Effective caching operates at three layers: browser caching (the visitor's device stores assets locally), CDN edge caching (a server geographically close to the visitor serves cached copies) and server-side page caching (your origin server generates the page once and stores the HTML). Each layer reduces time-to-first-byte (TTFB) and server load independently.
Set Cache-Control headers on static assets (images, CSS, JS, fonts) with long max-age values. Images and fonts can safely be set to one year. JS and CSS files should be fingerprinted (hashed filenames) so they can also be cached at one year without stale content risk. Configure these headers at the server or CDN level, not in the CMS.
A CDN with edge nodes in Sydney and Melbourne reduces latency for the majority of Australian web traffic. Cloudflare's free tier covers most SME requirements. Paid tiers add image optimisation, cache analytics and cache purge on deploy. For Shopify, the CDN is managed by Shopify. For WordPress on a managed host, the CDN is typically included.
For WordPress: WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache with full-page caching enabled stores pre-rendered HTML and bypasses PHP execution on repeat visits. For custom applications: Redis object caching stores database query results. Measure TTFB before and after enabling page caching — a well-configured WordPress site can drop from 800ms to under 200ms TTFB with page caching alone.
A professional load speed audit and fix project starts from $900 at TPR Media. The scope depends on platform complexity, hosting environment and the number of issues found. WordPress stores with many plugins typically need more work than a clean Shopify build.
Most one-off speed projects are complete within five to ten business days. Emergency fixes for critical Core Web Vitals failures can turn around faster. Ongoing tuning retainers run month to month.
Yes. Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal. Improving Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift and Interaction to Next Paint can lift your position, especially in competitive categories where technical quality separates similar-authority sites.
Yes. TPR Media audits and fixes WordPress, Shopify and Magento sites regardless of who built them. We start with a full Lighthouse and Web Vitals audit before touching anything.
TPR Media operates from Level 34, 1 Eagle Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000, serving clients across Brisbane and Australia-wide.
TPR Media explains website caching strategy for Australian sites: browser cache headers with fingerprinted assets, CDN edge configuration for Sydney and Melbourne audiences, and full-page caching for WordPress and Shopify that reduces TTFB by up to 75%.