LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress
Configure LiteSpeed Cache on GoZen Host for the fastest WordPress page loads. Settings, CDN, and troubleshooting.
GoZen Host runs LiteSpeed Web Server on all shared and WordPress hosting plans. This means you have access to LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache), the fastest WordPress caching solution available. Unlike plugin-only caches (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache), LSCache operates at the server level and can serve cached pages without touching PHP at all.
Install the Plugin
- In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New
- Search for LiteSpeed Cache
- Install and activate the plugin by LiteSpeed Technologies
The plugin is the control interface. The actual caching engine is LiteSpeed Web Server, which is already running on your GoZen account.
If you installed WordPress through Softaculous on GoZen Host, LiteSpeed Cache may already be pre-installed. Check your plugins list.
Recommended Settings
The defaults are decent, but these changes will get you the best results on GoZen’s infrastructure.
Cache Settings
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Cache in the WordPress sidebar.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Cache | ON | Core feature |
| Cache Logged-in Users | OFF | Unless you have a membership site |
| Cache Commenters | OFF | Prevents stale comment displays |
| Cache REST API | ON | Speeds up Gutenberg and REST-heavy plugins |
| Cache Login Page | ON | Reduces brute force overhead |
| Cache favicon.ico | ON | One fewer PHP request |
| Cache PHP Resources | ON | Caches dynamically-generated CSS/JS |
| TTL (Time To Live) | 604800 (7 days) | Longer cache = fewer regenerations. Purge manually when needed |
Page Optimization
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Page Optimization.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Minify | ON | Removes whitespace from CSS |
| CSS Combine | ON (test first) | Merges multiple CSS files. Disable if layout breaks |
| JS Minify | ON | Removes whitespace from JavaScript |
| JS Combine | OFF | Often causes issues with plugins. Enable and test |
| HTML Minify | ON | Strips unnecessary whitespace from HTML |
| Load CSS Asynchronously | ON | Prevents render-blocking CSS |
| Load JS Deferred | ON | Loads scripts after page render |
| Remove Query Strings | ON | Improves CDN cacheability |
Test after enabling CSS/JS combine. Check your site in an incognito window after each change. If something breaks visually or functionally, disable the last setting you changed.
Image Optimization
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Image Optimization.
- Click Request Image Optimization to send your images to LiteSpeed’s optimization service (free)
- Enable WebP Replacement to serve WebP images to supported browsers
- Set Lazy Load Images to ON
Image optimization runs through LiteSpeed’s external API. It processes images in batches and replaces them with optimized versions automatically.
Object Cache
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Cache → Object.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Object Cache | OFF (shared hosting) | Redis/Memcached is not available on shared hosting by default |
On Managed VPS plans, if Redis is available, enable Object Cache and set the method to Redis. This caches database queries in memory, dramatically speeding up dynamic pages.
Purge the Cache
After making changes to your site (new posts, theme updates, plugin changes), purge the cache:
- Quick purge: Click the LiteSpeed Cache icon in the WordPress admin bar → Purge All
- Selective purge: Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Toolbox → Purge to clear specific pages or categories
The cache rebuilds automatically on the next visit.
Testing Your Cache
Verify caching is working:
- Open your site in an incognito/private browser window
- Open DevTools (F12) → Network tab
- Load a page and click on the main HTML request
- Check the response headers for:
x-litespeed-cache: hit,litemage
If you see hit - the page was served from cache. If you see miss - the page was generated fresh (it will be cached for next time).
You can also check from the command line:
curl -I https://yourdomain.com 2>&1 | grep x-litespeed
Common Issues
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Pages not caching (always shows “miss”) | Check that the page isn’t excluded in Cache → Excludes. Logged-in pages aren’t cached by default |
| CSS/JS broken after enabling optimization | Disable CSS Combine or JS Combine. Test one at a time |
| Old content showing after updates | Purge all cache. Check if you have a CDN that also needs purging |
| WooCommerce cart/checkout issues | Go to Cache → Excludes and add /cart and /checkout to the Do Not Cache URIs |
| Cache not working at all | Verify LiteSpeed is your web server (it is on GoZen shared/WordPress hosting). The plugin doesn’t work on Apache or Nginx without OpenLiteSpeed |
| “REST API failed” error in plugin | Check if a security plugin is blocking REST API requests |
LiteSpeed Cache vs Other Caching Plugins
Don’t run multiple caching plugins. If you’re on GoZen Host, use LiteSpeed Cache. Remove:
- WP Super Cache
- W3 Total Cache
- WP Fastest Cache
- WP Rocket (it works but duplicates what LSCache already does at a lower level)
LiteSpeed Cache is the only plugin that can use the server-level cache directly. Everything else is a PHP-level workaround.
What to Do Next
- Understanding Your GoZen Hosting Stack - how LiteSpeed fits with CloudLinux and cPGuard
- Slow Website Performance - broader performance troubleshooting
- Using cPGuard - the security side of your hosting stack
Last updated 07 Apr 2026, 00:00 +0200.