LiteSpeed Web Server — Overview & Caching
LiteSpeed is the web server installed on all RemarkableCloud Cloud Cubes in place of Apache. It is a drop-in replacement — reads the same .htaccess files, supports the same rewrite rules, works with cPanel and DirectAdmin without changes — but handles traffic far more efficiently and ships with a built-in page cache that makes WordPress dramatically faster.
LiteSpeed vs Apache
| Apache | LiteSpeed | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Process-based (one process per connection) | Event-driven (thousands of connections, few threads) |
| Memory under load | Scales linearly with traffic | Stays near-flat |
.htaccess support | Native | Full compatibility |
| Built-in cache | None | LSCache — full-page, object, ESI |
| HTTP/3 (QUIC) | Via module | Native, enabled by default |
| PHP execution | mod_php or PHP-FPM | LSAPI — 40–50% faster than FPM |
LiteSpeed is pre-installed and active on your Cloud Cube. No configuration needed to get the performance benefits from day one.
How LSCache works
- A visitor requests a page
- LiteSpeed checks for a cached version
- Cache hit — serves cached HTML directly, PHP never runs, database never queried
- Cache miss — PHP renders the page, LiteSpeed caches the output, serves it
- Every subsequent visitor for that page hits the cache
A cached WordPress page goes from executing 50–200 database queries down to serving a static HTML file.
LSCache for WordPress
Installing the plugin
- Go to Plugins → Add New in WordPress admin.
- Search for LiteSpeed Cache and install the plugin by LiteSpeed Technologies.
- Activate it and go to LiteSpeed Cache → Dashboard.
- Verify the green "LSCache is active" status. If inactive, go to LiteSpeed Cache → Toolbox → Htaccess Operations → Save Htaccess.
Recommended settings
Cache tab:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Enable Cache | On |
| Cache Logged-in Users | Off |
| Cache REST API | On |
| Cache Login Page | Off |
TTL tab:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Default Public Cache TTL | 604800 (7 days) |
| Default Front Page TTL | 1800 |
Purge tab:
- Purge All on Upgrade → On
- Auto Purge Rules → check All
Excludes tab: Add any URLs that must never be cached — checkout pages, cart, account pages, admin-only URLs.
LSCache for WooCommerce
WooCommerce requires extra care because cart contents are user-specific. LSCache handles this automatically when configured correctly.
Verify cart cookie exclusions
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Cache → Excludes → Do Not Cache Cookies and confirm these are present (the plugin adds them automatically):
woocommerce_cart_hash
woocommerce_items_in_cart
wp_woocommerce_session_*Exclude WooCommerce pages from cache
Add to Do Not Cache URIs:
/cart/
/checkout/
/my-account/
/wc-api/
/?wc-ajax=WooCommerce-specific settings
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Cache Logged-in Users | Off (essential) |
| Object Cache | On |
| Cache WooCommerce | On |
| Cache Cart | Off |
Testing the cache
Check response headers on a product page in browser dev tools → Network tab:
X-LiteSpeed-Cache: hit ← served from cache
X-LiteSpeed-Cache: miss ← PHP ran (expected for cart users)Image optimization
Go to LiteSpeed Cache → Image Optimization and enable:
- WebP Replacement — serves WebP to supported browsers, JPEG/PNG to others automatically
- Lazy Load — below-fold images load only when scrolled into view
- Responsive Images — correctly sized image per device
Image optimization alone reduces load time by 30–50% for image-heavy sites.
Troubleshooting
Pages not caching after install Check .htaccess in your WordPress root for # BEGIN LiteSpeed. If missing: LiteSpeed Cache → Toolbox → Htaccess Operations → Save Htaccess.
Cache not clearing after publishing Verify Auto Purge Rules in Cache → Purge includes all content types you publish.
WooCommerce showing wrong cart contents A cart cookie is missing from the exclude list. Check Do Not Cache Cookies includes all woocommerce_* patterns.
Debugging cache misses Enable LiteSpeed Cache → Debug → Debug Log temporarily to see exactly why requests are not hitting cache.