How To Safely Enable ModPagespeed for Your Website

Hosting your website with WebHostingM and itching to take more control over your website's performance? Discover how to activate mod_pagespeed, a powerful Google web server module, to automatically optimize and enhance your website's performance. Follow these step-by-step instructions to enable mod_pagespeed securely and efficiently, ensuring improved website speed and user experience.

ModPagespeed is a valuable tool for optimizing website performance by applying various filters to web pages and associated assets. Enabling mod_pagespeed can significantly enhance website speed and user experience. However, it's essential to proceed with caution and understand the potential risks and security considerations involved.

Why Is This Important?

Optimizing website performance is crucial for enhancing user experience, improving search engine rankings, and increasing website traffic. By enabling mod_pagespeed, website owners can automate optimization processes and achieve faster page load times, ultimately leading to better user engagement and satisfaction.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Understand the Risks:

• ModPagespeed can enhance website performance, but it's essential to be aware of potential stability issues and security risks.
• Before enabling mod_pagespeed, familiarize yourself with its functionality and potential impact on your website.

2. Ensure HTTPS Enablement:

• Before proceeding, ensure that the domain you intend to activate mod_pagespeed on is HTTPS enabled. This is crucial for maintaining website security and compatibility.

3. Access cPanel File Manager:

• Log in to your cPanel hosting panel and navigate to the Files section.
• Select File Manager to access your website's files. The File Manager displays a directory structure representing your website's files. For instance, website content is usually stored in the public_html directory.

4. Edit .htaccess File:

• Locate the .htaccess file within your website's directory.

• If the .htaccess file is not visible, configure File Manager to show hidden files or create one manually if necessary.

• Click on the Edit icon. This will open the file's contents in a new window.

• Add the following line:

  ModPagespeed on
  

• You can download the complete code from here for reference.

5. Save Changes:

• After adding the ModPagespeed directive to the .htaccess file, click the Save Changes button on the top toolbar. Congratulations, your website files have been updated.

6. Verify ModPagespeed Activation:

• Visit your website to ensure that everything is functioning correctly after enabling mod_pagespeed.
• Verify mod_pagespeed activation by checking response headers via your browser's developer tools, using the curl command, examining web page source code, or utilizing third-party tools like Security Headers Checker or HTTP Headers Checker.

Cautionary Note for WordPress Users

If you're using WordPress with a caching plugin like AccelerateWP, avoid enabling ModPagespeed. Both tools provide similar website optimization functionalities, and using them together can create conflicts. In this case, leverage the caching features offered by AccelerateWP. The same may apply to customers using Cloudflare.

Enabling mod_pagespeed offers website owners a powerful solution for automating website optimization and improving performance. By following these steps, you can safely activate mod_pagespeed for your website, enhancing speed, user experience, and overall website performance.

Assistance and/or Help:

If you encounter any challenges or require assistance while enabling mod_pagespeed for your website or believe that the module hasn't been enabled on the web server hosting your website, our expert support team is available to provide guidance and assistance. Submit a support ticket for prompt assistance and resolution.