WSA overview in cPanel

The Web Site Accelerator (WSA) is a cPanel extension that speeds up page loading, saves hosting resources, and blocks unwanted traffic (AI training crawlers, vulnerability scanners, etc.) before it reaches your site. Everything is configured from cPanel — no code modifications required.

This page describes what you see the first time you open the extension: how to access it, what each visible element in the header does, and how to choose between Simple mode and Advanced mode.

1. Open WSA from cPanel

Log in to your cPanel account.
Scroll down to the Software section.
Click the WSA — Website Accelerator tile (orange logo with an arc and an arrow).

The extension opens in the same window. You arrive at the main page, which groups your account's status indicators and the mode selector.

If you don't see the WSA tile in cPanel, contact your host — the feature may not be enabled on your plan, or may be pending server-side installation.

2. The top bar (header)

At the very top of the page, the top bar stays identical regardless of which WSA page you're viewing. It contains three elements.

2.1 The logo and product name

On the left, you'll find the WSA logo (an orange arc with a right-pointing arrow) followed by two lines of text:

Astral 360 — the Astral Internet software suite WSA belongs to.
Website Accelerator — the name of the module you're currently using.

The logo automatically adapts to your browser theme (light or dark version based on your system preference).

2.2 The Documentation button

On the right, a Documentation button opens the official documentation page in a new tab. You can consult it at any time without losing your work in WSA — settings in progress are not affected.

3. The Hero section — welcome and module status

Just below the header, a large zone (the Hero section) summarizes what WSA does and the current cache state.

3.1 Introduction and main action

On the left, you'll find:

A short intro explaining what WSA does.
A Clear cache button.
Below the button, the date and time of the last flush, if any.

The Clear cache button

Clicking this button immediately removes all cached copies for your account's domains. The next visit to your site will generate a fresh response from your application.

When to clear the cache?

After updating a design (CSS change, new logo, layout modification) if visitors still see the old version.
After fixing a typo on an important page and you want the fix visible immediately.
Before a live demonstration, to ensure everyone sees the latest state.
For unexpected behavior — clearing cache and reloading is a good first diagnostic reflex.

The button briefly changes to "Clearing…" during the operation (usually a few seconds), then returns to its normal state.

3.2 Status indicators (right column)

Three quick info lines, each with an icon on the left and a status label on the right:

Cache state

Active and operational (green pill) — WSA is in service for your account. Your pages benefit from caching.
Disabled (gray pill) — Caching is currently off for your account. This may be a deliberate choice (No caching in Simple mode, or None on all domains in Advanced mode) or a deactivation by your host.

Compression (when applicable)

This line only appears if compression is active on your server. It indicates the type of compression used:

Brotli enabled — modern compression, ~20% more efficient than Gzip on text files.
Gzip enabled — standard compression.
Brotli & Gzip enabled — both available; the server chooses the best per visitor browser.

Compression is served automatically by the server — you don't have to do anything to benefit.

Active mode

Indicates which mode you're currently configured on:

Simple — predefined profiles — config applies via a single choice among pre-made profiles.
Advanced — per-domain settings — each of your account domains can have its own settings.

To the right, a Switch link allows toggling modes in one click. Your existing settings are preserved when switching.

4. The mode selector

Just below the Hero section, two side-by-side buttons let you choose the mode:

Simple mode (star icon) — recommended for most users.
Advanced mode (cog icon) — for users wanting fine- grained per-domain control.

The active button is highlighted; click the other to switch. Below the buttons, a short help phrase reminds what each mode does.

5. Simple vs Advanced — how to choose?

WSA offers two configuration modes. They don't differ in what they can do — caching works in both cases — but in the level of detail you manage.

5.1 Simple mode

In Simple mode, you choose a single profile from a list, and WSA applies pre-calibrated settings to all your domains at once.

Advantages:

One-click configuration — no technical decisions to make.
Profiles already optimized by Astral Internet experts.
Ideal for users who just want "it to work".

Choose if:

All your account's sites have similar needs.
You don't have time or interest to configure each domain individually.
You're new to WSA.

→ See Simple mode for the detailed description of available profiles.

5.2 Advanced mode

In Advanced mode, you see the complete list of your domains and subdomains, and you can configure each one independently.

Advantages:

Complete control over each domain.
Fine-grained customization of bot protection, by category and by domain.
Per-subdomain editing when a subdomain has different needs from the main domain.
Ability to disable cache on some domains while keeping it active on others.

Choose if:

You host multiple sites with very different profiles (a WordPress blog, a WooCommerce store, and an admin tool on the same account).
You want to fine-tune AI bot, security scanner, or SEO bot behavior for one particular domain.
A site lives on a subdomain that needs different config from the main domain.
You're comfortable with HTTP cache concepts (TTL, cookie bypass, URI bypass).

→ See Advanced mode for the complete description of every available setting.

5.3 Switching between modes

You can switch between modes at any time, either:

by clicking directly on the Simple mode or Advanced mode button of the selector;
by clicking the Switch link to the right of the Active mode line (section 3.2).

Important: your settings are preserved when switching. If you configure a domain in Advanced mode then go back to Simple, the simple profile will apply, but your advanced settings stay saved and will be restored on the next switch to Advanced mode.

6. Further reading

Simple mode — Description of each profile, recommendations by site type, how to change profile.
Advanced mode — Complete description of the per-domain interface with its 5 tabs.
What is WSA? — Understand what the module does behind the scenes.
Optimization — Developer tools to identify cookies and URIs to exclude from cache.

7. Need help?

The Documentation button at the top right of WSA always points to the latest version of this documentation.
For questions specific to your hosting plan (cache disabled by admin, feature not available, etc.), contact your host — they manage the global server configuration.
For product support: Astral Internet.