In Brief
Try a hard refresh first using Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
If that doesn’t work, clear your caching plugin from the WordPress admin bar or settings
Check your hosting dashboard and CDN (like Cloudflare) if changes still aren’t showing
Work through each cache level in order: browser, plugin, hosting, then CDN
Clearing cache is safe and won’t delete your content or break your site
You’re updating your website.
Maybe you corrected a typo, added a new service, or changed the homepage banner. You hit publish, check your site, and nothing has changed.
The old version is still there, staring back at you.
This is one of the most common frustrations for WordPress site owners. The good news is that it’s almost always a cache issue, and it’s easy to fix. Your browser or server is simply showing a ‘saved copy’ of your site instead of the fresh version.
In this guide, you’ll learn what WordPress cache is, why it causes this problem, and exactly how to clear it at every level.
By the end, you’ll know the steps to take whenever your changes aren’t appearing.
Table of Contents
What Is Cache and Why Does It Cause Problems?
Think of cache like a photocopy of your website.
Instead of building every page from scratch each time someone visits, your WordPress site saves cached copies that load much faster for visitors. This speeds up your site and reduces the load on your server.
Your WordPress site can have several layers of cache working at once.
Your visitor’s browser saves files locally on their device. Your caching plugin creates static copies of pages on the server. Your web host might cache at the server level too. And if you use a CDN like Cloudflare, that adds yet another layer.
All this caching makes your site load more quickly.
The problem comes when you make changes. Those cached copies don’t automatically know your site has updated. They keep serving the old version until someone tells them to refresh.
That’s what clearing the cache does. You’re telling all these systems to delete their saved copies and fetch the current version of your site.
Clear Your Browser Cache First
Before touching anything on your website, start with your browser. This is often the quickest fix and the most common cause of the problem.
Quick Method: Hard Refresh
A hard refresh forces your browser to reload the page without using its cached files. This is the fastest thing to try.
On Windows or Linux: Press Ctrl+Shift+R or Ctrl+F5
On Mac: Press Cmd+Shift+R
If your changes appear after the hard refresh, the problem was simply your browser showing an old copy. No further action needed.
Full Browser Cache Clear
If the hard refresh doesn’t work, clear your browser’s cache completely.
In Google Chrome:
- Click the three dots in the top right corner
- Go to Settings, then Privacy and security
- Click Delete browsing data
- Select Cached images and files
- Click Delete data
In Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu bar
- Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions)
- Go to the Privacy tab
- Click Manage Website Data
- Click Remove All
In Firefox:
- Click the three lines in the top right corner
- Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security
- Scroll to Cookies and Site Data
- Click Clear Data
- Tick Cached Web Content and click Clear
After clearing your browser cache, refresh your website. If your changes are still missing, move on to clearing your WordPress cache.
Clear Your WordPress Caching Plugin
Most WordPress sites use a caching plugin to improve speed. If you’re not sure whether you have one, check your WordPress admin sidebar for names like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache.
Alternatively, look at the list of installed plugins.
WP Rocket
WP Rocket is one of the most popular caching plugins for WordPress. To clear the cache:
- Look for the WP Rocket menu in your WordPress admin bar at the top of the screen
- Hover over it and click Clear Cache
You can also go to Settings, then WP Rocket, and click the Clear Cache button on the dashboard.
W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache is a free alternative used on many WordPress sites.
- Find the Performance menu in your WordPress admin bar
- Click Purge All Caches
Alternatively, go to Performance in your admin sidebar, then click Empty All Caches from the dashboard.
LiteSpeed Cache
If your hosting uses LiteSpeed servers you might have the LiteSpeed Cache plugin installed.
- Go to LiteSpeed Cache in your WordPress sidebar
- Click Toolbox
- Click Purge All to clear everything
Other Caching Plugins
Most caching plugins follow a similar pattern. Look for a menu item in your admin bar or a Clear Cache or Purge button in the plugin’s settings page.
The option is usually prominent and easy to find.
Good caching plugins automatically clear the cache for individual pages when you update them. You typically only need to manually clear the entire cache after making site-wide changes or when troubleshooting display issues.
Clear Your Hosting Provider’s Cache
Many web hosts provide their own server-level caching, especially managed WordPress hosts. This cache sits between your WordPress site and your visitors, making pages load faster.
To clear your hosting cache, log into your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or your host’s custom dashboard). Look for options labelled Caching, Performance, or Speed. There should be a clear cache or purge button somewhere in those settings.
If you can’t find it, check your host’s support documentation or contact their support team. Some hosts handle caching automatically and don’t provide a manual clearing option.
UK hosts like 20i, Starter, and Krystal often have caching options in their dashboards. Managed WordPress hosts such as WP Engine and Kinsta include cache clearing directly within your WordPress admin or through their own plugins.
Clear Your CDN Cache
What Is a CDN and Do I Have One?
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a service that stores copies of your website on servers around the world. Visitors receive your web content from the nearest location rather than your main hosting server, which speeds up loading times.
For a UK business, this means your site loads quickly for local customers and just as quickly for visitors in other countries.
Not every website uses a CDN. If you’re not sure whether you have one, here are some ways to check:
Signs you probably have a CDN:
- You signed up for Cloudflare (the most common option for small businesses)
- Your hosting provider mentioned CDN or “content delivery” as part of your package
- You see Cloudflare, Sucuri, or another CDN name in your WordPress plugins
- Someone set up your website and mentioned adding speed or security services
Signs you probably don’t have a CDN:
- You’ve never heard of Cloudflare or any CDN service
- You set up your own website and only signed up for hosting
- Your hosting is a basic shared package without extras
If you don’t have a CDN, you can skip this section entirely. Your cache clearing stops at the hosting level. If you’re still unsure, clearing browser and plugin cache usually solves most problems anyway.
Clearing Cloudflare Cache
Cloudflare is the most common CDN for small business websites in the UK, partly because it offers a generous free tier that includes basic CDN and security features.
If you use Cloudflare, you’ll need to clear its cache separately from your WordPress cache.
- Log into your Cloudflare dashboard at cloudflare.com
- Select your website
- Go to Caching, then Configuration
- Click Purge Everything
You can also purge specific URLs if you only need to refresh certain pages. This is less disruptive than clearing everything and faster for your visitors.
If you use a different CDN provider, check their documentation for cache purging instructions. The process is similar across most services.
What If Clearing Cache Doesn’t Work?
Sometimes you work through every layer of cache and your changes still don’t appear. Before panicking, try these steps.
First, double-check you’ve actually saved your changes in WordPress. It sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget to click Update or Publish.
Or maybe WordPress got stuck while saving your page.
Try viewing your site in a different browser or on your phone. This rules out browser-specific issues and confirms whether the problem is local to your device.
Wait a few minutes. Some caches take time to refresh fully, especially CDN caches which need to update across multiple servers around the world.
If you’ve cleared all caches and waited, and changes still aren’t showing, the problem might be elsewhere. Check for plugin conflicts by temporarily deactivating plugins one by one. Theme issues can also prevent updates from displaying correctly.
For persistent problems, contact your hosting provider’s support team. They can check server-side issues and verify your cache is clearing properly.
Summary
Clearing your cache is a normal part of managing a WordPress website and dealing with hiccups.
Work through the levels in order: browser first, then your caching plugin, then hosting, then CDN. Most of the time, the first two steps solve the problem.
Remember that caching exists to make your site faster for visitors. You don’t need to clear it constantly, only when your changes aren’t appearing or you’re troubleshooting display issues.
Once you’ve done this a few times, it becomes second nature. The whole process takes less than a minute and saves you the frustration of wondering why your updates have vanished.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clearing the cache deletes temporary saved copies of your website pages and images. This forces browsers and servers to load fresh versions of your site instead of showing old stored copies. It doesn’t delete any of your actual website content, posts, or settings. Your site simply rebuilds those cached copies the next time someone visits.
No. Clearing cache only removes temporary files that help your site load faster. Your posts, pages, images, plugins, themes, and all other content remain completely untouched. The cache rebuilds automatically when visitors next access your site.
You don’t need to clear cache on a regular schedule. Only clear it when you’ve made changes that aren’t appearing on your live site, or when troubleshooting display issues. Good caching plugins automatically clear cache for individual pages when you update them. Manual clearing is mainly needed after site-wide changes like theme or plugin updates.
WordPress sites typically have several layers of caching working together. Your browser caches files locally. Your caching plugin stores page copies on the server. Your web host might have additional server-level caching. And CDNs like Cloudflare cache content globally. Each layer needs clearing separately because they operate independently.
First, make sure you’ve cleared cache at every level: browser, plugin, hosting, and CDN. Try viewing your site in a different browser or on your phone. Check that you actually saved your changes in WordPress. If nothing works, wait a few minutes as some caches take time to refresh. Persistent problems might indicate plugin conflicts or theme issues.
Browser cache is stored on your computer and affects only what you see. WordPress cache (through plugins or hosting) is stored on web servers and affects what all visitors see. When troubleshooting, clear your browser cache first to rule out local issues. If others can’t see your changes either, you need to clear the server-side WordPress cache.
A caching plugin significantly improves your site’s loading speed, which helps with user experience and search engine rankings. Most WordPress sites benefit from one. Popular options include WP Rocket (paid), W3 Total Cache (free), and LiteSpeed Cache (free). However, some managed WordPress hosts provide built-in caching, so an additional plugin might not be necessary.
Visitors won’t notice anything negative when you clear cache. The cache rebuilds when they next visit your site. The only potential effect is that the very first visitor after cache clearing might experience slightly slower load times as the server generates fresh cached copies.
If you don’t have a dedicated caching plugin, check your hosting dashboard for cache management options. Many hosts provide server-level caching that can be cleared through their control panel. You should also clear your browser cache. If your host doesn’t offer caching features, consider installing a caching plugin to improve your site’s speed.
It’s good practice to clear your cache after major updates, though many caching plugins do this automatically. If you notice any display issues or broken layouts after updating, clearing the cache should be your first troubleshooting step. This ensures visitors see the updated version of your site rather than a cached copy of the old one.
For most WordPress sites, yes. A caching plugin makes your pages load faster, which improves visitor experience and helps with Google rankings.