> ## 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 OpenCart
> Learn how to optimize your OpenCart site and boost its performance. Follow our step-by-step OpenCart optimizations to improve speed!
This article describes specific steps you can take to optimize an OpenCart site.
## Optimizing OpenCart
There are several modifications you can make to OpenCart that help improve your site's speed and responsiveness. The procedures below show you how to do this so your site is optimized for high performance.
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.
### Search engine optimization for URLs
OpenCart includes settings to optimize your store's URLs for search engines, but they are disabled by default. To enable these settings, follow these steps:
1. Using the [cPanel File Manager](/docs/cpanel-file-manager) or the SSH command prompt, in the directory where you installed OpenCart, rename the *.htaccess.txt* file to *.htaccess*. The *.htaccess* file contains rewrite rules for the sitemap file and other URLs.
> 🚧 Important
>
> If you installed OpenCart in a subdirectory beneath the *public\_html* directory, you must make an additional modification to the *.htaccess* file. To do this:
>
> * Using the [cPanel File Manager](/docs/cpanel-file-manager)or the SSH command prompt, open the *.htaccess* file in your preferred text editor.
>
> * Locate the following line of text:
>
> ```
> RewriteBase /
> ```
>
> * Add the name of the directory where you installed OpenCart. For example, if you installed OpenCart in the *public\_html/shop* directory, type `/shop`.
### Apache optimizations
You can add compression and caching directives to the *.htaccess* file in OpenCart's root directory to help decrease page load times for your site.
#### 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 OpenCart, follow these steps:
1. Open the *.htaccess* file in your preferred text editor.
2. Add the following lines to the *.htaccess* file:
```
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/css text/javascript application/javascript
```
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 OpenCart, follow these steps:
1. Open the *.htaccess* file in your preferred text editor.
2. Add the following lines to the *.htaccess* file:
```
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 month"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 month"
ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 month"
ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 week"
```
> 👍 Tip
>
> If your store's content changes frequently, you can shorten the expiration intervals. The settings above should be sufficient for the majority of store configurations, however.
3. Save your changes to the *.htaccess* file. The changes take effect immediately.
### Product counters for categories
By default, OpenCart counts the number of products in each subcategory. If your store has a lot of subcategories, however, this feature can negatively affect performance. To disable product counters, follow these steps:
1. Log in to OpenCart as the administrator.
2. Do one of the following steps:
* If you are running OpenCart 1.5, on the top menu bar, click **System**, and then click **Settings**.
* If you are running OpenCart 2.0, in the left pane, click the  icon, and then click **Settings**.
3. Do one of the following steps:
* If you are running OpenCart 1.5, select your store, and then click **Edit**.
* If you are running OpenCart 2.0, select your store, and then click the **Edit** () icon.
4. Click the **Option** tab.
5. Under **Products**, for the **Category Product Count** option, click **No**.
6. Do one of the following steps:
* If you are running OpenCart 1.5, click **Save**.
* If you are running OpenCart 2.0, click the **Save** () icon.
## Related articles
* [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)