If you've ever checked your WordPress website in Performance Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insight, you may have seen the 'Leverage Browser Caching' warning. The easiest way to fix this warning is to install any WordPress caching plugins, the most popular being Total W3 Cache, WP Super Cache, and WP Fastest Cache.
Alternatively, this warning can be resolved by adding Expires headers code to your .htaccess file via these steps –
- Log in to your cPanel.
- Under the Files section, select the File Manager menu.
- cPanel will pop up a message asking where you would like to land within your website directories.
- In the same window, you will see the checkbox asking if you want to show hidden files.
Check the checkbox Show Hidden Files and click Go. - Under the public_html folder of your website, find and edit the file called .htaccess.
- Paste the code listed below into the .htaccess file at the end of your existing content –
## EXPIRES HEADER CACHING ##
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/gif "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/png "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType text/css "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/pdf "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access 1 year"
ExpiresDefault "access 2 days"
## EXPIRES HEADER CACHING ##
7. Save the changes.
→ Is your WordPress site loading slow?
Refer to the 10 Effective and Easy Ways to Speed up WordPress Site
→ Looking to enable Gzip compression in cPanel?
Refer to Enable gZip in cPanel for more details.
