What is caching? In IT, caching refers to the storage of data temporarily in primary storage locations that can be easily accessed faster at a later time. There are various types of caching, including database caching, web caching, and CDN caching, to mention a few. Most of the caching is usually done in the background, meaning that you will not notice what is happening.
How Does Caching Work?
The data stored in cache is often stored in Random Access Memory (RAM) one of the fast access hardware and may also be used together with a software component. When a person wants to access any data, the first place that is checked is the cache, if the data is found, that is what is called a cache hit; if not, it is called a cache miss.
When a cache miss occurs, the data can still be retrieved by being pulled off from the main memory, and it is copied into the cache.
Benefits Of Caching
As mentioned earlier, there are various types of caching whose benefits are as explained below;
1. Enhances the speed of a website
Truth be told, most people who use the internet hate it when a website takes forever to load. As such, most of them will close the site without even finding whatever they needed and look for better options. Dynamic database queries load slower compared to static cached files, which results in a faster and better-performing website. Additionally, faster sites also get a higher rank on the search engines alongside other factors such as quality content and keyword optimization, among others.
2. Better user experience
Generally, when the speed of a website is fast, the users are bound to have an easy time while navigating on it. A faster website means that the users can find whatever they need in a matter of seconds without necessarily having to wait before the page loads. Additionally, a cached site means that the bandwidth that the users will use is less since the static cached files have a smaller size.
3. Reduces load on the back end
Many are the times that databases crash and are slower due to data overload. However, caching redirects most part of the read load from the backend database to the in-memory layer. As a result, it prevents database overload, slower performance, and in worst case scenarios crashing in times of spikes. For example, Magento 2 full page cache is one of the best features that is used in websites to help with reducing the load on the backend making the pages load faster.
4. Reduces network traffic on the internet servers
Caching reduces the load on the hosting server, which in turn saves input-output operations per second as well as server memory. Additionally, caching lowers the transits costs for access providers since a single cache instance provides thousands of input-output operations per second, which in turn replaces several database instances.
Conclusion
Now that you have all the information about what caching is and how it works, it is clear that it is an indispensable feature for any given website in terms of performance as well as improving ranking on the search engines.
