How To Clear Cache In WordPress: 5 Quick Methods

Caching enhances WordPress website performance by speeding up load times, but can also delay updates from appearing immediately. This occurs when your browser, web hosting server, or caching plugins store display an older version of your site instead of the latest changes.

That’s why clearing the cache is so important. When you delete the cached files, the browser or server is forced to download fresh content. This ensures visitors always see the latest updates and that the website functions properly. This guide explores different ways to clear cache in WordPress and keep your site running smoothly.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The WordPress clear cache process helps ensure visitors see your website’s latest updates.
• Browser cache stores website files on a visitor’s device; clearing it fixes display issues.
• Hosting providers often have server-side caching, which can be cleared through cPanel, Site Tools, or a hosting dashboard.
• A Content Delivery Network (CDN) caches website files across multiple servers; clearing CDN cache ensures global users see the most updated content.
• Clear the firewall cache using Sucuri Firewall to ensure the latest security updates are active.
• If you recently migrated your WordPress website, clearing the DNS cache on your computer ensures you’re loading the site from the new server.
• Regularly managing your cache helps maintain website speed, security, and smooth functionality.

Understand WordPress Cache

WordPress cache is a system that stores temporary data to make your website load faster. Instead of fetching all content from the database every time someone visits your WordPress site, caching saves a copy of web pages, images, and scripts.

This way, when a user returns, WordPress loads the saved (cached) version instead of generating the page from scratch. This allows website pages to load faster and reduces the strain on the server.

WordPress websites use different types of caching to improve speed and performance. Here are the main ones:

Browser Cache

Browser cache stores website files on your device, like images, CSS styles, and JavaScript files. When you revisit the website, your browser loads these saved files instead of downloading them again. This reduces data usage and makes the site load faster. However, if the website changes, you may not see the updates immediately unless you clear your browser cache.

Server Cache

The server cache is managed by the web hosting provider. Instead of making WordPress load a page from the database every time, the server saves a preloaded version and shows it to visitors. This helps handle more traffic and speeds up the website. If the server cache isn’t updated, visitors may see old content, so sometimes you should clear it manually.

Object Cache

WordPress websites run database queries to fetch content like posts, comments, and user information. Object caching saves these queries’ results, so they don’t have to run each time someone visits the site. This helps reduce database load and improves speed, especially on busy websites. Plugins like Redis Object Cache and Memcached are commonly used for object caching.

Plugin Cache

WordPress caching plugins like WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and W3 Total Cache create and store cached copies of your website. These plugins reduce the need for WordPress to load pages from scratch, improving speed and performance. Many caching plugins allow you to control when and how the cache refreshes to keep your WordPress site updated.

CDN Cache

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) caches website content across multiple servers worldwide. When a visitor opens your website, the CDN serves files from the nearest server instead of your hosting server. This reduces load times and improves performance for users in different locations. Popular CDNs like Cloudflare and StackPath use caching to speed up WordPress sites.

Now that you understand about WordPress cache, how it works, and the different types, here are the steps to clear it effectively.

How to Clear Cache in WordPress

In this section, we’ll learn five ways to clear cache:

1. Clear Your Web Browser Cache
2. Clear Cache from the WordPress Hosting Panel
3. Clear Cache in WordPress via Content Delivery Network
4. Clear Your WordPress Firewall Plugin Cache.

Clear Your Web Browser Cache

First, clear your web browser cache. Browsers save static website elements like stylesheets, JavaScript files, images, and other data to help pages load faster. However, sometimes the browser doesn’t detect updates to a web page.

Instead of retrieving the latest version, it may display an older, cached copy stored in your system. By clearing your browser cache, you can:

• See the latest updates.
• Fix display errors caused by outdated files.
• Improve website speed and functionality.

Clearing your browser cache can also fix server-related issues like the 502 Bad Gateway and WordPress 500 Internal Server Error. However, clearing the cache may also remove browser data, such as bookmarks and saved preferences. To avoid losing important information, consider exporting your data before proceeding and restoring it afterwards.

Below are the steps to clear cache in Google Chrome effectively:

Open Google Chrome on your computer. Navigate to ⋮  (at top-right) → Delete browsing data.

Alternatively, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete from your keyboard or type the following in the address bar and click Enter to land on the same page.

chrome://settings/clearBrowserData

Whatever approach you use, you’ll see the Delete browsing data popup with options to delete different types of stored data.

Select the Time range (choose All time for a full cache reset). Mark the box next to Cached images and files. Optionally, you can also check Cookies and other site data to log out of websites. Then, click Delete data to delete the cached files.

This will remove old WordPress website files stored by Chrome, forcing it to download the latest versions.

After clearing the cache, reload your WordPress site to see if the changes are visible. If the site still looks the same, try these steps:

• Hard refresh your browser by pressing Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac).
• Open the site in an incognito window to see if the issue is related to caching.
• Try clearing the cache on other devices to confirm the update.

If the problem persists, try clearing other cache types (like WordPress plugin cache or CDN cache), which we discuss in the following sections.

Clear Cache from the WordPress Hosting Panel

Many WordPress hosting providers offer built-in caching to make websites load faster. This means the server automatically saves a temporary version of your site to reduce load times. However, if you update your website, the cached version may still show old content. To fix this, you need to clear the cache from your hosting panel.

Here’s how to clear the WordPress cache using the Hosted.com control panel (cPanel):

Navigate to cPanel → Advanced → LiteSpeed Web Cache Manager.

Scroll to Flush LSCache and click Flush All to remove all stored cache files. This will clear cached files from the server, ensuring visitors see your latest website updates.

If clearing the cache from your hosting panel doesn’t solve the issue, move to the following sections.

Clear Cache in WordPress via Content Delivery Network

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) makes websites load faster by storing copies of your content on servers around the globe. When someone visits your website, the CDN delivers files from the closest server instead of the hosting server. But sometimes, it may show an older version of your WordPress site. If your updates aren’t appearing, clearing the CDN cache will force it to load the latest content.

Here’s how to clear cache in Cloudflare:

Login to your Cloudflare account.

Click on your desired domain name from the dashboard. Next, navigate to Caching → Configuration. Then, click Purge Everything. Confirm the action to delete all cached files. This will clear all stored files, forcing Cloudflare to fetch new content from your hosting server.

Note:  If you use a different CDN, the steps to clear cache may vary. However, most CDNs have a similar process. For a smooth process, we recommend you refer to their documentation.

Clear Your WordPress Firewall Plugin Cache

Firewall plugins protect your WordPress site from hackers, malware, and suspicious activity. Some security plugins, also have built-in caching to help improve performance. While this is useful, it can sometimes store outdated security rules or website content, which may prevent visitors from seeing recent updates.

To ensure your site functions correctly, try clearing the firewall plugin cache. Below, we go through the steps to do this using Sucuri Firewall and discuss an additional step for clearing DNS cache if you recently moved your website.

If you’re also using Sucuri Firewall (WAF), follow these steps to clear its cache:

Go to WordPress Dashboard → Sucuri Security → Firewall (WAF). Switch to Clear Cache.

Then, press Clear Global Cache to remove all stored files.

Sucuri will refresh your website’s security rules and content, ensuring all updates are applied.

TIP: If you recently migrated your WordPress site to a new hosting provider, your DNS cache may still point to the old server. This means you could be loading an outdated version of your site. Ensure your computer or browser fetches the latest site version by clearing your DNS cache.

How to Prevent Cache Issues in the Future

To keep your website running smoothly, you must manage cache settings properly. If not handled well, caching can cause outdated content to appear, making it hard to see recent updates. Follow a few best practices to prevent cache-related problems and ensure your website loads quickly and correctly.

One key step is to set cache expiration times correctly. Caching works by storing copies of web pages and files to speed up loading times, but if the cache lasts too long, users may see old content instead of recent updates. Most caching plugins let you control how long cached data stays before it is refreshed. Setting a reasonable expiration time, like 24 hours, ensures your site stays updated while benefiting from faster load times.

Another way to prevent cache issues is to exclude dynamic content from caching. Some parts of your website, such as shopping carts, login pages, or live chat features, change frequently and should not be cached. Many caching plugins allow you to set rules to exclude these pages to ensure they always load fresh content. This is particularly useful for ecommerce sites and membership websites where user-specific data needs to be updated in real-time.

Keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated to prevent cache issues. Updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements that keep your site running efficiently.

If you’re using a caching plugin, ensure it is compatible with the latest version of WordPress to avoid conflicts that could lead to caching problems. These simple steps will help ensure visitors always see the newest content while enjoying fast page speeds.

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