Cache Plugin

Every visit to your classifieds site rebuilds the same page

On an Osclass classifieds site, every time someone opens the home page, a search or a listing, PHP and MySQL run all the functions and queries to build the page from scratch. With many listings, several active plugins and heavy traffic, the server spends RAM and CPU repeating work it already did, and visitors pay for it with waiting. Cache Plugin generates static HTML files and serves them to the next visitors instead of rebuilding the page.

A walk-through with a published listing: what gets cached and when it renews

Imagine you publish a new listing and someone visits it. This is how Cache Plugin works:

• First visit: the page is built as usual and an HTML copy is saved. This applies to the home page, searches (each combination of parameters), each listing separately, contact, static pages and register or login.
• Later visits: that copy is reused, without repeating the queries.
• When something changes: when a listing is published, a comment is added or edited, or a listing is edited or changes status, the affected cache is regenerated so nobody sees old content.
• Over time: you can set a renewal interval so expired cache is recreated automatically, and automatically delete unused cache after a number of days to recover space.

One detail matters on sites with filters: searches with a filter set to 0 (for example individual, non-premium or price from 0) have their own file and are no longer mixed with the unfiltered page. This applies to any search parameter, including custom fields.

Cache Plugin with logged-in users: more speed, more space

You can enable the cache for logged-in users too, but it costs space: separate files have to be generated for each user. If your site has many registered users, work out the disk space before enabling it. The option to compress files reduces that space, although you must test that your hosting supports it.

With the administrator, behavior is different: when you browse your site, cache is never created. If you enable the admin cache option, you only see files that are already cached; otherwise you see the site in real time. It is useful for reviewing changes without doubts.

Clear only what you need

You don't have to wipe everything each time. You can clear by section (home, listings, search, static pages, login, contact and blog) or remove the cache of a specific listing, static page or blog post by ID or URL, with all its language and device copies. If you are logged in as an administrator, a small box in the lower-right corner of the site lets you clear the page you are viewing.

It also covers multilanguage sites (different files per language), the mobile version, dark mode and RTL languages, each with its own file, and the pages of the blog plugin.

What Cache Plugin doesn't do

It is a plugin for Osclass only, it does not work with WordPress. It doesn't replace a solid foundation: it doesn't optimize images or serve content from a distribution network, although it is designed to coexist with the CDN, WebP images and S3 / AWS storage plugins. And some pages can't be cached, such as those that depend on a social login.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You don't need to touch the theme or write code.

What happens with the cache files?

They are stored in the uploads folder, inside oc-content, in a subfolder called cache. Watch their size if you enable the cache for logged-in users.

Does it work with the GDPR plugin?

Yes, it doesn't cache the notice shown by the GDPR plugin.

Will I see outdated content after publishing a listing?

You shouldn't: the cache refreshes with new listings, edits, status changes and comments. Still, test your usual workflow in the demo.