Guide for Clearing Cache in WordPress
Clearing cache in WordPress enables you to see the changes you make to your website immediately. The web browser, caching plugins and server store data that cause it to take long for you to notice the changes you make. In this post, we will be taking a look at the things you need to do to clear cache.
What is a cache?
Caching solutions normally store the static versions of your site. By so doing, WordPress skips the process of running the heavier PHP scripts to load a page. Caches hence improve the performance of your website. The most popular caching solutions on WordPress include W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache. The whole purpose of caching is simply to boost the speed of your website and improve the user experience. However, this can cause you not to see changes you make. This is where clearing cache in WordPress comes in handy. Here are the steps you need to take when clearing cache.
Clear browser cache
The first cache you need to clear is that of your browser. When cache has been stored, a browser can fail to notice that changes have been made to a page since the page is loaded from the cached version. You need to clear the cache to notice the changes. If you are using Google Chrome, go to More Tools>>Clear Browsing Data. Select what you want to elect then click on ‘Clear Browsing Data’.
Clear WordPress plugin cache
If you have installed caching plugins, you have to clear the plugin. You can do this easily from the settings page of the plugin. For example, if you are using WP Super Cache, you need to go to Settings>>WP Super Cache page then click on the ‘Delete Cache’ button. For the W3 Total Cache, go to Performance>>Dashboard page then select ‘empty all caches’ button.
Different caching plugins have varying procedures on how to clear cache. The good news is that there are so many resources you can use online to learn how to clear cache on the plugin you use.
Cache is important for the smooth running of your website. You have to be careful before clearing cache in WordPress. Make sure that clearing this data is necessary. The reason for this is because clearing the data means that when loading the page the next time, it will take longer to load up. Only clear the data when it is necessary.