Knowledge Base

.html files of a website show a blank page page when Apache PageSpeed module is enabled on a Plesk server

Symptoms

.html files, including the Default Plesk page (index.html), display a blank page instead of the content. Other static files are also not opened. .php files are opened correctly.
Records like the following appear in a Browser Developer Console of a web-browser:

GET https://example.com/A.style.css.pagespeed.cf.IzHunpedlN.css net::ERR_ABORTED 404
(index):45 Uncaught ReferenceError: mod_pagespeed_masdEi5Tr is not defined
nginx reverse proxy is enabled on the server. Check this in Plesk at Tools & Settings > Services Management.
Apache PageSpeed module is installed and loaded. Check this in Plesk at Tools & Settings > Apache Web Server > pagespeed.

Cause

Apache PageSpeed module prevents static files from being served correctly.

Resolution

Apply one of the following solutions:

Solution 1: Disable smart static files processing by nginx

For best experience, Apache PageSpeed recommends to have static files processed by Apache. To enable this setting, follow the steps:

Disabling smart static files processing via Plesk

Go to Domains > example.com > Apache & nginx Settings and disable the option Smart static files processing.
Click OK to apply the changes.

Note: It is not possible to manage this option via service plan settings.

To disable smart static files processing by nginx for all newly created domains, apply the following steps:

Connect to the server via SSH.
Create the sh script with any text editor, for example:

# vi /usr/local/psa/bin/script.sh
Add the following lines in the script:

#!/bin/bash
echo "starting" >> /tmp/event_handler.log
plesk bin subscription --update-web-server-settings ${NEW_DOMAIN_NAME} -nginx-transparent-mode true
echo "added ${NEW_DOMAIN_NAME}" >> /tmp/event_handler.log
Make it executable:

# chmod 755 /usr/local/psa/bin/script.sh
Go to Tools & Settings > Event Manager > Add Event Handler
Choose "Physical hosting created" as an event and put the following command in the "Command" field:

# sh /usr/local/psa/bin/script.sh
Click OK. From now on, all newly created domains will have this option disabled.

Disabling smart static files processing via a command-line interface

Connect to the server via SSH and disable Smart static files processing using the following command:

For a domain:

# plesk bin subscription --update-web-server-settings example.net -nginx-transparent-mode true
For all domains:

# for subs in `plesk bin site --list`; do echo Processing subscription... $subs; plesk bin subscription --update-web-server-settings $subs -nginx-transparent-mode true; done

Solution 2: Turn off Apache PageSpeed module

If Smart static files processing must remain enabled, turn off Apache PageSpeed module so that it does not interfere with static files processing:

Turning off Apache PageSpeed module via Plesk

Go to Tools & Settings > Apache Web Server.
Uncheck pagespeed (and pagespeed_ap24 if enabled) and click OK.

Turning off Apache PageSpeed module via a command-line interface

Connect to the Plesk server via SSH.
Disable Apache mod_pagespeed:
- on CentOS/RHEL-based distributions
  
  # mv /etc/httpd/conf.d/pagespeed.conf /etc/httpd/conf.d/pagespeed…