The web server is the software that answers every request to your website. MdmHost runs LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) on its cPanel servers instead of plain Apache. This guide explains what that means for your site and why you rarely need to change anything to benefit from it.
Before you start
No setup is needed: every MdmHost web hosting and reseller hosting account already runs on LiteSpeed. To use its page cache you need a cache plugin or rules, covered below.
LiteSpeed in one paragraph
LiteSpeed Web Server is a commercial, drop-in replacement for Apache. It reads the same configuration, including .htaccess files and mod_rewrite rules, so sites built for Apache run unchanged. Inside, it uses an event-driven design like Nginx, handling thousands of connections with little memory, and it has a built-in page cache (LSCache) and a fast PHP handler (LSAPI).
How it compares
| Apache | Nginx | LiteSpeed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reads .htaccess | Yes | No | Yes |
| Architecture | Process/thread based | Event driven | Event driven |
| Built-in page cache | No | FastCGI cache (manual) | LSCache, controlled by plugins |
| PHP handler | PHP-FPM / suPHP | PHP-FPM | LSAPI |
| HTTP/3 (QUIC) | No | Recent versions | Yes |
For a deeper comparison see Nginx vs Apache vs OpenLiteSpeed. OpenLiteSpeed is the free edition; cPanel servers use the enterprise edition.
What you get without doing anything
- Faster static files: images, CSS and JavaScript are served efficiently.
- HTTP/2 and HTTP/3: modern browsers load pages over faster protocols automatically when SSL is active.
- Brotli and gzip compression.
- Better resilience under traffic: event-driven handling copes with spikes and slow clients.
- Anti-DDoS features: connection and request throttling at the server level.
What you get with LSCache
The biggest speed gain comes from LiteSpeed's page cache. A cached page is served directly by the web server without running PHP or querying MySQL, often in a few milliseconds. To use it:
- WordPress: install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin (see configuring LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress).
- Other apps: plugins exist for Joomla, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Drupal and more, or use rewrite rules (see LSCache with .htaccess rules).
Caching also keeps your account well under its CloudLinux entry process limit, which prevents 508 errors.
What is different from Apache
- Some rare Apache modules have no LiteSpeed equivalent. Common ones (rewrite, headers, expires, deflate, security) are supported. See .htaccess compatibility.
- LiteSpeed reloads
.htaccesschanges automatically, but caches them briefly. - Response headers mention LiteSpeed, for example
server: LiteSpeed.
Check that your site uses LiteSpeed
- Open your site in Chrome, press F12 and go to the Network tab.
- Reload and click the first request.
- Under Response Headers, look for
server: LiteSpeed. If you use LSCache, you also seex-litespeed-cache: hiton cached pages.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to change my site to move from Apache?
Almost never. LiteSpeed reads Apache configuration and .htaccess files, so migrations from Apache hosts usually work without changes.
Is LiteSpeed only for WordPress?
No. Any PHP or static site benefits. WordPress gets the easiest caching through the official plugin.
Does MdmHost charge extra for LiteSpeed?
No. It is part of every MdmHost cPanel hosting plan.