Every website owner understands that speed is everything. A slow website equates to a poor experience for your users and could mean dwindling returns for your online business. Many hosting providers understand this, and they go to great extents to ensure that their servers offer the best resources that enhance speed. One approach to achieve this goal is server-side caching. Ever wondered what terminologies such as Memcached, xCache, Varnish, etc., and those bold claims about making your website '200 times faster' are all about? If so, this guide is for you. We'll delve deep into diverse server-side caching mechanisms and how they can impact your website.
Understanding Memcached: Server-Side Caching Redefined
Memcached takes the lead in our discussion being a highly recognized open-source memory object caching mechanism. Simply put, Memcached employs distributed memory caching to enhance the performance of websites developed with databases. This technique may not be very impactful for static HTML websites, but for dynamic websites, such as those built with WordPress, Drupal, Concrete5, and other CMS, Memcached can make a big difference in loading times. Memcached takes parts of your website's database calls and holds them in memory. Therefore, any data-call to the memory, like fetching form data, is super-fast compared to fetching it from a database server. The free and open-source nature of Memcached means you shouldn't be asked to pay extra for it by your web host.
Redis: A Revolution in Server-Side Caching
Redis, yet another caching solution you should know about, employs the technique of storing your database activity's data in memory to enhance page load times. With its long-standing reputation, Redis will provide remarkable speed improvements to your site. The integration of Redis with languages such as PHP and Node.js and the fact that WordPress and other PHP-based software work seamlessly better on Redis-based servers gives Redis an edge over the others. Similar to Memcached, Redis is free of charge and open source.
Varnish: The HTTP Accelerator
Varnish, like its name suggests, is designed to make things sparkle, in this case, your website's speed. Instead of dealing directly with caching data to the memory, Varnish leaves that task to the operating system. Most managed web hosting providers rely on Varnish to enhance their websites' performance. Especially for database-driven websites that are accessed mostly via HTTP, Varnish can offer significant benefits. Varnish is also free and open source.
Unpacking PHP Code Caching
PHP code caching is more of a combination of various PHP-based solutions; these include well-known PHP extensions such as xCache, OPCache, and APC. They work by caching the PHP processes as needed, so the website does not need to re-process the cached PHP processes which significantly accelerates website performance. The compilation and execution processes for a PHP script are costly. But with PHP code caching extensions like OPCache or xCache, the script's compiled copy is stored in memory for subsequent uses, saving you lots of server resources and time.
Conclusion: Choosing Your Server-Side Caching Solution
It would be best if you chose a server-side caching solution that meets your websites' needs and requirements. PHP extensions are particularly helpful if you are on a shared host, considering the resource limitations that come with this hosting option. VPS or dedicated hosting plans provide more flexibility and can accommodate any of the discussed caching methods. Ultimately, having a better understanding of each server-side caching mechanism should guide you to make a more informed decision.
