Site loading speed directly affects visitor dwell time and search engine ranking performance. Using the Astra theme means you already have a lightweight, high-performance page base. But if you want to further improve access speed, the theme itself is not enough.

Combined with a free caching plugin, you can increase the page open speed by one level and realize a real "open in seconds" experience. This content will take you to master Astra and the Cache PluginThe coordinated acceleration methods, using free tools throughout, are suitable for in-depth reference by speed performance-conscious webmasters.

I. The performance advantages of the Astra theme itself

Astra is a WordPress theme designed for fast loading with the following features:

characterization	instructions
No jQuery	Avoiding Traditional JS Blocking Issues
Modular loading	Load only enabled components
Support for modern editors	Works seamlessly with Gutenberg, Elementor
Adaptable to AMP pages	Improve mobile access speed
responsive layout	Automatically adapts to various device screens

Astra's lightweight structure makes it easier to get the desired acceleration when using caching plugins.

Second, the recommended free caching plug-ins

1. LiteSpeed Cache

The LiteSpeed Cache plugin is full-featured and easy to use. It is especially suitable for WordPress sites built on LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed environments.

Key features include:

• page cache
• Browser Cache Control
• Lazy loading of images
• Database cleanup
• WebP Image Automation
• CDN docking (supports QUIC.cloud and Cloudflare)

2. W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache is a professional-grade, free plugin that offers multiple forms of caching:

• page cache
• Browser Cache Rules Setting
• Database query caching
• Compression HTML, CSS, JS
• Gzip compression support
• Static resource cache management

Ideal for builders who want fine control over their caching mechanisms.

LiteSpeed Cache + Astra Configuration Methods

Step 1: Install and enable the plugin

Go to the backend plugin page, search for "LiteSpeed Cache", click install and activate.

Step 2: Enable Basic Caching

LiteSpeed Cache > Cache Settings:

• start using(computing) cachefunctionality
• Enable separate caching for mobile
• Login user pages are not cached (backend edit pages to avoid false caching)
• Comment user caching is enabled or disabled on a case-by-case basis

Step 3: Enable Resource Optimization

LiteSpeed Cache > Optimization Settings:

• Merge and compress CSS/JS

• Enable HTML compression

• Delayed JS Loading(Recommended for use with Astra First Screen Optimization)

• Remove URL query string

Step 4: Image Optimization Settings

LiteSpeed Cache > Image Optimization panel:

• Enable automatic image WebP conversion

• Enable delayed loading (if not enabled by Astra itself)

• If both have lazy loading settings, just enable LiteSpeed on one of them

Step 5: Exclude cached page paths

To avoid caching of the shopping cart, checkout page, backend and other pages, it is recommended to exclude the following paths:

/wp-admin/*
/cart
/checkout
/my-account

Fourth, Astra with the cache plug-in practical skills

Page builder optimization

If you use Elementor or Gutenberg to build your pages, you should avoid turning on the builder's own cache optimization, and leave resource merging and deferring to the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to avoid conflicting functionality.

Home Page Loading Optimization Suggestions

Combined with Astra's native simplicity and cache plugin support, the homepage can be easily opened in seconds. It is recommended to reduce the use of videos, social scripts, third-party fonts and other heavy resource content on the home page to further shorten the loading time.

Font loading control

Available in LiteSpeed CacheSetting up font preloadingor localized to reduce Google Fonts loading delay. If there is no special need, it is recommended to use system fonts or custom uploaded fonts uniformly.

Image compression and format conversion

Enable WebP support through the plugin panel and turn on auto-compression, which can effectively reduce the proportion of image resources, especially suitable for blogs or enterprise sites with more content images.

V. Speed measurement and performance verification tools

In combination with Astra and LiteSpeed Cache, the following tools are recommended for load speed testing:

artifact	Functional Description
Google PageSpeed Insights	Analyze mobile/desktop performance metrics
GTmetrix	View load times, file sizes, optimization suggestions
Pingdom Tools	Quickly test access latency and DNS response

Suggested page performance reference values:

• First screen load < 2.5 seconds
• Page size < 1MB
• Keep requests under 50
• Cache hits above 90%

VI. W3 Total Cache Quick Setup Suggestions

If you are using an Apache or Nginx environment, try configuring the W3 Total Cache::

• Enable page caching (Disk: Enhanced)

• Enable Browser Cache

• Compression HTML, CSS, JS

• CDN settings optional bundled with Cloudflare free service

The operation interface is more complicated, so it is recommended to save the test item by item.

VII. Statement of frequently asked questions

Does Astra conflict with the caching plugin?

Astra is written in a standardized, simple structure and usually does not conflict with caching plugins. As long as the same optimizations are not enabled repeatedly (e.g.lazy loading (computing)), you can stabilize the operation.

What should I do if the article updates are not synchronized after enabling caching?

By default the cache plugin will automatically clear the cache after posting. If the update does not take effect, you can manually clear the cache in the plugin settings or enable the "Clear cache on post save" feature.

What hosts is LiteSpeed Cache available for?

LiteSpeed Cache is best suited for LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed servers. It can also be deployed with OpenLiteSpeed for those using the Pagoda Panel. If using Nginx or Apache, W3 Total Cache is recommended.

VIII. Cache Optimization Checklist (LiteSpeed Cache)

checklist	Recommended settings
Plugin enabled	be
Page Cache Enabled	be
Mobile Cache Independence	be
Eliminate backend and order page caching	be
Lazy loading of images enabled	be
Enable WebP format	be
Merge and compress CSS/JS	be
Font Preloading Process	be
CDN settings are correct	selectable
Database cleanup enabled	be
Delayed loading of resources is normal	be

It is recommended to compare the performance changes before and after using the optimization feature and select the most stable and compatible combination.

summarize

Astra ThemeIt already has good loading performance, and with free caching plug-ins such as LiteSpeed Cache or W3 Total Cache, you can further shorten response time and reduce bounce rate. The whole process of acceleration costs nothing, as long as the reasonable configuration can get excellent loading speed.

If you're not satisfied with your current website speed, try the settings provided in this article and compare them with a speed test tool. With a few simple steps, your Astra website will be "light + fast".

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