There is really only so much we can do with .htaccess tweaks and Magento's default configuration to speed up the loading of our web pages. Typically speaking, the faster and more powerful the server, the quicker our pages are rendered. There are many different types of servers available, but for Magento websites, the best performance can be gained through either dedicated hosting or super-fast cloud-based servers.
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A hosting provider with experience hosting Magento websites should be aware of the resource implications and the variety of additional server extensions that are required as mentioned in Magento's own system requirements (magento.com): goo.gl/Ayd1gE.
However, the most drastic improvements can be seen through the installation and configuration of specific web application accelerators.
One increasingly popular HTTP accelerator is Varnish Cache. This caching method has been talked about a lot in web conferences around the world, and has been...