Server-side caching is a technique used by web servers to store frequently accessed data and resources in a cache for faster retrieval and reduced server load. Utilizing it, website speed can be significantly improved, leading to a better user experience, increased engagement, and improved search rankings.
In this blog, we’ll explain what server-side caching is, how it works, and the benefits it can bring to your website’s speed and overall user experience.
Contents
What Do Cache and Caching Mean?
Before delving into server-side caching, it is important to understand what cache and caching mean.
The cache is a temporary storage area that stores frequently accessed data in a quickly accessible location so it can be retrieved and used more efficiently. Caching is the process of storing frequently used data or information in a cache to improve the performance and speed of an application or system.
In computing, caching is used in many applications, from web browsers that store web pages in a cache to reduce page load times to databases that cache frequently accessed data to reduce the time it takes to retrieve it.
The goal of caching is to decrease the time it requires to access frequently used data by storing a copy of it in a location that is more quickly accessible than the original source. By doing so, the application or system can retrieve the data from the cache instead of going through the slower process of retrieving it from the original source.
What is Server-Side Caching
Server-side caching is the process of storing frequently accessed data or responses from a web server in a cache. The cached data can then be quickly retrieved and served to clients, such as web browsers, without requiring the server to regenerate the content.
When a web server receives a request for a resource, such as a web page or an image, it checks if a cached copy of the resource exists in its cache. If a cached copy exists and is still valid, the server can return it to the client without generating it from scratch.
This can significantly reduce the time required to process the request, resulting in faster response times and improved performance. As there will be less demand on the server, it can also help to reduce server load, save cost, and enable easier scalability.
Benefits of Server-side Caching
Server-side caching provides several benefits for web applications and websites, including:
- Improved performance: By storing frequently accessed data and resources in a cache, the server can reduce the amount of time required to retrieve the information, leading to faster response times and better overall performance.
- Reduced server load: By serving cached content, the server can reduce the number of requests it receives and the amount of work it has to do. This can reduce the load on the server, improving its capacity and scalability.
- Better user experience: Faster response times and improved performance can lead to a better user experience, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement.
- Reduced bandwidth usage: By using the cache to serve static content, such as images and videos, a web server can reduce its bandwidth usage, potentially resulting in cost savings.
- Lower costs: By reducing server load, bandwidth usage, and the amount of work required to generate content, server-side caching can help to reduce the cost of operating a website or web application.
How to Implement Server-side Caching
Implementing server-side caching can be done using various methods, including plugins, CDNs, and built-in caching features. Here are some methods for implementing server-side caching:
Use Caching Plugins
Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress offer caching plugins that can be used to implement server-side caching. These plugins allow you to configure and manage the caching process, such as setting an expiration time for cached content or purging the cache.
For example, WordPress caching plugins include WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, etc.
Implement CDN Caching
A content delivery network (CDN) can be used to cache frequently accessed resources such as images, CSS, and JavaScript files at edge servers distributed geographically closer to the clients.
This can significantly reduce the load on the server and improve performance for users located around the world. Most CDNs offer built-in caching features that can be easily configured to cache static content.
Cloudflare can be one of the best ways to implement CDN caching. It is easy to use and provides additional features like SSL/TLS, firewall, and security. Recently, they launched Cloudflare APO for WordPress — a smart caching system that can store dynamic content and serve the entirety of your WP site from its edge network.
Use Built-in Caching Features
Many web servers offer built-in caching features that can be used to cache dynamic content. For instance, Nginx and Apache both offer caching modules that allow you to store and serve content from a cache.
In addition, there are various third-party services like Redis and Memcached which can be used to implement server-side caching in web applications. These services offer advanced caching features such as data sharding and distributed caching, allowing you to create highly scalable caching solutions.
Conclusion
Server-side caching can be helpful in many ways to improve the performance of web applications and websites. It can reduce server load, save cost, and enable easier scalability. We hope this article has provided a good overview of server-side caching and how it can be implemented.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!