Website Speed Optimizations: Page Caching VS Module Caching VS Compression in CMS

One of the factors that make websites enjoyable to interact with is the speed of the site. Sites that have long load times tend to annoy visitors and lower search rankings. But how fast should a website be? Also, if the content is king, will visitors still stick around with longer load times if they have more interaction with a website?

Currently there are three options for websites to employ to decrease page load times and get the webpage to the visitor more quickly. These are page caching, module caching, and compression. Do these optimization techniques work together to make a better experience or will there be a trade off between speed and functionality.

Page Caching

Page caching take a whole snapshot of the page and makes it a static element. Think of this as taking a photo and when a visitor wants to see your webpage, you do not re assemble all of the elements just to show them, but you just show them the photo.

Module Caching 

Module caching only takes a snapshot of the elements of the page. Think of it as a puzzle of pictures. Instead of having the website “redraw” each section, it just assembles the puzzle for the user. 

 Compression

Compression takes many of the CSS and Javascript files and compresses them into one file. This single file is then compressed and transported. This helps reduce the amount of requests the server must make to get all of the pieces it needs to assemble the page.

Functionality

What about functionality? With each of these optimization techniques there is a chance of losing some functionality on the site. It may be through corrupted pages, pages not updating, or loss in interactivity. In our next tech article, we explore the downsides to each of these optimizations.