Browser Caching Not Enabled – Missing Cache Headers

[ob22a]

Summary

The server does not appear to send appropriate browser caching headers (e.g., Cache-Control, ETag, Last-Modified). As a result, static assets and other cacheable resources are re-downloaded on every visit.

Enabling proper browser caching would significantly improve performance and reduce bandwidth usage for users.

Problem

• No effective browser caching is triggered.
• Static assets (JS, CSS, images, fonts) are repeatedly fetched.
• Increased page load times.
• Higher data usage for users.
• Unnecessary server load.

Expected Behavior

• Static assets should include appropriate Cache-Control headers (e.g., long max-age for versioned files).
• ETag and/or Last-Modified headers should be present where appropriate.
• Versioned assets should be aggressively cached.
• HTML responses should use short-lived or conditional caching where applicable.

Impact

• Slower repeat visits.
• Increased infrastructure costs.
• Poorer user experience, especially on mobile networks.

Suggested Solution

• Configure server to send proper Cache-Control headers.
• Enable conditional requests with ETag or Last-Modified.
• Implement asset versioning (hash-based filenames).
• Consider CDN-level caching if applicable.
• Add performance tests or monitoring to validate improvements.