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Speed up your website (caching, CDN, image optimisation)

Cache pages, shrink images, and add a CNAME CDN without moving DNS off AtlasDNS. Open cPanel from the portal.

Updated

Slow pages lose visitors. On our hosting the usual wins are: cache HTML, shrink images, run a current PHP version, and only then add a CDN for people far from Australia. Shared hosting is in Australia, so local visitors are already close.

This article is for Beginner and Standard shared hosting (cPanel). Open cPanel from the portal. Do not guess a hostname.

WordPress extras (revisions, unused themes, database clean-up) live in Speed Up Your WordPress Site. Install WordPress from WordPress Toolkit or Installatron, not a zip from wordpress.org. See Install WordPress.

On a VPS, you choose the stack. Caching, compression, and the CDN origin are yours to configure. Credentials and the console are on the server in the portal. Start with First steps on a new VPS. Unsure? Open a support ticket.

Open cPanel

  1. Sign in at the portal.
  2. Open the hosting service for the site.
  3. Click Log in to cPanel.

What to fix first

Do these in order. Caching and images usually move the needle more than a CDN.

StepWhy
Cache pagesPHP and MariaDB do not rebuild every visit
Shrink imagesImages are often most of the bytes
Current PHP + OPcacheNewer 8.x is faster; opcache keeps compiled PHP in memory
Fewer plugins and leftover filesLess work per request, fewer inodes
CDN (CNAME only)Helps visitors far from Australia. Keep AtlasDNS.

If Resource Usage already sits at the CPU or memory ceiling most of the day, these steps still help, but you may also need a larger plan. See Read your resource usage and metrics and compare plans on shared hosting.

Take your own copy before you edit .htaccess or install a cache plugin. Hourly copies we keep (Acronis) do not use your disk quota. See Download and Restore a Backup.

1. Cache the site

Caching stores a ready copy of a page so the next visitor is not waiting on PHP and the database.

WordPress

  1. In WordPress, install one page-cache plugin. WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache are the usual free picks.
  2. Turn on page cache and browser cache in that plugin.
  3. Test in a private window.

Do not run two page-cache plugins at once. They fight.

If the site is not installed yet, use WordPress Toolkit or Installatron in cPanel first.

Other CMS or static files

  • Drupal and Joomla have their own page-cache settings. Turn those on in the CMS.
  • A Sitejet or static HTML site is already cheap to serve. Focus on image size and browser cache.
  • Do not assume a Redis or Memcached instance is waiting on shared hosting. If a plugin asks for one, open a support ticket and we will tell you what this account can use.

On a VPS you can install an object cache yourself. That is not a shared-hosting feature.

Browser cache in .htaccess

Tell browsers to keep CSS, JavaScript, and images for a while. Shared hosting honours .htaccess in the document root.

  1. In cPanel, open the File Manager.
  2. Turn on Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) under Settings.
  3. Open public_html (or the addon / subdomain document root).
  4. Edit .htaccess. If it is missing, create it.

Leave any existing WordPress or rewrite rules in place. Add a block like this:

<IfModule mod_expires.c>
  ExpiresActive On
  ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType image/webp "access plus 1 month"
  ExpiresByType image/svg+xml "access plus 1 year"
  ExpiresByType font/woff2 "access plus 1 year"
</IfModule>

If the site returns a 500 after you save, remove the block and see Fix a 500 Internal Server Error, or open a support ticket.

After you change the site, purge the cache plugin and reload in a private window. Your own browser may still be holding the old files.

PHP OPcache

In cPanel Select PHP Version, keep a current 8.x and leave opcache ticked. See Choose your PHP version.

The web server already compresses most text responses (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). If a speed report says compression is off, open a support ticket.

2. Shrink images

Resize to the size you actually display. A 4000px photo shown at 800px wastes bytes, CPU, and inodes (thumbnails add files).

Before you upload:

  • Resize on your computer
  • Compress with a tool such as TinyPNG, ImageOptim (Mac), or Squoosh

Formats:

  • JPEG or WebP for photos
  • PNG when you need a sharp logo with transparency
  • SVG for simple logos and icons
  • WebP is usually smaller; most browsers accept it

Load images only when they are about to appear. In HTML, set the image tag's loading attribute to lazy. WordPress and many themes already do this.

Upload through the File Manager or the CMS media library. Do not leave full-resolution originals and unused thumbnail sets in public_html if you do not need them. See Check Disk Usage.

3. Minify and cut requests

If your caching plugin can minify CSS and JavaScript, turn that on, then click through the site. If a menu or form breaks, turn minify off and leave page cache on.

Fewer files help:

  • One stylesheet instead of several, when you control the build
  • SVG or CSS for simple shapes instead of extra image files
  • Drop plugins, tracking pixels, and font files you do not use

Do not concatenate files by hand on WordPress if a plugin already does it.

4. Use a CDN without leaving AtlasDNS

A CDN keeps copies of images, CSS, and JavaScript on servers closer to the visitor. That helps people outside Australia.

Keep our nameservers. AtlasDNS is the default. Do not point the domain at a CDN's nameservers.

ns1.atlasdns.net.au
ns2.atlasdns.net.au
ns3.atlasdns.net.au

Use a pull-zone / CNAME CDN:

  1. Sign up with a CDN that lets you keep your existing DNS (a CNAME to their pull hostname).
  2. Set the origin to your live site (https://yourdomain.com).
  3. In the portal, open Domains → the domain → DNS and add the CNAME they give you (for example cdn pointing at their hostname). If the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode, use the Zone Editor instead.
  4. Point the site's static asset URLs at that hostname, or use the CDN's plugin. Do not change the apex A record unless we have asked you to.

If a CDN setup wizard tells you to replace nameservers, stop. Open a support ticket and we will keep AtlasDNS and add only the records you need.

Mail, AutoSSL, and the rest of the zone stay on AtlasDNS. Background: Point your domain at your hosting and DNS record types explained.

HTTPS on the main site still comes from AutoSSL on cPanel SSL/TLS Status. The CDN needs its own certificate on the CNAME hostname (their dashboard, not ours).

We do not list CDN prices here. Compare what that service charges, or open a support ticket if you want a second pair of eyes on the records.

5. Watch the account, not only a score

After you cache and shrink images:

  1. Open Resource Usage in cPanel. CPU, memory, I/O, and File Usage should ease if the cache is working.
  2. Cache plugins write many small files. If File Usage is near the plan limit, prune old cache and unused thumbnails. See Check Disk Usage.
  3. Test with a public tool such as PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev). Use a private window so you are not looking at your own browser cache.

Aim for a first paint in a few seconds on a mid-range phone. A perfect score is not the goal. A site that stays under the plan's CPU share is.

If the graphs stay pinned after you have cached the site and cleaned images, look at the next shared plan, a VPS, or open a support ticket. We will move the account. See Choose the right hosting plan.

Quick checklist

  • One page-cache plugin (WordPress) or the CMS built-in cache
  • Browser cache in the plugin or .htaccess
  • Current PHP 8.x with opcache on
  • Images resized and compressed before upload
  • Unused plugins, themes, and leftover zips removed
  • CDN only via CNAME; nameservers still AtlasDNS
  • Resource Usage checked after the change

If something is unclear, open a support ticket. Do not wait on an email thread.

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