the service)
• Use CDN Mapping: OFF (unless using a custom CDN URL)

✅ CDN usage improves global loading times.

11. Image Optimisation

• Auto Request Cron: ON
• Optimise Original Images: ON
• Create WebP Versions: ON

✅ Automatically compresses and serves next-gen image formats.

12. Page Optimisation (CSS / JS / HTML)

• CSS Minify: ON
• CSS Combine: Test before enabling
• JS Minify: ON
• JS Combine: OFF (generally not recommended)
• HTML Minify: ON

⚠️ Always test combining settings, as they can break layouts on some sites.

13. Media Settings

• Lazy Load Images: ON
• Basic Image Placeholder: ON
• LQIP (Low-Quality Placeholder): ON
• Lazy Load Iframes: ON

✅ Improves page speed by loading media only when needed.

14. Viewport Settings

• Viewport Images: ON

✅ Ensures above-the-fold images load immediately for better performance scores (LCP).

15. Localisation Settings

• Gravatar Cache: ON
• Localise Resources: ON

✅ Loads external resources locally for faster performance.

16. Tuning

Use this section only if needed to:

• Exclude problematic CSS/JS files
• Fix conflicts with optimisation settings

17. Database Optimisation

• Max Revisions: 10
• Revision Retention Age: Default or as required

✅ Helps keep your database clean and efficient.

18. Crawler Settings

• Enable only if needed (Business plans typically)
• Automatically refreshes expired cache

⚠️ May increase resource usage if not configured properly.

19. Heartbeat Control

• Heartbeat Control (Frontend/Backend): ON
• Editor Heartbeat TTL: 120

✅ Reduces unnecessary background activity in WordPress.

20. Additional Optimisation (Optional)

• Use tools like Perfmatters (or similar) to disable unused scripts and features
• Remove unused CSS/JS on specific pages

Best Practices

• ✅ Always test after applying changes
• ✅ Use a staging site before adjusting advanced settings
• ✅ Avoid enabling too many optimisation features at once
• ✅ Monitor performance using tools like GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights

Summary

These LiteSpeed Cache settings provide a strong foundation for:

• Faster page load times
• Reduced server load
• Improved user experience
• Better SEO performance

Because every website is different, fine-tuning may be required to achieve the best results.

If you need help configuring LiteSpeed Cache or optimising your website, the Firstserv support team is always available to assist.