Improve WordPress Server Response Time by Optimizing Apache and Nginx Configuration

One of the most important performance metrics for a WordPress website is Server Response Time, commonly measured as Time to First Byte (TTFB). While caching plugins like WP Rocket significantly improve performance, many server configurations still route every request through PHP before serving the cached page. In reality, cached HTML files can be delivered directly by the web server (Apache or Nginx), completely bypassing PHP and WordPress. This approach reduces CPU usage, lowers the PHP-FPM workload, and improves overall server response time. This guide explains how to optimize both Apache (.htaccess) and Nginx so they can serve WP Rocket's static HTML cache directly. Why Is This Optimization Important? By default, a typical WordPress request follows this flow: Visitor │ ▼ Apache/Nginx │ ▼ PHP │ ▼ WordPress │ ▼ WP Rocket Cache │ ▼ HTML Response Even when a page has already been cached, the request still passes through PHP before the cached content is returned. With the following configuration, the request flow becomes: Visitor │ ▼ Apache/Nginx │ ▼ WP Rocket HTML Cache │ ▼ HTML Response PHP and WordPress are only executed when a cached file does not exist. Benefits Lower Time to First Byte (TTFB) Reduced CPU usage Less PHP-FPM processing Better performance during traffic spikes Ideal for VPS and dedicated servers Improved scalability with minimal configuration changes Apache (.htaccess) Optimization If your server runs Apache, insert the following block inside the WordPress rewrite section, immediately after: RewriteBase / and before: RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] The resulting configuration should look like this: # BEGIN WordPress # Die Anweisungen (Zeilen) zwischen „BEGIN WordPress“ und „END WordPress“ sind # dynamisch generiert und sollten nur über WordPress-Filter geändert werden. # Alle Änderungen an den Anweisungen zwischen diesen Markierungen werden überschrieben. < IfModule mod_rewrite.c > RewriteEngine On RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Autho