Conditional GET (304 Responses)
Return 304 Not Modified responses when content hasn't changed, saving bandwidth and reducing load times.
How It Works
When a browser or CDN sends a conditional request with If-Modified-Since or If-None-Match headers, Cacheability Pro checks if the content has actually changed since the last request. If not, it returns a 304 Not Modified response with no body, saving bandwidth.
What Gets Checked
The modification time is determined by the most recent of:
- Post modification date
- Latest comment date on the post
- Custom template file modification times
- Theme modification time
Benefits
- Bandwidth savings - 304 responses have no body, dramatically reducing data transfer
- Faster page loads - browsers can reuse cached versions instantly
- Reduced server load - WordPress doesn't need to render the full page
When It Applies
Conditional GET is applied to all frontend page requests. It does not apply to:
- Admin pages
- AJAX requests
- REST API endpoints
- Pages with
no-cacheorno-storedirectives