How to Easily Fix Leverage Browser Caching Warning in WordPress

Here is a simple and effective ruleset to add to your .htaccess file:The warning is triggered for two main reasons:Adding expiration headers is very straightforward, especially in the .htaccess file found on RunCloud’s Apache2 or OpenLiteSpeed stacks. The mod_expires module allows you to set human-readable expiration times, making configuration easy.When these instructions are missing, the browser has to re-download all those files on every page load, making the site feel much slower for returning visitors.

What is the “Leverage Browser Caching” Warning in WordPress?

Unlike other caching plugins, LSCache is not a third-party plugin that provides basic caching solutions. It is a server-level solution that integrates directly with the OpenLiteSpeed web server. This deep integration allows it to manage caching with incredible efficiency.RunCloud provides a powerful, intuitive Hub with server-level performance tools like RunCache at your fingertips.📖 Suggested read: Which is Better: Redis Full-Page Cache or nginx FastCGI Caching?

Why Does Google PageSpeed Insights Show The “Leverage Browser Caching” Warning?

Let’s get started!The Expires header is an older, simpler method for enabling browser caching. Instead of specifying a duration in the same way Cache-Control does, the Expires header sets a specific future date and time when the cached file should be considered “stale”.

1. Slows Down Repeat Visits: Without caching, returning visitors have the same slow, “first-time” loading experience every time they visit. Fixing this makes the site feel almost instantaneous for them, which greatly boosts user experience.
2. Wastes Resources: Forcing the browser to re-download the duplicate files repeatedly uses unnecessary bandwidth (both for the user and your server) and increases your server’s workload.

When someone visits your site for the first time, their browser has to download all the website’s assets, such as your logo, stylesheets (CSS), and scripts (JavaScript). Browser caching is a set of instructions that your server can send along with these files that says, “These files can be stored on your computer for a while. You don’t need to download them again on your next visit.”                

How to Fix the “Leverage Browser Caching” Warning in WordPress

Are you staring at that stubborn “Leverage Browser Caching” warning in your Google PageSpeed Insights report? You’re not alone. It’s one of the most common performance recommendations, and it often sounds far more complicated than it is.Caching issues, like seeing old content, usually stem from one of three places:
Server Cache: Your server might be serving a cached page version. Use your plugin’s “Clear Cache” button or purge the cache via RunCloud Hub plugin.
Browser Cache: Your browser has an old version stored. Perform a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) or completely clear your browser’s cache.
CDN Cache: If you use a CDN such as Cloudflare, you may need to purge its cache through the CDN provider’s dashboard.We understand that editing server configuration files or even .htaccess can feel intimidating. What if you make a mistake?Google PageSpeed Insights shows the “Leverage Browser Caching” warning because adding proper caching controls speeds up the website for repeat users. When Google recommends a website to its users in search results, Google’s goal is to provide the best experience for its users, and that includes sending them to sites that load quickly.⚠️ But before we go any further, here is a note of warning!However, the biggest downside to this approach is maintenance. When Google updates its Analytics script or adds new font characters, your local copy will become outdated, and you are responsible for manually updating it.<IfModule mod_expires.c>
  ExpiresActive On
  ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType image/webp "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
</IfModule>

This means that for most users, RunCache automatically solves the browser caching warning without you needing to do anything extra. It’s configured to tell browsers to cache static assets like images, CSS, and JS for a long period.This is where RunCloud provides a layer of confidence with automated backups. Before implementing any of the caching rules discussed in this guide, you can take a one-click, on-demand backup of your entire web application’s files. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be able to quickly and easily restore your entire website to its previous state in seconds.One of the most common frustrations for site owners is seeing a caching warning for scripts that aren’t even hosted on their own server. This frequently happens with resources such as Google Analytics, Google Fonts, or Facebook Pixel. You can’t control their caching headers because these files are located on Google’s or Facebook’s servers. This is why PageSpeed Insights will still flag them, even if your server is perfectly configured.The Cache-Control header is the most powerful way to manage browser caching. It gives the browser precise instructions on how to handle a file. The max-age directive in this header tells the browser how many seconds it takes to keep a file cached before asking for it again.For example, a max-age of 31536000 tells the browser to store the file for one year. You can also specify directives such as public, meaning the file can be cached by any cache (like a browser or a CDN), or private for user-specific data.RunCloud Hub allows you to configure RunCache, its native nginx FastCGI cache. This server-level cache intercepts requests before they even reach WordPress. It serves a pre-made, static HTML version of your page directly from the web server’s memory. This method is dramatically faster and more efficient, bypassing the resource-intensive process of loading PHP and the WordPress application.While you technically can’t “fix” the headers on their servers, the only workaround is to host these scripts locally on your server. For example, you could download the Google Fonts files and serve them directly from your domain.

#3 – Fixing “Leverage Browser Caching” Warning for Third-Party Scripts and Resources

Clearing your browser cache forces it to download the newest versions of all files from your website.
Keyboard Shortcut: The quickest way is to press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (on Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (on Mac). This opens a dialog to clear browsing data.
Hard Refresh: To bypass the cache for a single page load, use Ctrl+F5 or hold Shift while clicking the reload button.While both Cache-Control and Expires headers can be used to control how long a browser stores your files, we recommend using Cache-Control with the max-age directive, as it is the modern standard.
The max-age value is set in seconds. For files that change frequently (like CSS or JavaScript), a shorter cache time is best. For static files that rarely change (like images, fonts, or videos), you should use a long cache time.
Here are some common max-age values to use:
1 Hour: max-age=3600
1 Day: max-age=86400
1 Week: max-age=604800
1 Month: max-age=2592000
1 Year: max-age=31536000
For example, to cache a logo image for one year, you would set the header: Cache-Control: max-age=31536000.A typical WordPress caching plugin operates within the WordPress environment. WordPress and its underlying PHP code must first be loaded into memory for a cache to be built or served. While this is better than nothing, it still consumes server resources including memory and PHP workers.<IfModule mod_headers.c>
  <filesMatch ".(ico|jpeg|jpg|png|gif|svg|webp)$">
    Header set Cache-Control "max-age=31536000, public"
  </filesMatch>
  <filesMatch ".(css)$">
    Header set Cache-Control "max-age=2592000, public"
  </filesMatch>
  <filesMatch ".(js)$">
    Header set Cache-Control "max-age=2592000, public"
  </filesMatch>
</IfModule>

If your site is running on the nginx stack, then you can use RunCloud’s highly optimized page cache solution called RunCache. When you install the RunCloud Hub on your WordPress site, RunCloud automatically applies an advanced nginx configuration that serves your site with incredible speed. This default configuration already includes best-practice rules for browser caching.        

Best WordPress Plugins to Fix the “Leverage Browser Caching” Warning

📖 Suggested read: How to Easily Optimize Your WordPress Website With RunCloud Hub

#1 – How Litespeed Cache Solves Browser Caching Issues

In this guide, we will explain browser caching from a server-level perspective and show you how to fix the leverage browser caching warning in WordPress by setting the correct Cache-Control and Expires headers.On a RunCloud server using an nginx + Apache2 hybrid or OpenLiteSpeed stack, you can add these rules to your .htaccess file. For a pure nginx stack, you would use the “nginx Config” editor in your RunCloud dashboard. A typical rule looks like this for your .htaccess file, targeting different file types with appropriate expiration times:

You can easily fix the “Leverage Browser Caching” warning by adding specific rules, known as caching headers, to your server’s configuration. In this section, we’ll explore the primary methods to implement this on your server.And with a platform like RunCloud, you can move beyond basic plugin solutions to implement a far superior, server-level caching strategy.For example, you can specify “access plus 1 year” for images and “access plus 1 month” for CSS and JavaScript files. This tells the browser to calculate the expiration date based on when the user first accessed the file.Deploy your first lightning-fast, securely managed WordPress site with RunCloud today.

#2 – Using RunCloud Hub to Manage Browser Caching Automatically

Enabling browser caching requires adding specific instructions (headers) to your server’s configuration. These headers tell a visitor’s browser which files to store and for how long.
With a Plugin: The easiest method for most WordPress users is to use a caching plugin like RunCloud Hub (RunCloud’s native nginx page cache), W3 Total Cache, or WP Rocket. These plugins automatically add the necessary rules for you.
Manually: For Apache or OpenLiteSpeed stacks, you can add caching rules directly to your .htaccess file. For nginx-only stacks, you must add these rules to your nginx location configuration file via the RunCloud dashboard.To cache static files, you target them by their file extension. The most common static files to cache are:
Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .svg, .webp, .ico
Stylesheets: .css
JavaScript: .js
Fonts: .woff, .woff2, .ttf, .eot
You can create a block in your .htaccess or nginx config file that applies caching headers specifically to these file types.

For many users, manually editing server configuration files can be daunting. Thankfully, the WordPress ecosystem has many powerful plugins that can automatically configure these settings with just a few clicks.

Wrapping Up

If your WordPress site runs on a RunCloud server with the OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) stack, you can quickly configure the LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress (LSCache).📖 Suggested read: How to Use Redis Full-Page Caching to Speed Up WordPressYou cannot directly control the cache headers for scripts hosted on third-party servers (like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or Google Fonts). Their servers determine the cache policy. This is a common reason why performance tools still show a “leverage browser caching” warning. Hosting those scripts on your own server is the only way to fix this. However, you are responsible for manually updating them, which can be a maintenance and security risk. For most users, it is safe to ignore caching warnings related to these major third-party scripts.While Cache-Control is the modern standard, and it will override the Expires header if both are present, including Expires headers is still good practice for compatibility with older proxy servers and browsers. The “Leverage Browser Caching” warning is a direct signal that you’re sacrificing site speed and user experience. You should fix this warning as soon as you see it, as this improvement directly impacts user satisfaction, reduces bounce rates, and sends positive signals to search engines like Google, which heavily favor fast, responsive websites as part of their Core Web Vitals initiative.If you want step-by-step instructions for this, we recommend reading our thorough article covering the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin configuration.

FAQs on Fixing Browser Caching Warnings in WordPress