WSA: cPanel Server Cache

WSA, short for cPanel Website Accelerator, is a module designed for cPanel servers. It adds a performance layer using Nginx as a reverse proxy, server-side caching, Brotli compression, anti-bot protection, and management tools directly integrated into WHM and cPanel.

Its goal is simple: speed up websites hosted on a cPanel server, reduce server load, and give both administrators and customers an easier way to manage cache settings.

Yes. WSA is especially useful for WordPress websites because it can serve cached pages faster without unnecessarily calling PHP and MySQL on every visit.

It can help improve WordPress site speed, reduce server load, and limit the impact of certain bots that often target WordPress installations, including requests to /wp-login.php or /xmlrpc.php.

Yes. WSA is designed to work with PHP websites and applications hosted on cPanel. Since it acts as a caching and reverse proxy layer in front of Apache, it can accelerate many types of PHP websites, including CMS platforms, online stores, custom applications, and popular frameworks.

For dynamic websites or applications with sensitive content, it is recommended to adjust cache rules by domain or subdomain.

Yes. WSA provides an interface directly inside cPanel. Users can use a simple mode to enable cache quickly without advanced technical knowledge.

For more experienced users, an advanced mode allows cache settings to be adjusted by domain or subdomain. This gives customers more autonomy while reducing support requests.

Yes. WSA can be made available through cPanel packages or features. This allows you to offer Nginx caching only to selected plans, customers, or premium hosting packages.

This is especially useful for hosting providers who want to turn WSA into a value-added feature or a performance option included with specific hosting plans.

Yes. WSA adds protection against several types of automated traffic, including AI crawlers, vulnerability scanners, aggressive SEO bots, and certain suspicious requests, such as requests without a User-Agent.

These protections can help reduce unnecessary server load, especially when bots crawl multiple websites hosted on the same cPanel infrastructure.

Rate limiting helps limit abusive behavior at the server level. For example, it can help reduce the impact of DoS attacks, repeated login attempts, or too many concurrent connections from the same IP address.

This adds an additional protection layer before requests fully reach the applications hosted on the server.

WSA is designed to install without causing conflicts with existing websites on a cPanel server. Since it works with Nginx as a reverse proxy, it respects the existing cPanel environment.

That said, as with any caching system, some dynamic websites may require cache exclusions or custom adjustments. This is why WSA provides advanced management by domain and subdomain.

Yes. WSA is designed to work with modern cPanel environments, including CloudLinux. It can therefore be used on shared hosting or reseller hosting servers that rely on CloudLinux to isolate accounts and manage resources.

The free trial lets you install WSA on a cPanel server and test its features for 60 days. You can validate Nginx cache, Brotli, the WHM interface, the cPanel interface, and the security protections before purchasing a license.

After the trial period, an active license is required to continue using the module.

WSA is available for CA$5.00 per month per server after the 60-day free trial.

This price adds Nginx cache, Brotli, anti-bot protection, rate limiting, and WHM/cPanel management to an existing cPanel server.

No. WSA was designed to simplify administration. Installation is quick, and the main features are then available directly in WHM and cPanel.

An administrator can start with a simple configuration, then adjust advanced options as needed based on websites, domains, subdomains, or traffic patterns.

No. WSA uses Nginx as a reverse proxy in front of Apache. Apache remains in place to handle websites, existing rules, and the standard features normally used in cPanel.

This approach adds a performance layer without completely replacing the existing cPanel environment. It also helps reduce the risk of conflicts with websites already hosted on the server.

Not necessarily. WSA works at the server level, while a WordPress cache plugin usually works at the application level.

In many cases, WSA can reduce the need for multiple WordPress performance plugins. However, depending on the website, some plugins may still be useful for image optimization, application-level cache, or WordPress-specific rules.

The main advantage of WSA is that it provides a centralized caching solution at the cPanel server level instead of relying only on site-by-site plugin configurations.

Yes, but it should be configured properly. WooCommerce stores include dynamic pages such as the cart, checkout, customer account area, and session-based content.

WSA can be used to accelerate public pages such as the homepage, categories, products, and content pages. Transactional pages should be excluded from cache or configured carefully to avoid serving personalized content to the wrong visitor.

Yes. The server administrator keeps control through WHM. They can manage global settings, enable or disable specific features, configure anti-bot protection, manage rate limiting, and decide which cPanel accounts can access the module.

WSA can also be enabled by cPanel package or feature, allowing hosting providers and resellers to offer it as a commercial option.

Brotli is a modern compression method that helps reduce the size of certain files sent to visitors, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

With WSA, Brotli can be enabled, compiled, and configured by the module. This can improve perceived loading speed and reduce the amount of data transferred, without requiring complex manual configuration.

WSA can block several known AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Bytespider, and other similar bots, depending on the configured rules.

The goal is not only to block AI crawlers, but also to give the administrator better control over automated traffic that consumes server resources.

Yes. WSA can add security headers such as X-XSS-Protection and Anti-MIME-Sniffing. These headers help strengthen the basic security posture of hosted websites.

They do not replace proper application security, but they add a useful extra layer at the server level.

Yes. WSA can coexist with modern environments such as NodeJS, Python, and Ruby on a compatible cPanel server. It is also designed with CloudLinux environments in mind, including alternative solutions for these technologies.

Depending on the type of application, some adjustments may be required to determine what should be cached and what should remain fully dynamic.

WSA is compatible with common RHEL-compatible distributions used with cPanel, such as AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Oracle Linux, CloudLinux, and CentOS, depending on the versions supported by the module.

It is recommended to use an up-to-date cPanel environment to fully benefit from recent features such as Brotli, anti-bot protection, and advanced management options.

The WSA license is linked to the main IP address of the cPanel server. When purchasing the license, you must associate it with the IP address of the server where the module will be used.

This approach simplifies activation and makes it easier to manage licensing per server.

Yes. WSA is especially useful for hosting providers, resellers, and cPanel server owners. It can improve overall performance, reduce certain support requests, and provide a premium feature to customers.

Since access can be managed by cPanel package or feature, WSA can be included in selected hosting plans or used as a competitive advantage.