You’ve made significant changes to your website, but they aren’t appearing in real-time… So, what’s next? Let us assure you that the answer is most likely simple! To see the latest changes, you may only need to clear your WordPress cache and browser cache.
You’ll learn what cache is and why you might need to empty your WordPress cache in this guide. We’ll also go through how to clear cache in WordPress using plugins, how to remove cached information through your hosting provider, and how to clear browsing data from your web browser in a few different tutorials.
You don’t have to do this alone, though. WP Buffs assists website owners, agency partners, and freelancer partners with cache solutions, WordPress site maintenance, and more. Whether you need us to handle a single website or 1,000 client sites, we can help.
What Is Cache? Plus, How Cached Information Is Stored
A static version of your WordPress website is saved and stored by caching services. WordPress no longer needs to run heavy PHP scripts as a result of this process, allowing your web pages to load faster. This increases overall website speed and user experience, both of which have an impact on SEO!
You have numerous options as a website owner for storing a cached version of your WordPress site. Client-side caching, often known as browser caching, saves HTML pages on the computer of the user. That implies the cached version of your site is loaded from that user’s local computer when they visit your site.
Server-side caching saves static HTML pages to the hard disc or RAM of the website server. This is a strategy that is typically used for really large websites with various databases.
Browser caching is the faster of the two alternatives, while server-side caching is still better than not caching at all!
Why We Use Website Caching & Why You May Need to Clear Cache
We employ website caching because it offers visitors the best possible experience. Your website will load much faster with each new visitor if you send a stored static copy of the site.
What’s more, if you don’t have new content to show people, what’s the sense of making a website faster?
People will not visit your website unless you have something interesting or useful to offer them. People will not return to your website if you do not update it with new content regularly.
Because of the cached version of your website, when you make new modifications to your website, they may not necessarily reflect in real-time right away.
When you make design changes or add new content, this means… If you make changes to your plugins, themes, or database, you may need to clear your cache manually to ensure that visitors see the most up-to-date version of your WordPress site.
What Does Purge From Cache Mean?
The terms “purge,” “delete,” and “clean your cache” are all used to describe the same thing. You’re deleting any saved information from your WordPress site that your browser or server has saved, such as cached pictures, files, and pages. This means that the next time you visit your website, your browser will request updated data from the website server.
It’s crucial to remember that this means you’ll have to re-enter any saved logins for your WordPress account… So make a note of them and keep them somewhere safe!
You’ll probably notice a difference in page load speed after clearing all cache. (By slower page speeds, we don’t mean faster.) As long as the new version of your website is optimized, your page speed should revert to normal after your caching solution caches it.
How to Clear Cache in WordPress Using a Plugin
“How can I clear the cache in WordPress?” you might wonder. WordPress caching plugins, on the other hand, are the simplest form of browser caching to use. They’re also the simplest caching option for you to clear cached site data on your own as a WordPress admin – without the support of your website hosting service.
Five of the most popular caching plugins provide step-by-step instructions for clearing cache in WordPress.
Clear WordPress Cache With WP Super Cache Plugin
Because WP Super Cache is one of the simpler plugins, you’ll have less control over which cached data can be removed. Regardless, it’s a breeze to put together!
On the menu bar at the left of the screen, select settings > WP Super Cache. You may erase your cache in three places once you’re in the WP Super Cache settings: the Easy tab, the Contents tab, or the Admin toolbar.
Your saved HTML pages will be removed when you click the Delete Cache button.
Clear WordPress Cache With W3 Total Cache Plugin
BoldGrid’s W3 Total Cache is a popular and effective option for caching your website’s data. When fully set, they even claim to boost your site’s overall performance by ten times.
To clear your cache if you’re using the W3 Total Cache plugin, go to the Performance menu and look for the plugin’s Settings.
Take note of the specific caching options as you scroll down the page. When you enable it, you’ll have two options for clearing the cache on your WordPress site:
When the settings remain the same but you wish to clear the cached data for a specific option, use Empty Cache. Store Settings & Purge Caches lets you save a new caching configuration while also clearing the current cache.
Alternatively, you can use the Performance menu in the admin toolbar to rapidly remove all cached content and data from your website.
Clear WordPress Cache With WP Fastest Cache
WP Fastest Cache is another simple-to-configure and-use plugin for clearing cache on a WordPress site. Because of its simplicity and user-friendliness, it’s a popular choice among WordPress users.
To erase the cache in WP Fastest Cache, navigate to the Delete Cache tab.
You can choose between two options:
- Delete the content that has been cached.
- Delete the cached content, as well as the CSS and JavaScript files that have been minified.
You can also accomplish this from within WordPress, regardless of where you are. Simply expand the Clear Cache menu in the admin toolbar to view the following options.
On the menu bar at the left of the screen, select Settings > WP Rocket. Click the Clear Cache button once you’re on the Dashboard tab. You may also click the Clear Cache button by hovering over the WP Rocket button on the WordPress admin bar.
If you wish to clear the cache from a specific blog post or website page, go to the left-hand menu bar, click the Pages or Posts buttons, hover over the blog or page you want to clear and click the Clear This Cache link.
Alternatively, in the editor panel of the post or page editor screen, press the Clear Cache button just above the Move to Trash link in the Publish meta box.
Clear WordPress Cache With Hummingbird
The Hummingbird plugin from WPMU DEV lets you compress files, enable “lazy loading,” view website performance metrics, cache your WordPress site, and more. It’s a world-class plugin with tonnes of functions to help improve your site, and it’s active on +1 million websites around the world. and we wholeheartedly endorse it!
The Hummingbird plugin makes clearing your cache a breeze. Simply follow these steps, beginning with your WordPress dashboard: Clear cache in Hummingbird Pro > Caching.
How to Clear Cached Files Through Your Web Hosting Provider
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Clear All Cache With Kinsta
When you utilize Kinsta, a premium managed WordPress hosting company, they handle all of your server-side caching needs. Full-page and object caching are included.
If you need to delete your cache manually while using Kinsta, it’s simple! Simply navigate to the right-hand side of your WordPress dashboard and click the Clear Cache option. Simply click it.
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Clear All Cache With Nexcess
Nexcess is a multifaceted firm that provides fully managed WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento hosting.
Of course, we’re discussing WordPress today. Nexcess will automatically cache your pages if you utilize them to host your WordPress site. If you ever need to clean your cache manually, they make it almost as simple as Kinsta.
From the left-hand menu, select Nexcess > Page Cache. Then, in the admin toolbar, click the Clear Site Cache button.
You’re all done! You’ve successfully purged your site’s cache.
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Clear All Cache With Siteground
The built-in caching solution of Siteground WordPress hosting offers two options to delete the cache: from your Siteground hosting dashboard or your WordPress admin dashboard.
To delete your cache from your hosting dashboard, underneath Site Tools, go to Speed > Caching > Dynamic Cache tab and select the menu button next to the domain name for the site you’d like to delete the cache from. Then press Flush Cache.
Alternatively, the SG Optimizer plugin can be installed. All you have to do now is press the Purge SG Cache button on the admin bar once it’s installed.
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Clear All Cache With WP Engine
WP Engine is a managed WordPress hosting service that includes a built-in caching engine. To put it another way, there’s no need for a caching plugin.
By clicking WP Engine in the top bar (or admin bar) of your WordPress dashboard, you can manually remove your WP Engine cache. Click the blue Purge All Caches button under General Settings… and that’s all there is to it!
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Clear All Cache With BlueHost
One of the most well-known hosting businesses is BlueHost. They also make dealing with caching a breeze. Their hosting package has a built-in caching technology that aids in the optimization and performance of your website.
Simply go to the WordPress dashboard (or your admin area) and find where it says “Caching” on your admin toolbar to erase all cached pages and information with BlueHost. When you hover over it, you should see the option to Purge All appear. To clear all caches, select that option.
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Clearing Cache in a Browser
Clearing your browser cache can also assist in the solution of loading and formatting difficulties. It will delete old files, allowing your browser to get a fresh copy of your website. This will also resolve server-related issues, such as the 502 bad gateway and 504 gateway timeout.
Keep in mind that clearing your browser cache may clear your browser data, including bookmarks and settings. As a result, make sure to export your data from the browser and then import it once the cache has been cleared.
Summary
Caching is an excellent approach to speed up your website by storing copies of your static content for future reuse. Cache files that are out of date, on the other hand, can hinder users from seeing fresh changes on your website.
Fortunately, this issue can be resolved by deleting the cache on your website. This tutorial will show you how to clear the cache in WordPress using some of the most common caching plugins. If clearing the WordPress server cache doesn’t help, try clearing the cache in your browser as well.
It’s worth noting that after the cached files are gone, browsers and servers will have to download them again, which may result in a slightly longer loading time than before.
We hope you found this post useful
