The index is a data structure that helps to retrieve data faster.
To manage Magento indexes, go to System | Index Management.
Hit the link, click on Select All, and then on the Submit button. After a moment, each status turns to green and a message will pop up on the top of the table. This message will be of the form "A total of (x) index(es) have reindexed data".
The following table shows the data with compilation enabled:
Type |
Requests |
Load time |
Size |
---|---|---|---|
Overall (before) |
49 |
2.58 seconds |
724.3 KB |
Overall (after) |
49 |
2.20 seconds |
724.3 KB |
As you can see in the preceding table, this option reduces the load time by another 0.38 seconds.
Magento indexes most of your data in order to access it faster. An index is a data structure that improves the speed for retrieving the data and slows down the writing operation. In the case of an e-commerce website, most of the data operations are that of retrieving (for example, to display products). When you create new articles or categories, you should go back to the Index Management page and re-index all your data.