> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.hosting.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Optimizing Magento for performance

> Learn how to optimize Magento to improve its performance! Just follow our easy, step-by-step articles to give your Magento site that extra speed boost!

This article describes specific steps you can take to optimize a Magento site.

<Warning>
  **Important**

  Magento is a resource-intensive application, and your server should have at least 16GB RAM to run it, with 32GB recommended. You need either a high-end VPS or a Dedicated hosting plan to run Magento effectively. Regular shared hosting accounts do not have sufficient resources to run a full Magento web site.
</Warning>

## Optimizing Magento

Magento includes several configuration options that you can use to help improve your site's speed and responsiveness. The procedures below show how to configure these options so they are optimized for high performance.

<Warning>
  **Important**

  The settings described in this article apply to **Magento 2 and 1.9** . Earlier Magento versions may not include some of these settings.

  👍 Tip

  If you configure the settings as described below and your site's performance is still not at the level you want, there are additional options:

  * Turbo Hosting use a drop-in Apache replacement that can load pages significantly faster than regular web hosting accounts.
  * Managed VPS, Managed Dedicated Server, Turbo Hosting can use [Memcached](/docs/do-you-support-memcached-hosting)to decrease page load times.
  * Managed VPS and Managed Dedicated Server accounts can use [Redis](/docs/do-you-support-redis)to decrease page load times.
</Warning>

### Cron job

By default on managed servers, the Magento cron job runs every 15 minutes. However, this frequent interval is unnecessary and can lead to performance issues that not only affect your account, but other accounts as well. For step-by-step instructions about how to configure Magento's cron jobs for optimal performance and help avoid potential slowdowns, please see [this article](/docs/optimizing-magento-cron-jobs-on-shared-hosting-accounts).

### Logging

Magento's default log setting can cause databases to grow very large, affecting site performance. By optimizing Magento's log settings and cleaning the database log tables, you can significantly reduce database sizes and improve site performance. For step-by-step instructions about how to do this, please see [this article](/docs/optimizing-magento-log-settings).

### Caching

Magento includes several built-in caches, and you should make sure that they are all enabled for your store. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account, and then:
   * For Magento 2, on the left sidebar, click **SYSTEM**, and then click **Cache Management**.
   * For Magento 1.9, on the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Cache Management**.
2. Under **Cache Storage Management**, confirm that the status for all of the caches is set to **ENABLED**.
   > 📘 Note
   >
   > If a cache is not enabled, select the check box for the cache type, in the list box select **Enable** , and then click **Submit** .

### Local modules

<Warning>
  **Important**

  The following optimization only applies to **Magento 1.9** .
</Warning>

Custom modules are stored in Magento's\_app/code/local\_ directory. If there are no files in this directory (or if the *local* directory does not even exist), you can instruct Magento to ignore the directory, which can improve performance.

To do this, open the *app/etc/local.xml* file in your preferred text editor, and then set the **\<disable\_local\_modules>** tag to **true** as shown:

```text theme={null}
<disable_local_modules>true</disable_local_modules>
```

To re-enable local modules, set the **\<disable\_local\_modules>** tag to **false**.

### Apache optimizations

Magento's\_.htaccess\_ file contains some Apache optimizations that are disabled by default. By enabling these optimizations, you can help decrease page load times for your store.

#### Compression

The Apache **mod\_deflate** module enables you to compress output. This both saves bandwidth and ensures faster page download times. To enable output compression for Magento, follow these steps:

1. Open the *.htaccess* file in your preferred text editor.
2. Uncomment the lines in the **mod\_deflate** text block as follows:
   ```text theme={null}
   <IfModule mod_deflate.c>
   ############################################
   # enable apache served files compression
   # http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html#gzip
   # Insert filter on all content
       SetOutputFilter DEFLATE
   # Insert filter on selected content types only
       AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css text/javascript
   # Netscape 4.x has some problems…
       BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4 gzip-only-text/html
   # Netscape 4.06-4.08 have some more problems
       BrowserMatch ^Mozilla/4\.0[678] no-gzip
   # MSIE masquerades as Netscape, but it is fine
       BrowserMatch \bMSIE!no-gzip!gzip-only-text/html
   # Don't compress images
       SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI \.(?:gif|jpe?g|png)$ no-gzip dont-vary
   # Make sure proxies don't deliver the wrong content
       Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary
   </IfModule>
   ```
3. Save your changes to the *.htaccess* file. The changes take effect immediately.

#### Browser caching

The Apache **mod\_expires** module enables you to instruct web browsers how long to cache certain types of content. This both saves bandwidth and ensures faster page download times. To enable browser caching directives for Magento, follow these steps:

1. Open the *.htaccess* file in your preferred text editor, and then:
   * For Magento 2, uncomment the lines in the **mod\_expires** text block as follows:
   ```text theme={null}
   <IfModule mod_expires.c>
   ############################################
   ## Add default Expires header
   ## http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html#expires
       ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 year"
       ExpiresByType text/html A0
       ExpiresByType text/plain A0
   </IfModule>
   ```
   * For Magento 1.9, uncomment the lines in the **mod\_expires** text block as follows:
   ```text theme={null}
   <IfModule mod_expires.c>
   ############################################
   ## Add default Expires header
   ## http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html#expires
       ExpiresActive On
       ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 week"
   </IfModule>
   ```
2. Save your changes to the *.htaccess* file. The changes take effect immediately.

### JavaScript and CSS files

You can reduce your store's page load times by minimizing the number of HTTP requests required to load a page. One way to do this is to merge Magento's JavaScript and CSS files into single files.

#### Magento 2

To merge and minify JavaScript and CSS files on Magento 2, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account.
2. On the left sidebar, click **STORES**, and then under **Settings**, click **Configuration**.
3. Click **ADVANCED**, and then click **Developer**.
4. Click **JavaScript Settings**, and then in the **Merge JavaScript Files** list box, select **Yes**.
5. In the **Minify JavaScript Files** list box, select **Yes**.
6. Click **CSS Settings**, and then in the **Merge CSS Files** list box, select **Yes**.
7. In the **Minify CSS Files** list box, select **Yes**.
8. Click **Save Config**.
   > 👍 Tip
   >
   > It can be hard to debug JavaScript and CSS files when they are merged and minified. If you are doing development work or need to troubleshoot a problem, disable the options in steps 4 to 7. Magento will split the JavaScript and CSS files back into multiple files.

#### Magento 1.9

To merge JavaScript and CSS files on Magento 1.9, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account.
2. On the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Configuration**.
3. In the **Configuration** pane on the left side, scroll down the page, and then under **ADVANCED**, click **Developer**.
4. Click **JavaScript Settings**, and then in the **Merge JavaScript Files** list box, select **Yes**.
5. Click **CSS Settings**, and then in the **Merge CSS Files** list box, select **Yes**.
6. Click **Save Config**.
   > 👍 Tip
   >
   > It can be hard to debug JavaScript and CSS files when they are merged. If you are doing development work or need to troubleshoot a problem, disable the options in steps 4 and 5. Magento will split the JavaScript and CSS files back into multiple files.

### Flat catalogs

By default, Magento uses its own Entity Attribute Value (EAV) model to store customer and product information. Although this method is flexible, it may result in slower and more complex SQL queries.

Flat catalogs are an alternative to EAV. In flat catalogs, Magento merges product and category data into single tables, as opposed to the multiple tables for EAV. Doing this often improves database performance and response time.

<Warning>
  **Important**

  You should experiment with flat catalogs to see if they improve your own store's performance. Not all store configurations will benefit from using flat catalogs.
</Warning>

#### Magento 2

To enable flat catalogs for your store on Magento 2, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account.
2. On the left sidebar, click **SYSTEM**, and then click **Index Management**.
3. Select the **Product Flat Data** check box.
4. Select the **Category Flat Data** check box.
5. In the **Actions** list box, select **Update on Save**, and then click **Submit**.
6. On the left sidebar, click **STORES**, and then click **Configuration**.
7. Click **CATALOG**, and then click **Catalog**.
8. Click **Storefront**.
9. In the **Use Flat Catalog Category** list box, select **Yes**.
10. In the **Use Flat Catalog Product** list box, select **Yes**.
11. Click **Save Config**.
12. Flush the Magento cache:
    * On the left sidebar, click **SYSTEM**, and then click **Cache Management**.
    * Click **Flush Cache Storage**.
    * Click **Flush Magento Cache**.

#### Magento 1.9

To enable flat catalogs for your store on Magento 1.9, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account.
2. On the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Index Management**.
3. Select the check box for **Product Flat Data**.
4. Select the check box for **Category Flat Data**.
5. In the **Actions** list box, select **Reindex Data**, and then click **Submit**.
6. On the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Configuration**.
7. In the **Configuration** pane on the left side, under **CATALOG**, click **Catalog**.
8. Click **Frontend**.
9. In the **Use Flat Catalog Category** list box, select **Yes**.
10. In the **Use Flat Catalog Product** list box, select **Yes**.
11. Click **Save Config**.
12. Flush the Magento cache:
    * On the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Cache Management**.
    * Under **Cache Storage Management**, click **Flush Cache Storage**.

### 404 errors

When a web browser requests a page or resource that does not exist on the server, a 404 Not Found error occurs. Magento replaces the server's default 404 Not Found page with its own custom page. This means that every time a 404 Not Found error occurs, the Magento application runs, increasing CPU load.

To help reduce load on the server, you should make sure that your Magento store does not contain links to nonexistent resources.

### Module output

You can disable the output from any unused modules. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account, and then:
   * For Magento 2, on the left sidebar, click **STORES**, and then click **Configuration**. Click **ADVANCED**, and then click **Advanced**.
   * For Magento 1.9, on the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Configuration**. In the **Configuration** pane on the left side, scroll down the page, and then under **ADVANCED**, click **Advanced**.
2. Under **Disable Modules Output**, locate the module output you want to disable, and then select **Disable**.
3. Click **Save Config**.
   > 🚧 Important
   >
   > This procedure only disables the *output* a module generates—it does not disable the module itself. To disable a module completely:
   >
   > * For Magento 2, you can use the command-line interface (CLI) to disable modules. For example, to disable the *Magento\_Authorizenet* module, type the following command from the directory where you installed Magento:
   >
   > ```bash theme={null}
   > bin/magento module:disable Magento_Authorizenet
   > ```
   >
   > For more information about how to use the Magento 2 CLI, please see [this article](/docs/using-the-magento-command-line-interface-cli).
   >
   > * For Magento 1.9, open the *app/etc/modules/module\_name.xml* file, where ***module\_name*** represents the name of the module you want to disable. In the *module\_name.xml* file, set the **\<active>** tag to **false** as shown:
   >
   > ```text theme={null}
   > <active>true</active
   > ```
   >
   > To re-enable the module, set the **\<active>** tag to **true**.

### Developer debugging and logging

<Warning>
  **Important**

  The following optimization only applies to **Magento 1.9** .
</Warning>

Magento includes several options to help developers debug and troubleshoot problems. These options can consume system resources and negatively affect performance, so they are disabled by default.

You should only enable these options if you need to troubleshoot a specific problem. To verify that these options are disabled for your store, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Magento using your administrator account.
2. On the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Configuration**.
3. In the **Configuration** pane on the left side, scroll down the page, and then under **ADVANCED**, click **Developer**.
4. Click **Debug**.
5. Confirm that the **Profiler** list box is set to **No**.
6. Click **Log Settings**.
7. Confirm that the **Enabled** list box is set to **No**.
8. Click **Save Config**.

## More information

To view the official Magento documentation, please visit [http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base](http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base).

## Related articles

* [Configuring Magento cron jobs on managed hosting accounts](/docs/optimizing-magento-cron-jobs-on-shared-hosting-accounts)
* [Optimizing Magento log settings](/docs/optimizing-magento-log-settings)
* [Configuring caching with the mod\_expires module](/docs/configuring-caching-with-the-mod-expires-module)
* [Data compression using the mod\_deflate module](/docs/data-compression-using-the-mod-deflate-module)