How to Enable Gzip Compression in Apache: 3 Easy Steps

How to enable Gzip compression in Apache for faster website performance? If you want to improve the loading time of your web page, compression and caching are essential steps you should take. Even tech giants like Google use these techniques when evaluating the ranking of web pages.

One of the most effective methods to speed up your website is by enabling Gzip compression in Apache. Gzip reduces the size of HTML, CSS and JavaScript files before they reach the browser, enhancing load times and reducing bandwidth usage.

In this article, we’ll show you how to enable Gzip compression in Apache, ensuring your website performs faster and more efficiently.

What is Gzip Compression?

Gzip is a type of file format highly popular for compression and decompression of files. You can use the Gzip algorithm to reduce the file size. It is mainly used by web servers where they send data to the HTTP client with Gzip compression. It’s mainly done for faster data transfer and low bandwidth consumption.

Enabling Gzip compression is highly recommended so that pages can load faster in browsers. It helps in improving the website speed, which is a major consideration when ranking webpages, by Google.

Why Gzip Compression is Important for Web Pages?

Gzip compression is a crucial optimization technique for web pages, as it significantly reduces file sizes, leading to faster load times and better overall performance. By compressing files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Gzip can save anywhere from 50% to 80% of bandwidth, making it an effective way to improve website efficiency. This reduction in file size means that resources load more quickly, reducing waiting times for users and enhancing the browsing experience.

Additionally, Gzip compression doesn’t negatively impact users on unsupported browsers. Even if a browser doesn’t support Gzip, the webpage will load at its normal speed, without any complications. This ensures that enabling Gzip compression improves performance across most modern browsers while maintaining compatibility with older or unsupported ones.

By utilizing Gzip compression, websites can handle traffic more efficiently, improve their page load speeds, and reduce bandwidth costs. This leads to a smoother user experience, which is crucial for retention and engagement. In turn, faster-loading web pages can help boost search engine rankings, as search engines like Google prioritize speed when evaluating web pages. Therefore, understanding why Gzip compression is important for web pages is key to optimizing site performance and achieving better SEO results.

How to Enable Gzip Compression on Apache?

Gzip compression is a process of zipping or compressing files on a web server before they are delivered or transferred via network to a browser. The browser will un-compress the data before using it. It increases the performance of your website, humongously.

The following steps will explain how to enable Gzip compression on Apache.

Test your URL

Firstly, check whether Gzip is enabled on your website and what is the Gzip compression rate. You can use any online Gzip compression test for the same.

Enable Gzip Compression Using the. htaccess File for Apache

There are two different Apache mods to enable HTTP Gzip compression; mod_gzip and mod_deflate.

mod_gzip enables Gzip compression and mod_deflate compresses the output from the server before it is sent to the visitor. Although both perform the same task, using mod_deflate is recommended since it is widely supported.

mod_deflate is well-documented and easy to configure. It provides the deflate output filter that allows output from your server to be compressed before it is sent to the visitor.

Step #1: Enable Gzip module

The Debian users can enable mod_deflate by running the following command:

sudo a2enmod deflate

Step #2: Configure Gzip compression

You’ll have to define the types of files compressed.  The Gzip compression is recommended for all text files including extensions like .html, .php, .css, .js, .txt, and .json.

Use the below-mentioned identifier in the configuration file.

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/css application/javascript 

Next, you have to add the following code in the Apache Virtual Host to enable Gzip compression for your website. Or, you can add the code to websites with a .htaccess file under the main document root.

   
AddType application/x-javascript .js
AddType text/css .css
  
  
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css application/x-javascript text/x-component text/html text/plain text/xml application/javascript

BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4 gzip-only-text/html
BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4.0[678] no-gzip
BrowserMatch bMSIE !no-gzip !gzip-only-text/html

 
Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary

Step #3: Test compression

Once the code is added to Apache Virtual Host for Gzip compression, you’ll have to verify it’s working. Online tools mentioned below are worthy of testing Gzip compression.

• http://checkgzipcompression.com/
• http://www.whatsmyip.org/http-compression-test/

Wrap Up

In conclusion, by following these steps on how to enable Gzip compression in Apache, you will significantly boost your website’s performance. Reducing load times and saving bandwidth are key factors in improving user experience and enhancing SEO.

With Gzip compression in place, your website will be faster, more efficient, and better positioned to rank higher in search engine results. Congratulations on taking the steps toward optimizing your website’s speed and performance!

How to enable Gzip compression in Apache: FAQs

   
       AddType application/x-javascript .js
       AddType text/css .css
   
   
       AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css application/x-javascript text/x-component text/html text/plain text/xml application/javascript
       
           BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4 gzip-only-text/html
           BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4.0[678] no-gzip
           BrowserMatch bMSIE !no-gzip !gzip-only-text/html
       
   
   Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary