Introduction

You may wonder, why would Drupal need a caching module, despite the fact that it does have an internal caching system? This cache does its job well, however, users who are hosting their websites on a LiteSpeed Web Server environment have access to something better - LiteSpeed Cache Module. It is an entirely free option, as long as you are hosting your website on a server using LiteSpeed Web Server, such as our Speed Reaper plan. It includes a versatile tag-based system serving both logged and guest users, enhancing their experience significantly. Unfortunately, this module is only available for Drupal 8 at this point and cannot be installed on Drupal 7 and Drupal 9. Let’s start!

Getting Started

To begin the installation process, please download the installation files from GitHub. Afterward, please access your Drupal backend by going to the following address: “drupalsite.com/user/login” and replace “drupalsite.com” with your actual domain name. Doing so will launch the login page where you need to insert your login credentials into the corresponding Username and Password fields.

Once the credentials have been entered, please press the “Log in” button.

Installing the LSCache Module

When you log into the admin dashboard, please click on the “Manage” option located at the top menu. This action will open up an additional menu underneath. From the new menu, please select the “Extend” option.

You will be redirected to a new page where you can manage your Drupal modules. To install a new one, please click on the blue “+ install new module” button, located on the top left side of the screen.

Doing so will open a page where you can either install this module from a specific URL or simply upload a file from your PC or device. As we have previously downloaded the required file, we upload it by clicking on the “Choose File” button. 

This will present a screen allowing you to browse your PC or device’s files and select the desired one. When you have done that, please press the “Install” button located underneath the “Choose File” section.

There will be a brief loading period. Once it is completed, you will receive a message indicating the installation was successfully completed.

From the 3 links available on the success page, please select the “Enable newly added modules”.

When you are redirected to the module list page, please use the search bar at the top to filter out the results. You can do so by typing in “LiteSpeed Cache” inside. Once the result is presented, please tick the corresponding checkbox and then click the “Install” button.

After a few seconds, the page will refresh, and the module will be installed. The last thing you need to do before you finalize the process entirely is to add the following snippet of code at the top of your .htaccess file:

<IfModule LiteSpeed>

CacheLookup on

</IfModule>

Once the code is inserted, please make sure to save the file.

Configuring the LSCache Module

The configuration options for the Drupal 8 LSCache module are pretty scarce, as the LiteSpeed team ensured all the optimal settings required are built-in the module core. We will, however, go over them so that you have an idea of what they include and where you can locate them.

From the top menu, please select the “Manage” option, then select the “Configuration” option from the submenu.

When you get redirected to the configuration page, you will see a lot of sections. The one you should be looking for is the “Development” section. Under it, please select the “LSCache Settings” option.

This action will take you to the LSCache configuration settings:

• Clear this site - Clicking on this button will clear the cache on this site only. This is very useful if you have other websites utilizing LSCache functionality (such as WordPress, Magento, OpenCart, etc.).
• Clear all - Clicking on this button will clear the cache on ALL websites using LSCache functionality. This includes other Drupal installations on your account along with any other open-source applications such as WordPress, Magento, Prestashop, etc.
• Cache Status - This dropdown menu will allow you to turn the LSCache module On or Off.
• Debug - This dropdown will allow you to turn the debugging option for the LSCache module On or Off. We recommend you to turn it Off unless you are troubleshooting an issue that is related to the module.
• Public Cache TTL - The default setting of 28800 seconds will be optimal here unless you are editing your site or constantly adding new content - in this case, you may want to reduce it accordingly.

If you made any changes to the module’s settings, please do not forget to press the “Save configuration” button at the bottom to apply them.

And there you have it! The method of installing, activating, and configuring the LSCache Drupal 8 module. The LiteSpeed team have really outdone themselves with this one as they managed to implement the majority of the cool things inside the core of the plugin, instead of overwhelming the users with a lot of confusing and technical configuration options. If you are not confident enough to perform this installation on your end, please feel free to contact our Technical Support team over the ticketing system on our website. They are 24/7 available at your disposal.