How to Install and Set Up LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress

A page cache saves a finished copy of each page, so the server doesn’t rebuild it for every visitor. Blue Arctic Shared Web Hosting runs on LiteSpeed web servers. LiteSpeed Cache is the WordPress plugin made by LiteSpeed Technologies for these servers.

It may already be on your site. Look for LiteSpeed Cache in the WordPress menu on the left. If you see it, skip to “Switch on caching”. If not, these steps add it.

Before you start

1. Make sure you have a recent backup. Shared Web Hosting includes daily backups kept for 30 days, and restores are done through a support ticket. To keep your own copy too, use a backup plugin you choose.
2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
3. Deactivate any other plugin that says it caches pages or speeds up your site. Most have “cache” in the name. Running two page caches at once causes stale or broken pages. If you aren’t sure, open a support ticket with a list of your plugins.

Install the plugin

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add Plugin.
2. Search for LiteSpeed Cache.
3. Check that the author is LiteSpeed Technologies, then click Install Now. If the button already says Activate, the plugin is installed but turned off.
4. Click Activate.

Switch on caching

1. In the WordPress menu, go to LiteSpeed Cache → Cache.
2. On the Cache tab, make sure Enable Cache is ON.
3. Click Save Changes.

Leave the other tabs on their defaults for now. The plugin can also shrink your site’s code files (CSS and JavaScript minification). These settings are the most likely to change how a page looks. If you try them later, turn on one at a time and check your site after each. Image optimization uses LiteSpeed’s separate QUIC.cloud online service, which may need its own account.

Settings to check if you run a shop or membership site

• WooCommerce: a WooCommerce tab appears in the cache settings when WooCommerce is active. Its defaults keep carts and checkouts out of the public cache.
• Test your cart: after caching works, open your shop in a private window and add a product to the cart. Check that the cart and checkout show the right items.
• Pages that must never be cached, such as a custom account page: add their addresses on the Excludes tab, in Do Not Cache URIs, one per line.

How to tell it worked

1. Open a private browser window.
2. Press F12 (Cmd+Option+I on a Mac) and click the Network tab.
3. Type your site address in the address bar and press Enter.
4. Click the first item in the list. That’s the page itself.
5. In the response headers for that item, find x-litespeed-cache.
6. Reload the page and look again. hit means the page came from the cache, so caching works. miss means it wasn’t cached yet, so reload once more.

Troubleshooting

• Visitors see an old version of a page: purge the cache (see how to clear your WordPress cache).
• Layout or menus break after turning on minification: switch the last setting you changed off again and purge the cache.
• No x-litespeed-cache header at all: check that Enable Cache is ON and that you aren’t logged in to WordPress in that window, then open a support ticket.
• A form or cart shows someone else’s details: add that page on the Excludes tab, purge the cache, and open a support ticket.

Still need help?

Open a support ticket from the Client Portal at my.bluearctic.com. Include your site address, the page that misbehaves, a list of your active plugins, a screenshot, and what you already tried. Never include a password.