Plugins that use Apache .htaccess directives for browser caching now work correctly out of the box.
What happened
Our Apache configuration was blocking .htaccess directives like ExpiresActive and ExpiresByType, which caching and optimization plugins rely on to set browser cache headers. This caused errors in the Apache log and meant those caching rules were silently ignored.
What we fixed
The server now permits the full set of .htaccess directives that caching plugins need. Directory listing remains disabled - only the caching-related directives are allowed through.
Affected plugins
This fix benefits any plugin that sets cache expiration headers via .htaccess, including:
- Autoptimize - browser caching for optimized CSS/JS bundles
- WP Super Cache - static file expiration headers
- W3 Total Cache - browser cache rules
- LiteSpeed Cache - Apache-level caching directives
How to check it works
Open any page of your site in Chrome or Firefox, press F12 and reload the page. In the Network tab, click a CSS or image file and look at the response headers.
If your plugin set browser caching, you see a Cache-Control or Expires line with a date in the future. Repeat visitors then load those files from their own browser instead of downloading them again.
If the line is missing, check that browser caching is switched on in the plugin settings and clear the plugin cache once.
No action needed on your end - the fix applies automatically.