How to Enable GZIP Compression in cPanel (Boost Website Speed in Seconds)
Website speed plays a critical role in SEO, user experience, and overall performance. One of the easiest ways to reduce load time is by enabling GZIP compression, which reduces the size of your website files before they’re sent to visitors’ browsers.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to enable GZIP compression in cPanel using the Optimize Website tool — no coding required.
✅ What is GZIP Compression?
GZIP compresses web files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before they are sent from your server to the user’s browser. This results in:
- Smaller file sizes
- Faster load times
- Reduced bandwidth usage
- Better PageSpeed and Core Web Vitals scores
It’s an essential optimization for any website.
🚀 How to Enable GZIP Compression in cPanel
Step 1: Log in to cPanel
Visit your hosting account or go directly to yourdomain.com:2083.
Step 2: Find the Optimize Website Tool
Scroll down to the Software section and click Optimize Website.
Step 3: Select Compression Options
You’ll see three options:
- Disabled – No compression
- Compress All Content – Recommended for best results
- Compress the specified MIME types – Use this to manually select file types (e.g.,
text/html text/css application/javascript)
For most users, select Compress All Content.
Step 4: Click Update Settings
That’s it! GZIP compression is now enabled across your website.
🧪 How to Test If GZIP Is Working
After enabling GZIP:
- Use tools like https://gtmetrix.com, https://tools.pingdom.com, or https://checkgzipcompression.com
- Enter your URL and look for a note saying GZIP or compression is enabled
- You should see a reduction in page size and load time
⚠️ Things to Consider
- GZIP is most effective on text-based files (HTML, CSS, JS)
- Images, videos, and PDFs are already compressed, so GZIP won’t affect them
- Some caching plugins or server configurations may override these settings — double-check if compression doesn’t take effect
🛠️ Advanced Tip
If you’re using WordPress, you can combine GZIP with plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache for additional performance gains like minification and browser caching.
Enabling GZIP compression in cPanel takes less than a minute but can dramatically improve your site’s speed and user experience. It’s a must-do step for anyone serious about performance and SEO.
Not seeing the speed boost? Contact our support team — we’ll help you troubleshoot and optimize your hosting environment.