Dec 22, 2025
Nabilla R. & Marco C.
19min Read
Website speed optimization should be a top priority for every website owner as it directly impacts WordPress SEO. Additionally, the longer a website loads, the higher its bounce rate. This can prevent you from generating conversions and driving traffic to your site.
With the right tools and configurations, caching your website can significantly boost its performance. For this reason, we will show you how to optimize your page score using the best cache plugin from LiteSpeed Technologies.
We have tested the LiteSpeed Cache plugin and configured the settings of three different websites. This article will walk you through the configuration we applied to get the best results.
Before we dive into the settings, let’s start with a brief overview of the LiteSpeed cache plugin.
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LiteSpeed is web server software designed to accelerate a website’s performance. Built with event-driven architecture, the LiteSpeed server can handle higher traffic with fewer processes, reducing resource usage and improving page speed.
The LiteSpeed server also has a built-in Apache replacement with .htaccess support, letting users switch from Apache and use existing configurations. Additionally, it works with several popular hosting control panels, such as WHM, DirectAdmin, and Plesk.
There are two editions of the LiteSpeed web server available:
When optimizing page speed and performance, LiteSpeed uses a built-in server-level cache known as LiteSpeed Cache.
LiteSpeed Cache is a product of LiteSpeed Technologies that optimizes dynamic content on web pages. It comes with advanced caching functionality and optimization features. LiteSpeed Cache is also available as a plugin on several platforms, including WordPress.
LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress (LSCWP) works by storing a copy of website content for future requests. As a result, the server has to process fewer requests and can display web pages faster.
Note that the functions that require server caching are only available in the LiteSpeed server. On the other hand, the optimization features can be used with any web server, including OpenLiteSpeed, Nginx, and Apache. These features include image optimization, CDN (Content Delivery Network) integration, and CSS/JS modification.
Before we proceed, let’s take a look at what scores Google PageSpeed Insights gave the mobile and desktop versions of the tested website before setting up LiteSpeed Cache:
Once LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress was configured, both versions achieved perfect scores:
Although the LSCache plugin can work outside of the LiteSpeed environment, its functionality differs depending on the web server you’re using. Hence, the outcome and process measures will also be different.
For this reason, we have conducted high and small-scale stress tests comparing LiteSpeed Web Server, Nginx, and Apache. We will show you three metrics of their performance – fully processed time, requests per second, and megabytes per second.
Important! The stress tests were done from Lithuania on servers located in the US.
As seen above, the LiteSpeed web servers had the best score. Pairing the LiteSpeed web server with LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress will certainly give your website the most optimal performance.
Fortunately, the LiteSpeed Cache plugin comes pre-installed with all Hostinger accounts. Thus, Hostinger users can go ahead and skip the plugin installation step.
However, if you’re using a different web host, follow the instructions below to install LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress.
Once the WordPress plugin is installed, you’ll have to configure it. Read the following section to find out the best LiteSpeed cache settings for your WordPress site.
We have tested these LiteSpeed Cache settings on three websites powered by shared hosting – a simple blogging site, an eCommerce website, and an online portfolio.
Important! When testing performance on GTmetrix, do it a few times regardless of the caching plugin you’re using, as the cache might not be hit or loaded the first time. Additionally, be sure to purge the cache before testing any new setting.
Hostinger WordPress hosting clients can use LiteSpeed Optimization Profiles to optimize their website’s performance with one click. These profiles have pre-configured settings for optimizing different aspects of your website, eliminating the hassle of manual configurations.
Please note that this feature only works with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for optimizing live WordPress websites.
Follow these steps to configure LiteSpeed Optimization Profiles for improved WordPress performance:
Alternatively, check out the following tutorial to set up the LiteSpeed Cache plugin manually. Each setting will include a detailed description to help you decide whether you need to tweak it.
Before we get into the steps of completing the basic setup, let’s compare the performance test results of the three websites.
The graph above shows a significant improvement in website performance after activating and configuring the LiteSpeed Cache plugin.
For this reason, we will walk you through the features and functionalities of the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, along with the best settings to apply – starting with the General page.
The first option on this page is Automatically upgrade. As the name suggests, switching this button to On will prompt the system to install the latest version of the LSCache plugin.
Next, there is a field to add your domain key, also known as the API key. This is important to have if you want to use QUIC.cloud features and services. Simply click on the Request Domain Key button.
We will talk more about setting up the QUIC.cloud in the following section. Now, go to the next section, and you will see Guest Mode.
This option provides an automatic cacheable landing page for a guest’s first-time request. When you enable the guest mode, the server won’t have to gain visitors’ information and instead will serve them the default cached page. As a result, the page loading time will be shorter.
Once the cached pages are served, the server will make an Ajax call to fetch the proper version of web pages the visitors requested. To enable the guest mode, simply switch it On.
To optimize the guest mode, use the Guest Optimization option.
When you enable this setting, the server will not only serve the default cached page, but it will also perform image and page optimization even if these features are disabled.
However, guest mode optimization might take up some of your WordPress website resources, so it’s best to consult your hosting provider before activating this setting.
Underneath, there is a Server IP field for your site’s IP address. Including your IP address will allow the crawler to retrieve resources directly from your server, improving your site’s performance.
Contact your hosting provider for information about your website’s IP address. Hostinger users can access the hPanel dashboard and go to Hosting -> Manage -> Details.
Further down, there is the Notifications setting. By enabling it, you will get the latest information about the LSCache plugin’s development, including promotions and new releases.
Be sure to save your changes after configuring the settings.
The LiteSpeed Cache settings page includes features mostly applicable to the LiteSpeed web servers or the QUIC.cloud CDN. There are multiple functions in the LiteSpeed Cache settings page – this section will cover all caching features to help you choose the best approach.
All in all, the LSCache plugin applies default settings suitable for most WordPress websites. That said, we recommend tweaking them according to your needs.
In addition to the LiteSpeed Cache settings page, let’s briefly overview the other available sections along with their main functionality:
Hostinger offers the object cache feature in selected plans. You can find it under the Core section of the hPanel dashboard. After enabling LiteSpeed, click the toggle button next to Object cache to enable the Memcached configuration.

The LiteSpeed Cache plugin includes website optimization tools for dynamic content on WordPress sites, including images and web pages. Taking the time to configure these settings is important as they can affect your website’s SEO.
This section will walk you through each function and setting on each optimization tab.
Image Optimization
Whenever visitors access your WordPress site, the browser requests resources and downloads your images before displaying them. Thus, the browser will take longer to load, resize, and render unoptimized images.
Fortunately, the LiteSpeed Cache plugin can optimize your images individually or in bulk by resizing them.
Warning! Do not use another optimization plugin while using the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, as it might trigger system and processing errors.
Upon entering the image optimization page, you will see the Image Optimization Summary tab. This tab monitors multiple metrics, such as the size reduction and the total amount of images pulled from your website.

Additionally, you can utilize a few other functions, such as:
Important! This functionality is only available after you have added your domain key and activated the QUIC.Cloud CDN.
Now, let’s continue to the next tab and apply the best optimization settings for your WordPress website. Simply click on the Image Optimization Settings, and you will see multiple functionalities to tweak:
Page Optimization
Once you have set the image optimization settings, the next step is to tweak the page optimization functions. Failure to do so will likely result in slower loading times and worse page scores.
Fortunately, when it comes to page optimization, the LiteSpeed Cache plugin provides multiple options to improve your WordPress site performance. This page contains the most important settings to optimize HTML, CSS, and JS files.

The page optimization page has several sections – we will overview each along with its functionalities.
CSS Settings
JS Settings
HTML Settings
Media Settings
Media Excludes
These settings will exclude certain images from being lazy loaded. Excluding above-the-fold images, such as logos and background images, can improve user experience. This is because you will want those elements to load before the rest of the page.
To exclude media from lazy loading, simply fill out the information in the provided field accordingly. For example, exclude the images by their class and parent class name.
Localization
Tuning
All the settings in this section work to exclude specific elements, such as CSS, JS, and URLs, from being minified and combined.
Generally, you don’t have to tweak these settings as much unless you find an unusual file in your source code after minifying or combining CSS/JS. In such cases, you can list the files inside the provided fields accordingly.

Once you have finished configuring the settings, be sure to hit Save Changes.
QUIC.cloud is a content delivery network by LiteSpeed Technologies that offers dynamic caching. This CDN uses servers all across the world to cache website content. Whenever a visitor makes a request, the server will fetch the resources from the nearest server location.
Pairing QUIC.cloud CDN with cache features from LiteSpeed Cache can greatly improve your page speed. This section will explain the steps of activating this content delivery network.
To do so, start by setting up Cloudflare for WordPress. Doing this ensures that all of your website content is cached optimally – the QUIC.cloud CDN will cache all dynamic pages, while the Cloudflare CDN will handle the static content.
Once you have Cloudflare set up on your server, the next step is to get your domain key. Go to the General page, and click on the Request Domain Key button.

Then, wait for the system to process your request.

Refresh your WordPress admin page. Once the process is complete, the system will autofill the domain key. Next, click on the Link to QUIC.cloud button.

This will take you to the registration page. Continue by filling in all the information accordingly.

If you don’t have a QUIC.cloud account already, sign up for a new one. Once done, the system will send a validation email to the registered address. Open the email and click on the attached link.
If you see the message above, you have successfully paired your WordPress website with the QUIC.cloud CDN. Now, click on the My Dashboard button to go back.
Although you have completed the registration process, you still need to properly configure your DNS settings. To do so, navigate to the CDN section and look for the QUIC.cloud option.

Switch it On to enable the QUIC.cloud CDN API functionality.
Next, configure QUIC.cloud with the Cloudflare details. Before doing so, access your Cloudflare dashboard to get the Global API Key.

Now that you have the information, simply fill in the fields accordingly.

Once done, click Save Changes.
If Cloudflare is connected to the LS Cache plugin, you can use the “Flush Cache” button on hPanel to purge Litespeed, Cloudflare and Sever side cache in just one click.
Fetching static content via a CDN can lower your network latency. This is because the CDN will replicate the most requested resources across global caching servers. Whenever visitors access those resources, the closest server will deliver them.
To fetch static content from a CDN you will need to create a subdomain that delivers the resources, for example – cdn.your-website.com. This subdomain needs to be in the same folder as your primary domain.
Additionally, it is paramount to ensure the CDN subdomain is working well. Otherwise, your static resources won’t be loaded and it might break your website.
If you’re sure the subdomain is working properly, enable the Use CDN Mapping option for the newly created subdomain:

Now that we’ve finished configuring the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, let’s take a look at the following graphs:
They show how the three tested websites performed before and after applying the appropriate LiteSpeed configuration settings.
Before applying image and page optimization, the portfolio website scored just 45 points in the PageSpeed mobile category. After it was optimized, the score soared to 100. Meanwhile, the same changes improved the eCommerce store’s score from 53 points to 99.
In terms of GTMetrix performance, the blogging site’s score increased from 84 to 100.
Important! All of the websites – the blog, eCommerce store, and portfolio site – demonstrated better results after turning on LSCache for WordPress and applying image and page optimization.
After you have configured all the LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress plugin settings, the system should function properly. Hence, there will be little further cache management required. However, LiteSpeed offers more functionalities to tweak as you need.
The following sections will talk about LiteSpeed’s database optimization, its crawler, and the toolbox to help you further improve your website performance,
The Database section offers features to help you execute various tasks in your WordPress database more conveniently. This includes clearing old post revisions and trashing pingbacks with a single click.

Moreover, DB Optimization Settings control the number of post revisions to clear and automate the process.

For example, if you want to save two older revisions for each post, change the Revision Max Number value to 2. Meanwhile, to keep old post revisions for a specific period, change Revisions Max Age.
The LSCache plugin includes a crawler functionality that browses your website’s backend, searching for expired pages and refreshing them in the process. It prevents visitors from seeing any uncached page.

This function is disabled by default and needs to be enabled from the server-side – you will have to consult your server admin or hosting provider. This is because activating the crawler functionality without sufficient server resources might negatively impact your site’s performance.
Important! The crawler functionality is only available on Hostinger cloud hosting plans.
Use the LiteSpeed Cache Toolbox section to configure your cache settings manually. It provides more specific caching functions, from purging 403 error pages to editing the path to the .htaccess file.

Although the Purge tab contains straightforward features, other tabs like Edit .htaccess and
Heartbeat are meant for advanced users. Thus, it’s best to leave the default values for these settings or consult your web host before making any changes.
For more details, let’s expand on the functionality of each section:
Web caching is one of the most effective and efficient ways to improve a website’s performance. When implemented correctly, it can speed up its loading time and reduce server load. The simplest way to set up web caching is by installing a caching plugin.
LiteSpeed Cache is one of the best WordPress plugins with advanced caching techniques. Moreover, when paired with the LiteSpeed server, its server-level page caching can effectively improve performance.
In this article, we have explained the best settings to configure for LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress. Although applying the best settings will give you optimized performance, there is no need to tweak the default settings if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.
We hope this article has helped you configure LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress and get the most out of it. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop them in the comment section below.
LiteSpeed Cache is a wonderful choice for a cache plugin if you are looking for a plugin with extensive settings, great reviews, and fast server-level caching.
Yes, LiteSpeed Cache is free to use, but you only benefit from the caching if your website’s servers also use LiteSpeed.
Comments
August 27 2020
I have installed the LiteSpeed plugin which resulted in some appearance issues. My pages designed with elementor are not loading as they should be, but it does loads well once after a refresh. Also, in some of the pages, I'm facing alignment issues. Please help! I don't have much technical knowledge about CSS and JS.
November 11 2020
Hey there Aviral. I am not able to check your website from here, but please don't hesitate to message our Customer Success team which will gladly help you out! :)
July 08 2022
Did you find a way to solve the litespeed plugin from messing elementor pages layout after an elementor update?
July 08 2022
Hey! If your website breaks after updating Elementor while LiteSpeed is Enabled, we would suggest contacting your hosting provider or a developer for further investigation on what exactly causes this issue ?
January 17 2023
Hi, I'm using Hostinger's shared plan, can I with this plan create a subdomain that provides resources to fetch static content from a CDN?
January 20 2023
Hey! Yes, you can use a subdomain to fetch static content from a CDN, the process would depend on the CDN that you're using and the type of website you have.
March 01 2023
I activated this plugin, which increases the site speed, but it reduce the AdSense presence, it starts sleeping very little, due to which the revenue decreases.
March 03 2023
Hello! It seems that this is a known issue with the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin, more information can be found here
November 25 2023
Hey, I'm using Hostinger and Litespeed Plugin. Having several questions. 1. Do I need to change image resolution myself before uploading? If this is not done by litespeed should I combine it with another plugin? 2. Is it better to convert to webp myself or not needed? Thanks in advance
November 29 2023
Hey there! No need to worry about manually resizing images before uploading with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin. Its Image Optimization feature automatically optimizes and compresses your images for faster loading. And yes, converting images to WebP format can further enhance your website's loading speed ?
October 08 2025
Hi, I have many sites hosted on Hostinger the problem is the sites all freeze on image loading, sometimes if I refresh the page appears. I have had to deactivate the litespeed plugin for my sites to work. Am I doing something wrong? I have tried all the different preset setting but nothing changes.
October 15 2025
Image loading issues with the LiteSpeed plugin can sometimes be caused by conflicts with other plugins or your theme.Try purging the cache in both the LiteSpeed plugin and your browser first. If the issue persists, feel free to contact our Customer Success team, and they’ll help you troubleshoot further :)