File Management: How to Manage Your Server-Side Caching
File caching can make your site load much faster by storing elements such as images, buttons, and links that haven’t changed since the last visit. Instead of retrieving these files from a remote server, browsers load them locally for quicker access. In this guide, you’ll learn how to manage your server-side caching to optimize performance and ensure visitors always experience the fastest possible load times.
Factors to Consider When Caching File Types
- What files to cache?
- How long should they be cached?
HTML files are typically cached for a short period. This tells a browser to cache the file and frequently check with the server if there's a newer version.
CSS files can be cached for a shorter period since they tend to change more often.
Script files generally don't change very often, so they can be cached for a long period.
Image files also don't change a lot, so they can also be cached longer.
Managing Server-Side Cache
Please note that the steps below are available for WordPress hosting plans only.
- Log in to your account via https://www.networksolutions.com/my-account/login.
- Click WordPress on the left navigation menu.
Note: Alternatively, if you have multiple WordPress accounts, click MANAGE first to proceed with Step 3. - Scroll down to the Tools section, then click Cache Manager.
- In this section, you can use the switch to turn your Cache Manager on or off.
Review
Learning how to manage your server-side caching helps your website load faster and run more smoothly. By deciding how long to store files like HTML, CSS, scripts, and images, you can keep your site quick while making sure updates show when needed. If you use WordPress hosting, the Cache Manager makes it easy to turn caching on or off, and advanced users can adjust settings through the .htaccess file. Good caching settings mean a better and faster experience for your visitors.