What Is Browser Caching and How to Configure It

Short answer

Browser caching stores copies of resources locally so repeat visits load faster. Servers control caching behavior through HTTP headers.

How it works

When a browser requests a resource, the server responds with Cache-Control directives. The browser stores the file and serves it from disk on subsequent requests until it expires.

Example

Cache-Control: public, max-age=31536000, immutable

This tells the browser to cache the file for one year and never revalidate it.

Why it matters

Caching eliminates redundant downloads. Properly configured caching can make repeat visits nearly instant and reduce server load significantly.