Caching Made Easy… Lower Server Load on PHP/MySQL WebSites

I used to always compile the pages every morning on my site so that they were static, however I wanted a more automatic solution. Below I will show you how to Cache any PHP webpage automatically.

First you will need to download the php library below and upload it to your webserver.

http://pear.php.net/package/Cache_Lite

Next let’s create the php script that will control the cache.

Place Section 1 in the very top of your php page.

<?php
require_once('YOUR-CACHE-DIRECTORY/cache/Lite.php');
 
$pageid = "CREATE-A-UNIQUE-PAGE-ID-OR-NAME";
 
$options = array(
'cacheDir' = 'YOUR-CACHE-DIRECTORY/cache/',
'lifeTime' = 28800
);
 
$Cache_Lite = new Cache_Lite($options);
 
if($data = $Cache_Lite->get($pageid))
{
	echo $data;
 
} else { // No valid cache found (you have to make the page)
 
	ob_start();
?>

<?php
 
	$final_data = ob_get_contents();
 
	ob_end_flush();
 
	$Cache_Lite->save($final_data); // this will save your output
} // close else statement
?>

Once completed, the first load should create your cached file. The second time you refresh the page it should show you the cached file.

As always, please leave comments below.