Enabled object cache but Lighthouse still does not recognize it

(@vmarko)

Hello @rjrjrjrj

Thank you for reaching out and I am happy to assist you with this.
The Object Caching does not set Browser Cache policy so this has nothing to do with the lighthouse report.
Please make sure that the Browser Cache is enabled in Performance>General settings, and also make sure that the Cache-control header and Set expires-header are enabled in Performance>Browser Cache>CSS&JS section.
Also, please share your website URL.
THanks!

Thread Starter

(@rjrjrjrj)

Browser cache was enabled. I checked off the headers you suggested but am still getting 200 in the dev tools from repeated reloading of the shop page with product images. Should they not be 301 or 304, cant remember which?

I can see in the request headers “Cache-control:no-cache” and in the response header “cache-control:public” but I cannot see the “expires” header.

Also enabled HTTP compression but Lighthouse still recommends it:

Enable text compression
3.03 s
Text-based resources should be served with compression (gzip, deflate or brotli) to minimize total network bytes. Learn more.FCPLCP
WordPressYou can enable text compression in your web server configuration.
URL															Transfer Size	Potential Savings
…jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.6.0(www.domain.sfx)		87.4 KiB		57.2 KiB
…css/dashicons.min.css?ver=6.0(www.domain.sfx)		57.6 KiB		22.7 KiB
…js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.0(www.domain.sfx)	18.2 KiB		13.3 KiB
…js/autoptimize_4ad5da9….js(www.domain.sfx)			16.4 KiB		10.8 KiB
…js/lazysizes.min.js?ao_version=3.1.0(www.domain.sfx)9.6 KiB			5.6 KiB
…js/lazyload.min.js(www.domain.sfx)					6.1 KiB			3.8 KiB

I initially enabled deflate in Apache but got a WP note advising me against it and disabled it. What am I doing wrong?

This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by rjrjrjrj.
This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by rjrjrjrj.

Plugin Contributor

(@vmarko)

Hello @rjrjrjrj

Thank you for your feedback.
There is a chance that you have some custom Browser cache rules for expires header and cache control header in your .htaccess file or possibly in the httpd.conf.
The default values in W3TC Browser Cache for static files regarding Expires header and cache control header is 31536000s, with Cache-Control policy: set to cache with max-age ("public, max-age=EXPIRES_SECONDS")
As you shared, the Cache-control policy is set to no-cache
This being said, please share your .htaccess content and check if you have any expires rules or cache control rules outside of W3TC rules for Browser Caching in your .htaccess file.
And again, please share your website URL so I can check this.

Thanks!

Thread Starter

(@rjrjrjrj)

The site is not yet open to the outside.
no-cache is not present in any configuration or .htaccess files. The main one is below:

# BEGIN W3TC WEBP
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_ACCEPT} image/webp
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} (.+)\.(jpe?g|png|gif)$
    RewriteCond %1\.webp -f
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} !type=original
    RewriteRule (.+)\.(jpe?g|png|gif)$ $1.webp [NC,T=image/webp,E=webp,L]
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    <FilesMatch "\.(jpe?g|png|gif)$">
        Header append Vary Accept
    </FilesMatch>
</IfModule>
AddType image/webp .webp
# END W3TC WEBP

# BEGIN W3TC Browser Cache
<IfModule mod_mime.c>
    AddType text/css .css
    AddType text/x-component .htc
    AddType application/x-javascript .js
    AddType application/javascript .js2
    AddType text/javascript .js3
    AddType text/x-js .js4
    AddType text/html .html .htm
    AddType text/richtext .rtf .rtx
    AddType text/plain .txt
    AddType text/xsd .xsd
    AddType text/xsl .xsl
    AddType text/xml .xml
    AddType video/asf .asf .asx .wax .wmv .wmx
    AddType video/avi .avi
    AddType image/avif .avif
    AddType image/avif-sequence .avifs
    AddType image/bmp .bmp
    AddType application/java .class
    AddType video/divx .divx
    AddType application/msword .doc .docx
    AddType application/vnd.ms-fontobject .eot
    AddType application/x-msdownload .exe
    AddType image/gif .gif
    AddType application/x-gzip .gz .gzip
    AddType image/x-icon .ico
    AddType image/jpeg .jpg .jpeg .jpe
    AddType image/webp .webp
    AddType application/json .json
    AddType application/vnd.ms-access .mdb
    AddType audio/midi .mid .midi
    AddType video/quicktime .mov .qt
    AddType audio/mpeg .mp3 .m4a
    AddType video/mp4 .mp4 .m4v
    AddType video/mpeg .mpeg .mpg .mpe
    AddType video/webm .webm
    AddType application/vnd.ms-project .mpp
    AddType application/x-font-otf .otf
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._otf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database .odb
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart .odc
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula .odf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics .odg
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation .odp
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet .ods
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text .odt
    AddType audio/ogg .ogg
    AddType video/ogg .ogv
    AddType application/pdf .pdf
    AddType image/png .png
    AddType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint .pot .pps .ppt .pptx
    AddType audio/x-realaudio .ra .ram
    AddType image/svg+xml .svg .svgz
    AddType application/x-shockwave-flash .swf
    AddType application/x-tar .tar
    AddType image/tiff .tif .tiff
    AddType application/x-font-ttf .ttf .ttc
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._ttf
    AddType audio/wav .wav
    AddType audio/wma .wma
    AddType application/vnd.ms-write .wri
    AddType application/font-woff .woff
    AddType application/font-woff2 .woff2
    AddType application/vnd.ms-excel .xla .xls .xlsx .xlt .xlw
    AddType application/zip .zip
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType text/css A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-component A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-js A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/html A3600
    ExpiresByType text/richtext A3600
    ExpiresByType text/plain A3600
    ExpiresByType text/xsd A3600
    ExpiresByType text/xsl A3600
    ExpiresByType text/xml A3600
    ExpiresByType video/asf A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/avi A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif-sequence A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/bmp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/java A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/divx A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/msword A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-fontobject A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-msdownload A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/gif A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-gzip A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/x-icon A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/webp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/json A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-access A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/midi A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/quicktime A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mp4 A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/webm A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-project A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-otf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/pdf A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/png A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/x-realaudio A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/svg+xml A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-tar A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/tiff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-ttf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wav A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wma A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-write A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff2 A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-excel A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/zip A31536000
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
        AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css text/x-component application/x-javascript application/javascript text/javascript text/x-js text/html text/richtext text/plain text/xsd text/xsl text/xml image/bmp application/java application/msword application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-msdownload image/x-icon application/json application/vnd.ms-access video/webm application/vnd.ms-project application/x-font-otf application/vnd.ms-opentype application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text audio/ogg application/pdf application/vnd.ms-powerpoint image/svg+xml application/x-shockwave-flash image/tiff application/x-font-ttf application/vnd.ms-opentype audio/wav application/vnd.ms-write application/font-woff application/font-woff2 application/vnd.ms-excel
    <IfModule mod_mime.c>
        # DEFLATE by extension
        AddOutputFilter DEFLATE js css htm html xml
    </IfModule>
</IfModule>
<FilesMatch "\.(css|htc|less|js|js2|js3|js4|CSS|HTC|LESS|JS|JS2|JS3|JS4)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header set Pragma "public"
        Header append Cache-Control "public"
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(html|htm|rtf|rtx|txt|xsd|xsl|xml|HTML|HTM|RTF|RTX|TXT|XSD|XSL|XML)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header set Pragma "public"
        Header append Cache-Control "public"
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(asf|asx|wax|wmv|wmx|avi|avif|avifs|bmp|class|divx|doc|docx|eot|exe|gif|gz|gzip|ico|jpg|jpeg|jpe|webp|json|mdb|mid|midi|mov|qt|mp3|m4a|mp4|m4v|mpeg|mpg|mpe|webm|mpp|otf|_otf|odb|odc|odf|odg|odp|ods|odt|ogg|ogv|pdf|png|pot|pps|ppt|pptx|ra|ram|svg|svgz|swf|tar|tif|tiff|ttf|ttc|_ttf|wav|wma|wri|woff|woff2|xla|xls|xlsx|xlt|xlw|zip|ASF|ASX|WAX|WMV|WMX|AVI|AVIF|AVIFS|BMP|CLASS|DIVX|DOC|DOCX|EOT|EXE|GIF|GZ|GZIP|ICO|JPG|JPEG|JPE|WEBP|JSON|MDB|MID|MIDI|MOV|QT|MP3|M4A|MP4|M4V|MPEG|MPG|MPE|WEBM|MPP|OTF|_OTF|ODB|ODC|ODF|ODG|ODP|ODS|ODT|OGG|OGV|PDF|PNG|POT|PPS|PPT|PPTX|RA|RAM|SVG|SVGZ|SWF|TAR|TIF|TIFF|TTF|TTC|_TTF|WAV|WMA|WRI|WOFF|WOFF2|XLA|XLS|XLSX|XLT|XLW|ZIP)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header set Pragma "public"
        Header append Cache-Control "public"
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set Referrer-Policy "no-referrer-when-downgrade"
</IfModule>
# END W3TC Browser Cache
# BEGIN W3TC Page Cache core
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /
    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} =on
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_SSL:_ssl]
    RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} =443
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_SSL:_ssl]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} =https [NC]
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_SSL:_ssl]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:Accept-Encoding} gzip
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_ENC:_gzip]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} w3tc_preview [NC]
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_PREVIEW:_preview]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} \/$
    RewriteRule .* - [E=W3TC_SLASH:_slash]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} !=POST
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} =""
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !(comment_author|wp\-postpass|w3tc_logged_out|wordpress_logged_in|wptouch_switch_toggle) [NC]
    RewriteCond "%{DOCUMENT_ROOT}C:/htdocs/site/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_SLASH}%{ENV:W3TC_SSL}%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" -f
    RewriteRule .* "C:/htdocs/site/wp-content/cache/page_enhanced/%{HTTP_HOST}/%{REQUEST_URI}/_index%{ENV:W3TC_SLASH}%{ENV:W3TC_SSL}%{ENV:W3TC_PREVIEW}.html%{ENV:W3TC_ENC}" [L]
</IfModule>
# END W3TC Page Cache core
# BEGIN WordPress
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN WordPress" and "END WordPress" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress
# BEGIN DS-XML-RPC-FIX-HOTLINK
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN DS-XML-RPC-FIX-HOTLINK" and "END DS-XML-RPC-FIX-HOTLINK" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.

# END DS-XML-RPC-FIX-HOTLINK
# BEGIN DS-XML-RPC-API
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN DS-XML-RPC-API" and "END DS-XML-RPC-API" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.
<Files xmlrpc.php>
Require all denied

</Files>

# END DS-XML-RPC-API

# Really Simple SSL
Header always set Content-Security-Policy "upgrade-insecure-requests"
Header always set X-XSS-Protection "0"
Header always set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
Header always set Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" 
Header always set X-Frame-Options: "SAMEORIGIN"
Header always set Permissions-Policy: ""
Header always set Strict-Transport-Security: "max-age=31536000" env=HTTPS 
# End Really Simple SSL

Plugin Contributor

(@vmarko)

Hello @rjrjrjrj

Thank you for your feedback and for providing the .htaccess content.
The W3TC part of the .htaccess looks as it should, so there are no problems here.
The only thing that could be the problem in this case, is that you are either on Apache+Nginx and the nginx (proxy) is handling the rules for the static files, or the .htaccess file (possibly httpd.conf) in the upper lever of the website structure is overwriting the W3TC rules.

I hope this helps!

Thanks!

Thread Starter

(@rjrjrjrj)

There is no Nginx.
I am on Apache 2.4.54 with PHP 7.4.30.

Plugin Contributor

(@vmarko)

Hello @rjrjrjrj

Thank you for the information.
In this case, please check for any other .htaccess files in the upper level of your website’s structure or some server rules that are adding the no-cache cache-control.
Thanks!

Thread Starter

(@rjrjrjrj)

Yes, I ran a global search but found none. Nothing at all sets no-cache, on the server side.

Now, could it be a FF thing? In Chromium the response is

Status Code:200 (from disk cache)

for images, stylesheets, and scripts and

Status Code:200 (from memory cache)

for fonts.

If it is a browser issue, then what is causing it?

Thread Starter

(@rjrjrjrj)