WP Lightning Load is designed to work on a broad range of hosting environments, but there are sensible
minimums to ensure stable operation. You need WordPress 4.5 or later and PHP 5.4 or later. On Apache
servers—which are the most common in shared hosting—make sure mod_expires and
mod_headers are enabled, since the plugin writes caching rules into .htaccess.
If you plan to enable Gzip compression through the plugin’s advanced options, you’ll also want
mod_deflate enabled. Your WordPress root directory and .htaccess file should
be writable by PHP so rules can be updated when saving cache settings.
For image optimization, confirm that the PHP GD extension is active. The plugin checks whether your GD
build supports WebP and AVIF; if not, you can still run everything else, but image conversion benefits
won’t be available. If you intend to cache external resources, your server should allow outbound
HTTP/HTTPS connections and support allow_url_fopen or cURL. While not mandatory, a memory
limit of at least 128 MB (preferably 256 MB) and reasonable max execution time will make batch
operations—like bulk image optimization—smoother.
If you’re on Nginx or LiteSpeed, the plugin can still guide you on caching principles, though you’ll
apply equivalent rules in server configuration rather than .htaccess. Regardless of stack,
always ensure you have backups before making sweeping changes. Meeting these requirements helps the
plugin deliver its full set of optimizations reliably and with minimal manual intervention.