Drupal Website Speed Optimisation: Caching, LiteSpeed and Core Web Vitals

Website speed affects visitor experience, conversions and Google rankings. Google assesses page experience through Core Web Vitals — especially on mobile devices, because Google uses mobile-first indexing. Here is the approach we use for Drupal websites.

Know the three Core Web Vitals metrics

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — how quickly the largest element on screen appears. Target: under 2.5 seconds.
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint) — how quickly the page responds to interaction. Target: under 200 milliseconds.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — how stable the layout is while loading. Target: under 0.1.

Track all three with PageSpeed Insights and the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console.

1. Enable Drupal's built-in caches

Drupal has an Internal Page Cache for anonymous visitors and a Dynamic Page Cache for logged-in users. Make sure both are enabled and cache tags work properly, so pages are not rebuilt on every visit.

2. Use server-level cache: LiteSpeed Cache

If your hosting uses LiteSpeed Web Server, server-level cache can serve pages directly without running PHP and the database. The result is a dramatic drop in server response time (TTFB). What matters is the right purge configuration, so updated pages show their latest version immediately.

3. Optimise images

Use image styles and responsive images so image size matches the screen, modern formats such as WebP, and lazy loading for images below the fold. Do not lazy-load the hero image, because that actually slows down LCP.

4. Aggregate and minify CSS/JS

Enable CSS and JavaScript aggregation in Drupal's performance settings, and reduce third-party scripts (widgets, trackers, chat) that are not really needed.

5. Prevent layout shifts

Set dimensions for images and embeds, load fonts with the right strategy, and avoid inserting banners above the content after the page has appeared.

6. Adequate server and PHP

The latest supported PHP version, OPcache and server resources matched to your traffic have a big impact. High-traffic websites should use a VPS or managed server.

Does your website feel slow?

We can check your website's speed and Core Web Vitals, then give recommendations for improvement. Contact us via WhatsApp +62 813-5767-5500 or email [email protected]. See also our SEO & content strategy and hosting & managed server services.