Guide to: NimCache Ultra (full page caching for WordPress)

This guide will: Explain what the NimCache Ultra feature is and how it works.

Contents:

• Overview
• How does it work?

Overview:

The Nimbus platform supports full-page caching for WordPress sites. The feature, called NimCache Ultra, is available for all servers purchased since 2020.

It can be found on your site’s dashboard, and via the ‘Performance’ tab.

NimCache Ultra includes three separate tools

1. Static Page Caching
2. Content Delivery Network for Static Content
3. Images converted to WebP

When enabled, our full-page caching feature will configure the web server to cache website pages as static files. This reduces the time required to serve them to users, which should dramatically improve the load speed of your sites - especially on heavy pages such as image-filled blogs.

With NimCache Ultra enabled, a plugin will be installed that automatically clears the cache whenever content changes - but, if you are running an extremely dynamic and changeable site, NimCache Ultra will not provide you with much tangible benefit. This is why we recommend it for WordPress sites only.

How does it work?

Caching

The NimCache Ultra feature leverages NGINX caching to speed up your site. When you enable the feature, several steps will happen in the background:

• The NGINX caching plugin is installed on your server.
• The webserver is then configured to cache pages. This excludes common dynamic pages (see below) to avoid any issues with cached content displaying to the wrong users.
• A caching plugin for WordPress is installed on your site. This works in unison with NGINX to tell it what to cache, and for how long. It also communicates what information needs to be cleared from the cache.

Once enabled, the webserver will immediately start to cache responses. If at any point you want to purge all stored caches, you can do this via the ‘Clear Cache’ button in the platform.

Content delivery network (CDN)

Deliver lightning-fast images to users worldwide, with our global server network. Reduce latency, enhance website performance, and improve user experience through localised image caching and distribution. As a result you can:

• Decrease server load and enhance page load speeds
• Ensure swift image delivery regardless of user location
• Accelerate image delivery on your clients’ websites

WebP image transformation

Experience the beauty of WebP images: smaller file sizes, without compromising quality. With advanced compression techniques, WebP achieves significantly smaller sizes than JPEG and PNG formats. Enjoy faster-loading websites while preserving image integrity. This means you can:

• Compress images files while preserving image quality
• Experience faster website loading times
• Reduce bandwidth usage
• Enjoy seamless compatibility across all modern browsers

Faster content purging

With a global purge time of just 150 milliseconds, we remove stale content across the network. Our advanced features mean you can rest assured your content can be purged from the cache worldwide in a flash. As a result, you can:

• Cache content at the edge while ensuring easy purging
• Swiftly remove content from the global cache as needed
• Maintain control of managing content stored on your server
• Continually refresh, remove, and optimise your content
  

FAQ

Q. How is the cache cleared?
A. There is a button in the platform on the Nimcache row. This will purge both the NimCache & CDN
cache. There is also a button in WP to purge the cache which does the same thing.

Q. Can different cache lengths be set up file or post type?
A. You can do this with Cache-Control Headers.

Q. Can files / pages be excluded? if so, how?
A. Yes, there is a panel within the Platform on the performance page (shortcut icon on the Application Dashboard) where you can list any paths/pages you wish to exclude from caching

Q. Does it need to be the entire server or can we enable/disable on a site-by-site basis?
A. No, it can be enabled per website

Q. Which CDN does it use?
A. Our CDN is Fastly

Want to find out more? Contact sales