This article will guide you through controlling browser caching using the .htaccess file.

1. Access Your Website's Files:

• Log in to your hosting control panel or use an FTP client to manage your website's files.

2. Navigate to the Root Directory:

• Locate and open the public_html directory or the root directory of your website.

3. Edit the .htaccess File:

• If a .htaccess file exists, open it for editing.
• If it doesn't exist, create a new file named .htaccess.

4. Add Cache Control Directives:

• Insert the following code to set cache expiration times for various file types:

   # Enable mod_expires
   ExpiresActive On
  
   # Set default expiration time to 1 month
   ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 month"
  
   # Set specific expiration times for different file types
   ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
   ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year"
   ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
   ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
   ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
   ExpiresByType application/font-woff2 "access plus 1 year"

This configuration sets the following cache expiration times:

• Images (JPEG, GIF, PNG): Cached for 1 year.
• CSS and JavaScript files: Cached for 1 month.
• Web Open Font Format 2 (WOFF2) fonts: Cached for 1 year.

• Adjust these durations as needed to balance performance and content freshness.

5. Save and Upload the .htaccess File:

• Save the changes to the .htaccess file.
• Upload the file back to the root directory if you edited it locally.

6. Verify the Changes:

• Clear your browser cache.
• Visit your website to ensure that the caching behavior aligns with your settings.

Important Notes:

• Ensure that the mod_expires module is enabled on your server. If it's not enabled, you can use the mod_headers module to set cache control headers: