PerformanceMedium

Browser cache misconfigured on WordPress

Cache-Control headers are absent or misconfigured. Browsers do not cache your static files (images, CSS, JS).

Why it matters

Without browser cache, each visit re-downloads all files - even unchanged images and scripts. Good caching can reduce load time for return visits by 80%.

How to fix

  1. 1

    Via .htaccess (Apache)

    apache
    <IfModule mod_expires.c>
  ExpiresActive On
  # Images : 1 an
  ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/webp "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/svg+xml "access plus 1 year"
  # CSS et JS : 1 mois
  ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
  # HTML : pas de cache (contenu dynamique)
  ExpiresByType text/html "access plus 0 seconds"
</IfModule>
  2. 2

    Via Nginx

    nginx
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|webp|svg|css|js|woff2)$ {
  expires 1y;
  add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}
  3. 3

    Asset versioning (cache busting)

    To avoid serving outdated files, WordPress automatically versions its assets via the ?ver= parameter. Your theme and plugins should do the same.

Related articles

PerformanceGzip or Brotli compression disabled on the serverPerformanceFCP (First Contentful Paint) too highPerformanceRender-blocking scripts in the WordPress <head>

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