OpenLiteSpeed is a free, open-source web server developed by LiteSpeed Technologies. It serves as the community edition of LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise, offering high performance and easy management for websites and applications.

Built with efficiency in mind, OpenLiteSpeed excels at handling concurrent connections with minimal resource usage. Its event-driven architecture allows it to manage thousands of simultaneous visitors smoothly, making it an excellent choice for busy websites. A key advantage is its native support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 (QUIC) protocols, which speed up page loading times for modern browsers.

For administrators, OpenLiteSpeed provides a user-friendly WebAdmin GUI. This graphical interface lets you configure server settings, manage virtual hosts, and set up security features without needing to edit complex configuration files manually.

OpenLiteSpeed is particularly well-suited for running PHP applications. It includes LiteSpeed SAPI, which can execute PHP code up to 50% faster than traditional PHP handlers. It also offers built-in caching solutions to further boost performance.

Common use cases include:

• Hosting WordPress, Joomla, or other CMS platforms
• Serving high-traffic blogs or e-commerce stores
• Running custom PHP or Python web applications

In summary, OpenLiteSpeed is a powerful, cost-effective alternative to servers like Apache or Nginx, especially for users who value performance, ease of use, and modern web standards.