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Litespeed Web Server
If you’ve heard of the LiteSpeed web server, you might be curious about how this program might affect the speed of your WordPress website. You might also be interested in how it stacks up against other servers. Popular web servers like this one offer outstanding levels of load balancing, scalability, and security. Additionally, it has built-in anti-DDoS defense, a bandwidth limiter, and per-IP connections.
Fortunately, our user-friendly guide has you covered. In this article, we’ll examine LiteSpeed Web Server in more detail. We’ll also discuss its benefits and drawbacks and demonstrate how to set up WordPress on this server. This article explains what Litespeed Web Server is, along with some of its benefits and applications.
What is a Litespeed Web Server?
A proprietary web server programme called LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is well renowned for its quick performance and excellent scalability. Homepage for LiteSpeed Additionally, this well-known web server software provides excellent security.
For instance, it includes built-in safeguards against distributed denial of service (DDOS) assaults. The widely-used Apache web server is also completely compatible with the web server software. Because of this compatibility, switching to LiteSpeed won’t cause any problems.
It’s important to note that LiteSpeed offers an OpenLiteSpeed open-source variant. This programme is better suited for big, busy websites. It is incompatible with Apache, though. Additionally, LiteSpeed frequently receives new feature updates before OpenLiteSpeed. Therefore, compared to the enterprise version, the free version might be less dependable and effective.
How does LiteSpeed work?
Similar to Apache, LiteSpeed employs a configuration mechanism. In fact, you don’t even need to update your present operating system or programmes to use it to replace an Apache server. Additionally, LiteSpeed is a quick and effective server, hence the name.
It preserves resources like memory and CPU while still giving your website exceptional performance and security. On a non-Windows machine, OpenLiteSpeed is simple to download and install.
The software can be installed in a number of ways:
The simplest and quickest solution is the one-click install approach. You can install your WordPress files and MySQL databases after the server is configured.
On the OpenLiteSpeed website, you may find detailed instructions for each installation option. But keep in mind that Windows operating systems are not supported by this server software. Unfortunately, this makes it unavailable to many enterprise clients.
Types of LiteSpeed Licenses
Eight different LiteSpeed licences are available. The number of domains, RAM limits, and workers that each license type supports varies. These three elements are described by LSWS as follows:
- Domain: The entire number of domains, including the top-level domain and any sub-domains, is referred to.
- RAM Limit: The maximum amount of RAM allotted to the web server is referred to here.
License Type | RAM limit | Domain limit | Workers |
| Free Starter | 2 GB | 1 | 1 |
| Site Owner | 8 GB | 5 | 1 |
| Site Owner Plus | Unlimited | 5 | 1 |
| Web Host Lite | 8 GB | Unlimited | 1 |
| Web Host Essential | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1 |
| Web Host Professional | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2 |
| Web Host Enterprise | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4 |
| Web Host Elite | Unlimited | Unlimited | Configurable |
- Worker: Quantity of LiteSpeed processes created to carry out web server tasks.
How to Check if a Web Server is Using LiteSpeed
- You can quickly determine if your website runs on a LiteSpeed web server. Visit your website using Google Chrome first. Press F12 on your keyboard to start Developer Tools.
- Next, click any item under Name: Network, reload the page, and then pick the Network tab.
- The header tab should be selected. then search for the server’s name under Response Headers:
It’s crucial to remember that you won’t always be able to tell what kind of server a website is using. You’ll notice the name of the proxy service if a website employs one. As an alternative, you can ask your hosting company which server they use directly.
Pros and Cons of LiteSpeed Web Server
As we already discussed, LiteSpeed is a little web server program that can improve the speed and security of your website. Let’s examine some of its features and advantages in more detail.
Pros:
- LiteSpeed uses the fewest server resources when managing several concurrent connections. It operates faster than rival web servers like Apache thanks to its event-driven architecture.
- The hosting panel cPanel, Interwork, Plesk, Direct Admin, and Virtual Admin are all compatible with LiteSpeed.
- Mod_rewrite,.htaccess, and mod security is just a few of the Apache web server capabilities that the corporate edition is completely compatible with.
- It delivers static websites more quickly than Apache since it is optimized for PHP performance.
- It is perfect for busy websites and e-commerce sites because it can handle abrupt spikes in traffic as well.
- A further key benefit is “zero downtime maintenance,” which entails that you can restart the server and upgrade the software without affecting users’ access to your website.
- Per-IP connections and bandwidth restrictions are the only two adjustable security options that LiteSpeed provides.
Cons:
- Given that it does not support Windows, many businesses will not consider it.
- Because Apache is so widely used, the free, open-source version’s incompatibility with it moderately reduces its usefulness.
Running WordPress on LiteSpeed
The WordPress cache plugin from LiteSpeed is named LiteSpeed Cache, and it offers a comprehensive caching solution:
It has a plethora of options intended to make your site perform more quickly. You can decide precisely what data to cache and when to remove it, for example:
Additionally, you’ll have access to a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to further reduce your loading times. The plugin can also minify your CSS and JS files and optimize your images. As a result, it could be a great ally for raising your Core Web Vitals ratings.
Take note that using WordPress on a LiteSpeed web server is the only way to get the most of these caching features. To improve PHP performance, the plugin integrates with the server architecture.
Conclusion
Lightweight LiteSpeed web server software provides top-notch security and high-performance features. Additionally, it works with Apache and a number of control panels. The popularity of LiteSpeed among website owners and web developers can be attributed to these advantages.
OpenLiteSpeed’s free version is available for use. Once your WordPress website’s server is configured, you may add the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to further improve performance. Overall, these tools can be used in conjunction to power your website and enhance the user experience.
There are many hosting companies that support Litespeed web server software. LiquidWeb is a fantastic choice if you’re seeking reliable, dedicated hosting.
