Configuring Joomla Page Caching: A Complete Guide

Every website, whether its built on Joomla or WordPress, needs to load content from a database. Often, it’s a MySQL database. The data is fetched from a MySQL database, it is then displayed on the screen. This way of loading data every time you request a page can be time- and resource-intensive.

That’s where caching comes into play. It uses the data already present on the browser to view the content rather than loading it from the server. To use caching services for your Joomla website, you need to configure it first.

Joomla has various tools in place to help you manage caching. This includes modules setting caching to full page caching and beyond. In this guide, learn how to configure Joomla page caching in greater detail.

Step by Step Process

Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Enable the Cache Settings

The first step is to enable the cache settings. So log in to your Joomla backend and navigate into System >> Global Configuration.

Then open the “System” tab. Then select “Cache”. Here, you’ll find three options. You have to select either “ON-Conservative Caching” or “ON-Progressive Caching”. The third option, which you need to ignore is, “OFF-Caching Disabled”.

The Conservative Caching is a minimal caching option. When visitors load any page of the website, Joomla system checks the cache file for non-expired pages. If there are such pages, then it will present that directory to the user. Or else, it will create a different cached page for that user. Progressive Caching is an advanced caching option that stores all the modules on different pages.

• Use Cache Handler to Create Cache

In Joomla, the Cache Handler is used to create a cache. You can locate this tool inside Cache Settings. By default, the Cache Handler is set to “File”. In most cases, that should be fine. And you shouldn’t change that unless you’re an expert and want to create other cache handlers.

• Platform Specific Caching

You can set caching options based on different devices and their respective platforms. So users will see different pages on mobile, tablet, and computer. You can turn it to “Yes” or “No”.

• Define Cache Time

Cache Time is the total time a cached page can exist before it is refreshed by the Joomla system. Under the Cache Setting, you’ll find this option. The number is in minutes. So if you input 20, then cache lifetime will be 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of being created, it will refresh again.

• Set Page Caching

If you enable Page Caching, then you give Joomla the authority to cache all the pages, articles, modules, and literally every other asset in your website. In other words, Joomla is in charge of caching the pages.

You can enable Page Caching by going into Extensions >>Plugins. Then search for “cache” and you’ll see the Page Cache plugin. Install and enable it to start using page caching.

• Set Browser Cache

You can also enable browser cache. By doing so, you can store a copy of a page or image on the browser every time they open it. This will consume less resource and load the pages faster.

So that’s how you configure Caching in Joomla. You’ll notice the website’s performance has become a bit faster. For more assistance, get in touch with the hosting support team.