Caching Score: https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/

Summary

GradeA+

593/593

Requested URL checks

What is this check, and why should you care

Having a cache hit ensures the fastest possible delivery of content to end users.

The response header X-Cache had a value of HIT.

Fastly has documentation on how to interpret the X-Cache header.

Maximum possible points

100

What is this check, and why should you care

Using a long cache lifetime helps to ensure a high cache hit rate.

In order to get maximum points, your cache lifetime must be greater than or equal to 4 weeks. If your cache lifetime is less, then you will get some proportion of the score based on how close to 4 weeks you are.

Current cache lifetime is 2764800 seconds (1 month and 4 days).

Maximum possible points

100

What is this check, and why should you care

Using a CDN is extremely useful for caching purposes.

Maximum possible points

50

What is this check, and why should you care

The time that it takes for a user's browser to receive the first byte of page content.

The lower the TTFB, the faster your site will be perceived by the end user.

In order to get maximum points, your TTFB must be less than or equal to 30ms. If your TTFB is more than 1 second then you get no points here.

Maximum possible points

50

What is this check, and why should you care

Using ETag identifiers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. This mechanism allows caches to be more efficient and saves bandwidth, as a Web server does not need to send a full response if the content has not changed. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-None-Match with a value of W/"1725566977" was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

See the Wikipedia page on ETag for more background.

In order to get maximum points, you need to have ETag identifiers and an HTTP 304 response must be received when using a valid If-None-Match request header.

Maximum possible points

30

What is this check, and why should you care

Using Last-Modified headers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-Modified-Since with a value of was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

Maximum possible points

30

What is this check, and why should you care

Having tiered caching can help improve the cache hit ratio of your site because it provides an additional layer of caching in front of your origin.

Maximum possible points

25

What is this check, and why should you care

Caching HTTP 404s is a great way to offload requests from your origin.

In order to get maximum points, you need to have the ability to cache an HTTP 404 for any amount of time.

This check requested the URL https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/cachingscorebrokenurltest.

Maximum possible points

20

What is this check, and why should you care

Drupal 8+ provides an Internal Page Cache module that is recommended for small to medium-sized websites.

There is extremely limited value in using this module, even when you are using Fastly and having a relatively high cache lifetime of 1 month and 4 days.

In order to get maximum points, you must have the module page_cache disabled.

See Drupal's documentation on the Internal Page Cache module. Also, Wim Leers wrote a really awesome blog post on the release of this module with important background.

Maximum possible points

20

What is this check, and why should you care

CSS aggregation reduces the number of assets your site needs to download. The filename contains a hash of all the file contents, meaning you can cache these files for an extremely long time with no negative consequences.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Javascript aggregation reduces the number of assets your site needs to download. The filename contains a hash of all the file contents, meaning you can cache these files for an extremely long time with no negative consequences.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Drupal 9.5+ introduces a new debug setting to make it easier to debug render caching. This setting will add cache debugging output for each rendered element.

The main issue with this is that this slows down your page loads (on top increasing your page weight).

In order to get maximum points, you must disable the render cache debug.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Drupal 7+ provides a Statistics module to which records content view statistics in Drupal's database.

The main issue with this module is that it sends an un-cacheable HTTP POST request to your site to record a 'content view' statistic. This does not scale well as you Drupal site gets more traffic.

In order to get maximum points, you must disable the statistics module.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Drupal 8+ uses Twig for templating, and the Twig template engine offers a debug tool to which emits out a list of template filenames in the HTML source.

The main issue with this is that you often also have other Twig related performance issues as well, e.g. automatic reloading.

In order to get maximum points, you must disable Twig debug.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

You can increase the cache hit rate of your site by stripping certain query parameters from the cache key.

FBCLID is one such parameter that can be stripped by your caching server. This query parameter only really serves a purpose for Javascript to read, and Javascript can still read it from the browser URL.

You can add this VCL snippet to your Fastly service (in the recv subroutine). Fastly documentation on querystring.filter.

This check requested the URL https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/?fbclid=1725761639.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

You can increase the cache hit rate of your site by stripping certain query parameters from the cache key.

GCLID and GCLSRC are two such parameters that can be stripped by your caching server. These query parameters only really serve a purpose for Javascript to read, and Javascript can still read it from the browser URL.

You can add this VCL snippet to your Fastly service (in the recv subroutine). Fastly documentation on querystring.filter.

This check requested the URL https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/?gclsrc=1725761639&gclid=1725761639.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

You can increase the cache hit rate of your site by stripping certain query parameters from the cache key.

UTM is a collection of parameters that can be stripped by your caching server. These query parameters only really serve a purpose for Javascript to read, and Javascript can still read them from the browser URL.

You can add this VCL snippet to your Fastly service (in the recv subroutine). Fastly documentation on querystring.filter.

This check requested the URL https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/?utm_source=1725761639&utm_medium=1725761639&utm_campaign=1725761639&utm_id=1725761639.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

There is a SPAM protection module in Drupal called Honeypot.

The honeypot module has a feature that adds a time based hidden form field to forms to protect against bots filling them in too quickly. This is a nice feature, however it happens to disable caching for the entire page. This is terrible for high traffic sites.

It is recommended to disable this time based feature, and only use the core honeypot feature of a hidden input field.

Maximum possible points

5

What is this check, and why should you care

There are 2 filesystems in Drupal - public files and private files.

Private files force Drupal to bootstrap in order to serve the file, and access control is checked every single time. This is useful for sensitive files, but a hindrance when your site is under high load.

It is recommended to use Drupal's public file system for static, non-sensitive files, and reserve the use of private files for dynamic, or sensitive files.

Maximum possible points

5

Image checks

Performed on the asset: https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/themes/hococouncil/img/logo.png

See the HTTP headers for this image file.

What is this check, and why should you care

Having a cache hit ensures the fastest possible delivery of content to end users.

The response header X-Cache had a value of MISS, HIT, HIT.

Fastly has documentation on how to interpret the X-Cache header.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using a long cache lifetime helps to ensure a high cache hit rate.

In order to get maximum points, your cache lifetime must be greater than or equal to 4 weeks. If your cache lifetime is less, then you will get some proportion of the score based on how close to 4 weeks you are.

Current cache lifetime is 2628010 seconds (1 month and 2 days).

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using ETag identifiers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. This mechanism allows caches to be more efficient and saves bandwidth, as a Web server does not need to send a full response if the content has not changed. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-None-Match with a value of "66abf331-2226" was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

See the Wikipedia page on ETag for more background.

In order to get maximum points, you need to have ETag identifiers and an HTTP 304 response must be received when using a valid If-None-Match request header.

Maximum possible points

3

What is this check, and why should you care

Using Last-Modified headers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-Modified-Since with a value of was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

Maximum possible points

3

CSS checks

Performed on the asset: https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/sites/default/files/css/css_GdJN6ObuEWP2PyapFZZnxajq80OG2L8LuoDmQVGXAHg.css

See the HTTP headers for this CSS file.

What is this check, and why should you care

Having a cache hit ensures the fastest possible delivery of content to end users.

The response header X-Cache had a value of HIT.

Fastly has documentation on how to interpret the X-Cache header.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using a long cache lifetime helps to ensure a high cache hit rate.

In order to get maximum points, your cache lifetime must be greater than or equal to 4 weeks. If your cache lifetime is less, then you will get some proportion of the score based on how close to 4 weeks you are.

Current cache lifetime is 2628010 seconds (1 month and 2 days).

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using ETag identifiers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. This mechanism allows caches to be more efficient and saves bandwidth, as a Web server does not need to send a full response if the content has not changed. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-None-Match with a value of W/"66abf436-1cf5" was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

See the Wikipedia page on ETag for more background.

In order to get maximum points, you need to have ETag identifiers and an HTTP 304 response must be received when using a valid If-None-Match request header.

Maximum possible points

3

What is this check, and why should you care

Using Last-Modified headers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-Modified-Since with a value of was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

Maximum possible points

3

Javascript checks

Performed on the asset: https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/sites/default/files/js/js_3YM3mUuFbx7FQAdeNHF9Qz6TXg1RcwRG2sBPZsZdy9A.js

See the HTTP headers for this Javascript file.

What is this check, and why should you care

Having a cache hit ensures the fastest possible delivery of content to end users.

The response header X-Cache had a value of MISS, HIT, HIT.

Fastly has documentation on how to interpret the X-Cache header.

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using a long cache lifetime helps to ensure a high cache hit rate.

In order to get maximum points, your cache lifetime must be greater than or equal to 4 weeks. If your cache lifetime is less, then you will get some proportion of the score based on how close to 4 weeks you are.

Current cache lifetime is 2628010 seconds (1 month and 2 days).

Maximum possible points

10

What is this check, and why should you care

Using ETag identifiers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. This mechanism allows caches to be more efficient and saves bandwidth, as a Web server does not need to send a full response if the content has not changed. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-None-Match with a value of W/"66abf436-30691" was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

See the Wikipedia page on ETag for more background.

In order to get maximum points, you need to have ETag identifiers and an HTTP 304 response must be received when using a valid If-None-Match request header.

Maximum possible points

3

What is this check, and why should you care

Using Last-Modified headers is an easy way to ensure your visitors are always getting the most up-to-date version of the content. HTTP 304 responses are used to indicate this is working.

An HTTP request with the request header If-Modified-Since with a value of was sent, and an HTTP 304 was responded with.

Maximum possible points

3

HTTP Response headers

Name Value
Status Code HTTP 200
Accept-Rangesbytes
Age34103
Connectionkeep-alive
DateSun, 08 Sep 2024 02:13:57 GMT
Fastly-Debug-Digestbf815203e4affd8cc55887904e7e5a081e2fd72bb70e65dc883f0bc5aaf4c4d8
Fastly-Debug-Path(D cache-syd10182-SYD 1725761637) (F cache-syd10159-SYD 1725761637) (D cache-iad-kcgs7200110-IAD 1725761637) (F cache-iad-kcgs7200110-IAD 1725727534) (D cache-iad-kcgs7200053-IAD 1725727534) (F cache-iad-kcgs7200053-IAD 1725727534)
Fastly-Debug-TTL(H cache-syd10182-SYD - - 34103) (H cache-iad-kcgs7200110-IAD 2730697.206 86400.000 34103) (M cache-iad-kcgs7200053-IAD - - -)
Fastly-Drupal-VCL-Uploaded8-1.0.2
Server-TimingHIT, fastly;desc="Edge time";dur=0, HIT-CLUSTER, fastly;desc="Edge time";dur=2
Surrogate-Keyt5dM WIUC zvFc ZcFO jl9p JcPW mH0B D6J9 rRI1 OgRR 3KHA wEF9 VN7S HbtI JsS7 strr ahvf AJ71 leP2 /Yq5 zRWE 9NC8 NRXl KsRu /sKx 75FG fiUv mjbG JSh6 ruFo FaLs 1ZQN 5CQ8 MSiH sjtT 0Fua peyX G7Nn jueQ yvSs 91aH g0ZQ fOt7 AQRs te/G 0Nnb vf+k Ge9H rXFh 4OM8 EG3N l9Ch o1Zs X+9S 1FpT XrRw XnYR xSX+ mPqU CpH7 z4FU Nk0h 95JT ZlT2 HyFe aprf 669q P5Ov nUEc Z6fG Qm1t NOWy WTy/ 5o52 8jpr qhnv sZ63 CohW eviU G088 MdJS Oh8x aEN9 ArH0 N88Y N4ea aOA8 Z9Dc Uj5b J/x9 kubi ECZc 3JCW 5eO4 Ea5c OL1u i7/Q OuEW JDvD 62Bd d3fm KS5l kI0L hLco VET4 Jkr3 OyR2 sZT0 pFZR NAjC 3Ky2 Fbx4 PdA/ znRu j8LD G9HT d420 nGpx tM+I WJbi 3eYG qH0Y dLqz j40x yULv 54Pg 4tDx PaYF 3qVv vVHA qlfB 72PA 6kvu /f// C2lI kXo1 Us0S b/uq qgTT c6aM Fe85 n4nc cc.howardcountymd.gov
VaryCookie, Accept-Encoding
Via1.1 varnish
X-CacheHIT
X-Cache-Hits1
X-Lagoon-Environmenthococouncil-dpl-main
X-Served-Bycache-syd10182-SYD
X-Service-IdC2Tzbc78eAqzkSWMb3ix43
X-Static-Asset0
X-TimerS1725761637.413353,VS0,VE2
X-Waf-Block0
X-Waf-Block-Id0
cache-controlmax-age=2764800, public, s-maxage=86400
content-languageen
content-typetext/html; charset=UTF-8
etagW/"1725566977"
expiresSun, 19 Nov 1978 05:00:00 GMT
fastly-drupal-htmlYES
fastly-request-id9a3e2467b46f226ea96d5030, b369f04f0bc822e8eb3cc90b
last-modifiedThu, 05 Sep 2024 20:09:37 GMT
surrogate-controlmax-age=2764800, public, stale-while-revalidate=7200, stale-if-error=604800
x-drupal-dynamic-cacheMISS
x-encoded-content-encodinggzip
x-encoded-content-length22734
x-lagoonamazeeio-taoti1>ingress-nginx>hococouncil-dpl-main:nginx>nginx-668686644d-pjxmn

If you want to do this yourself

You can use the following cURL command:

curl -sLIXGET -H 'Fastly-Debug: 1' 'https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/' | sort