Ever asked your web developers to make a change to your website, had the thumbs up to say the change has been made, but it still looks exactly the same? Even after you’ve refreshed the web page?
You’re not alone. This is one of the most common queries our web support team gets.
And it’s almost always caused by caching issues.
Try this quick fix
TL;DR? To see the latest version of your live site, try a hard refresh first (Ctrl + F5 or Cmd + Shift + R). If that doesn’t work, clear your browser cache or check the site in another browser.
Still can’t see the change – try clearing your cache. Here’s how…
How to clear cache on different browsers
Top tip: close or quit the browser and restart it after clearing the cache!
Google Chrome
- Click the three dots (top right)
- Go to Settings > Privacy and security
- Click Clear browsing data
- Select Cached images and files
- Click Clear data
Mozilla Firefox
- Click the menu (top right)
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security
- Scroll to Cookies and Site Data
- Click Clear Data
- Tick Cached Web Content and confirm
Safari for macOS
- Click Safari in the top menu
- Go to Settings > Advanced
- Tick Show Develop menu in menu bar
- From the top menu, click Develop > Empty Caches
Microsoft Edge
- Click the three dots (top right)
- Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services
- Under Clear browsing data, click Choose what to clear
- Select Cached images and files
- Click Clear now
Safari for iOS
- Open Settings (on your device)
- Scroll down to Safari
- Tap Clear History and Website Data
- Confirm
Google Chrome for iOS
- Open Chrome
- Tap the three dots (bottom right)
- Tap Settings > Privacy
- Tap Clear Browsing Data
- Select Cached Images and Files
- Tap Clear Browsing Data
What is caching?
Caching is your browser (or another part of the internet) saving a version of a website so it can load faster next time.
Instead of downloading everything from scratch every time you visit a page, your browser stores things like images, styles and scripts locally on your device. That’s great for speed, but not so great when something has just changed and your browser is still showing an older version.
It’s basically like keeping a saved copy of a document. If someone updates the original, your saved version won’t be magically updated too.
Types of caching
Here are the different types of caching that could be preventing your updates from appearing straight away.
Browser caching
This is the most common culprit.
Your browser stores files from websites you visit so it can load them faster next time. But if those files change on the website, your browser doesn’t always realise straight away. So it keeps showing you the old version.
WordPress caching
Many of the websites we build are on WordPress. If you can’t see updated website changes on your WordPress website, there may be caching happening within the site itself.
WordPress caching plugins (like page caching or performance tools) create static versions of your pages to improve speed. Until that cache is cleared or refreshed, visitors – including you – might still see the previous version.
Server-side caching
Sometimes caching happens on the server where your website is hosted.
Hosting providers often use caching layers to improve performance. These can store entire pages or database queries. If that cache hasn’t refreshed yet, it can continue serving an older version of your site, even if the changes are live.
DNS caching
DNS caching is a bit different. It stores information about where your website “lives” on the internet.
If changes have been made to domains, hosting, or servers, your device or network might still be pointing to the old location for a short time. This is less common for content changes, but it can still cause confusion after bigger updates.
DNS or hosting changes can take a few hours to fully update across the internet.
CDN caching (e.g. Cloudflare)
A lot of modern websites use CDNs like Cloudflare.
If your site uses a content delivery network (CDN), it may be serving a cached version of your site globally. This cache sometimes needs to be manually cleared after updates.
How to see your website updates
If you’ve been told changes have been made to your website, but you can’t see them, here’s how to quickly troubleshoot…
Hard refresh your browser
A hard refresh forces your browser to reload the page and fetch the latest files.
- Windows: Ctrl + F5 or Ctrl + Shift + R
- Mac: Cmd + Shift + R
This is often enough to solve the problem straight away.
Try incognito/private browsing
By opening your website up in an incognito browser, this loads the website without your existing cache so you can quickly check if the changes are live.
Clear your browser cache
If a hard refresh doesn’t work, clearing your cache will remove stored files completely so your browser starts fresh.
Use a different browser or device
Try opening your website in another browser or on your phone.
If you can see the changes there, it confirms the issue is local caching on your original browser or device.
When to clear your cache after an update has been made
You don’t need to clear your cache every time you visit your website.
But it’s a good idea to do it:
- After a website update or design change
- When something doesn’t look quite right
- If a developer asks you to check changes
- After switching hosting or domains
In most cases, a hard refresh will do the trick. But clearing your cache is your next step if things still look off.
Still experiencing issues?
If you’ve tried everything above and still can’t see the changes live on your website, reach out to your web developers and let them know.
If that’s us, our web support team is here to help!
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