Cache Pro — Full Page Cache with Brotli, Warm-Up & AJAX - Module PrestaShop

Why is your PrestaShop store slow?

Every time a visitor loads a page, PrestaShop runs the full stack: framework initialization, database connection, hundreds of SQL queries, Smarty template compilation, hook execution for every installed module, and finally HTML generation. On a store with dozens of modules and thousands of products, this cycle takes 1 to 5 seconds per page.

During that time, your visitor stares at a blank screen. If your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, over 50% of visitors will leave — straight to a competitor. Google also factors page speed into its ranking algorithm through Core Web Vitals, meaning a slow store hurts both your conversion rate and your SEO.

The solution: Full Page Cache

Cache Pro saves the final HTML output of each page the first time it's generated, then serves that pre-built file directly to every subsequent visitor. The server no longer needs to run PHP or query the database — it simply reads a file and sends it. The result is immediate and dramatic:

• TTFB drops from 1–5 seconds to under 100ms
• Zero SQL queries on cached pages
• Google PageSpeed score jumps 20–40 points
• Your server handles 10× more simultaneous visitors with less CPU

What makes Cache Pro different

Brotli & Gzip pre-compression

Every cached page is compressed at save time in both Gzip and Brotli formats. When a visitor requests a page, Cache Pro serves the optimal format based on their browser's Accept-Encoding header. Brotli delivers 15–20% better compression than Gzip, meaning smaller files and faster transfers — especially on mobile connections. Unlike on-the-fly compression, pre-compression adds zero CPU overhead at serve time.

HTML minification

Before compression, Cache Pro strips unnecessary whitespace, HTML comments, blank lines and tabs from the cached output. This reduces the raw HTML size by 10–15%, which stacks on top of the Gzip/Brotli gains. The result: the lightest possible payload for every page. Safe for virtually all themes — disable with one click if needed.

AJAX dynamic blocks (hole punching)

This is the feature most cache modules get wrong. When you cache a full page, visitor-specific elements like the shopping cart and login/user name get frozen in the HTML. Other modules solve this by simply excluding logged-in users from the cache entirely — wasting up to 50% of your potential performance gains.

Cache Pro takes a smarter approach: it replaces dynamic blocks with loading skeletons in the cached HTML, then fills them with fresh content via a lightweight AJAX request after the page loads. Your visitors see the page in milliseconds, and their cart and account info appear a fraction of a second later — always accurate, always up to date.

Pre-configured for the cart block and user info block on PrestaShop Classic and Hummingbird themes. Add any custom dynamic block with a CSS selector and hook name.

Smart auto-invalidation

You should never have to clear the cache manually after editing your store. Cache Pro hooks into PrestaShop's core events and automatically purges only the affected pages when you:

• Edit, add or delete a product (purges the product page + parent categories + homepage)
• Edit, add or delete a category (purges the category + parent categories)
• Edit a CMS page (purges that page only)
• Add or remove a specific price / promotion (purges the product + category + deals page)
• Process an order that changes stock levels (purges affected product pages)

No bulk purge needed. No stale content. The cache stays fresh without any manual intervention.

Cache warm-up

After a full purge or a fresh install, the cache is empty and the first visitors to each page experience normal (slow) load times. Cache Pro's built-in warm-up crawler solves this by pre-visiting every URL from your sitemap or product catalog, filling the cache before any real visitor arrives.

• Three speed presets: Cautious (2 pages at a time), Recommended (5), Fast (10)
• Real-time progress bar with page count and estimated time remaining
• Automatically suggested after a full cache purge

7-factor context separation

PrestaShop pages change based on visitor context. Cache Pro generates a unique cache key from 7 factors to ensure every visitor gets the right version:

• Language — French visitors see French, English visitors see English
• Currency — prices display in EUR, USD, CHF depending on selection
• Country — tax rules (VAT included/excluded) apply correctly
• Customer group — wholesale vs. retail pricing stays accurate
• Shop — multistore setups have fully isolated caches
• Device — mobile and desktop versions cached separately if your theme serves different HTML
• Cookie consent — GDPR-compliant content variations handled properly

A Swiss visitor browsing in CHF will never receive the cached page of a French visitor in EUR.

Visual performance dashboard

Cache Pro includes a clean, beginner-friendly dashboard that shows you exactly what the cache is doing — no technical knowledge required:

• Speed comparison: average response time without cache vs. with cache, with a clear "×27 faster" multiplier
• Cache efficiency gauge: circular progress with color-coded verdict (Excellent / OK / Needs work) and actionable advice
• Breakdown by page type: visual bars showing which pages benefit the most (products, categories, home, CMS)
• Key metrics: total cached pages, pages served from cache, disk space used

Easy selective purge

Need to refresh specific pages? Instead of cryptic "Purge" buttons, Cache Pro offers clear cards for each page type with:

• The number of cached pages for that type
• A plain-language explanation of when to refresh (e.g., "Refresh if you modified prices, descriptions or product images")
• A confirmation dialog on full cache clear to prevent accidental purges
• Automatic warm-up suggestion after a full purge

REST API for external tools

Sync your store with an ERP, PIM or deployment pipeline? Cache Pro exposes secure API endpoints (token-protected) to purge by type, by product ID, by category ID, or trigger a warm-up — all from a simple HTTP request.

Full feature list

• Full page cache with ob_start() + register_shutdown_function()
• Early request interception via actionDispatcher hook
• Gzip + Brotli pre-compressed cache files
• HTML minification (comments, whitespace, blank lines)
• AJAX dynamic blocks with loading skeletons (cart, user info, custom)
• Smart auto-invalidation on product, category, CMS, stock and price changes
• Cache warm-up with sitemap/catalog crawler and progress bar
• 7-factor cache key (language, currency, country, group, shop, device, cookie consent)
• Configurable TTL per page type with recommended defaults
• Selective purge by page type with confirmation dialog
• Page exclusions by type (checkboxes), by URL pattern (regex), and by IP
• Debug mode with HTTP headers (X-PsCache: HIT/MISS, Age, Key, TTL)
• REST API with token authentication (purge, warm-up, stats)
• Performance dashboard (speed comparison, hit rate, breakdown by type)
• Automatic bypass for logged-in users, POST requests, non-200 responses
• Full multistore, multilanguage and multicurrency support
• Compatible with PrestaShop 8.x and 9.x
• Compatible with Classic, Hummingbird and third-party themes
• Works on any hosting (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud) — no server config required

Who is Cache Pro for?

• Store owners with 100 to 10,000+ products who want faster pages without technical complexity
• SEO-focused merchants looking to improve Core Web Vitals and Google PageSpeed scores
• Stores on shared hosting that need to reduce server load and handle more traffic
• Agencies managing multiple PrestaShop stores who need a reliable, API-driven cache solution