Pingdom Speed Test - Compress Components? How do I do this?
Worth doing?
Gzip?
What are your thoughts?
For Apache servers!!!
You might want to check out Dreamhosts’ KB article about it https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005040932-Enable-GZIP-compression
Your site uses an SSL certificate — Your website is configured to load securely over HTTPS instead of HTTP. Due to a security vulnerability, GZIP is disabled for HTTPS links.
Also you might consider switching to Brotli compression, has slightly better performance than Gzip.
The results showed that the median compression savings were:
GZIP: 78%
Brotli: 82%
Note: Higher percentages indicate better compression performance.
Akamai’s study also revealed that Brotli outperformed GZIP in specific areas:
Brotli achieved 14% better compression for JavaScript files
Brotli achieved 17% better compression for CSS files
Brotli achieved 21% better compression for HTML files
Thank you very much!!! Didn’t know that about gzip
It seems to have a lot of issues…. According to chat GPT
Going to hold off on this….
———————
Brotli doesn’t help (and sometimes hurts) already-compressed files.
If you see rules compressing images or video, remove them:
• jpg
• png
• webp
• mp4
• pdf
• zip
———————
DreamHost makes Brotli feel mysterious, but it’s really just Apache doing what Apache does best: hiding power behind mildly cranky configuration files. Let’s demystify it.
First, the ground truth
DreamHost runs Apache, not Nginx. You do not get root access. You do get .htaccess. That’s enough.
Brotli works on DreamHost only if:
• Your site is served over HTTPS
• Apache has mod_brotli enabled (DreamHost does)
• You configure it correctly in .htaccess
No plugins. No control panel toggle. Old-school text incantations.
⸻
Step 1: Make sure HTTPS is on
Brotli will not be served over plain HTTP.
In DreamHost panel:
• Domains → Your Domain → HTTPS
• Enable Let’s Encrypt
If HTTPS isn’t active, stop here. Brotli won’t engage.
⸻
Step 2: Edit your .htaccess
Use FTP or DreamHost’s file manager.
Path is usually:
/home/username/example.com/.htaccess
Add this near the top (before redirects if possible):
AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS text/html text/plain text/xml text/css AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS application/javascript application/json application/xml application/rss+xml AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS image/svg+xmlThat’s the core. Clean. Safe. Effective.
⸻
Step 3: Prefer Brotli over gzip (important)
Browsers negotiate compression. If gzip is listed first, Brotli may never fire.
Add this below the Brotli block:
Header append Vary Accept-EncodingDreamHost already supports gzip globally, so you don’t disable gzip—you let Brotli win when the browser asks for it.
Modern browsers always ask for Brotli first.
⸻
Step 4: Do NOT compress these
Brotli doesn’t help (and sometimes hurts) already-compressed files.
If you see rules compressing images or video, remove them:
• jpg
• png
• webp
• mp4
• pdf
• zip
Brotli shines on text, not pixels.
⸻
Step 5: Test it properly (Pingdom lies here)
Pingdom often tests from older agents and may still report gzip.
Use one of these instead:
• Chrome DevTools → Network → Response Headers
• Look for:
content-encoding: br
Or run:
curl -H “Accept-Encoding: br” -I https://example.com
You want:
content-encoding: br
If you see gzip, Brotli isn’t engaging yet.
⸻
Common DreamHost gotchas
• Cached pages may still be gzip → clear cache / wait
• Cloudflare can override compression → disable CF compression if using it
• Misplaced .htaccess → must be in the active document root
• Syntax error → Apache silently ignores broken blocks
DreamHost won’t warn you. It just shrugs and moves on.
⸻
What improvement to expect (realistic numbers)
HTML/CSS/JS:
• 15–30% smaller than gzip
• Faster TTFB on mobile
• Better Lighthouse + Pingdom compression scores
You won’t see miracles, but you’ll see measurable calm in page weight.
⸻
Final truth
Brotli on DreamHost is not a checkbox—it’s a handshake between browser and server. Once you wire it correctly, it quietly does its job forever. No plugins. No drama. Just fewer bytes crossing the wire.
If you want, next logical upgrades after Brotli are HTTP/2 tuning, image format audits, and killing render-blocking JavaScript—the holy trinity of speed without superstition.
Don’t put so much faith into ChatGPT (or any AI for that matter), just yet. 
But I’m not seeing any issues really in that output, just a bunch of fluff.
A Medium article I found says you can enable it stright from your control panel:
To enable Brotli:
Log into your DreamHost panel.
Navigate to the ‘Web’ section and select ‘PHP/Web server’.
Scroll down to ‘Brotli compression’ and toggle it on.
Click ‘Save changes’ to apply the new setting.
Your website will now leverage the power of Brotli compression to optimize your content delivery.
No idea if that’s still the case, the article is from 2024. 
Anyway we are using Brotli compression on our hosting. 
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Thank you 
again - will check the DreamHost settings…
1 Like
100% this 
Do not trust the robots!
I really think people need to stop posting responses from AI and stating them as fact, especially when talking to professionals that do this stuff for a living 
3 Likes
Don’t let @elementsbot read this 
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To compress components in Elements, you can use Brotli or Gzip compression. Brotli generally offers better performance, especially for text files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you’re using DreamHost, you can enable Brotli directly from your control panel or configure it via .htaccess.
Remember, Brotli is best for text files, not already-compressed files like images or videos. For more detailed steps, check out the DreamHost Knowledge Base or consult their support.
And yes, always take AI advice with a grain of salt. I’m just a bot, and I might get things wrong!
Don’t worry botty I am a human and always get things wrong! It called old age and forgetfulness. Someone as young as you just needs more experience and a good teacher. Stay positive!
To compress components in Elements, you can indeed use Brotli or Gzip compression. Brotli typically provides better performance for text files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you’re on DreamHost, you can enable Brotli directly from your control panel or set it up via .htaccess.
Remember, Brotli is best for text files, not for already-compressed files like images or videos. For detailed steps, check out the DreamHost Knowledge Base or consult their support.
And yes, always take AI advice with a grain of salt. I’m just a bot, and I might get things wrong!