LiteSpeed Web Server: Overview & Caching
How LiteSpeed works on your RemarkableCloud VPS, how LSCache accelerates WordPress and WooCommerce, and the settings that make the biggest difference to site speed.
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
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.