When using a WordPress site, you might encounter problems. For instance, you might be faced with a slow loading speed, with certain blog posts failing to refresh and a poor overall site performance. It’s also possible that you may face problems uploading the images to your WordPress site.
However, the good news is that these are common website issues that can be resolved by clearing the browser cache. In fact, what might appear as a critical problem on your website may only be a minor glitch associated with the browser cache.In this guide, we’ll discuss browser cache, including what it is, why you should consider clearing it, and how you can clear it on commonly used web browsers.
What is Browser Cache?
There’s a storage section in your PC’s hard drive called ‘browser cache’, which saves static content from the internet as you browse through websites. This content includes information such as the text and images on visited sites.This function helps speed up the page loading time and improves the user experience of your websites. When you visit a webpage for the first time, static resources from the site are saved by the browser cache.When you visit the site the next time, the website data will not have to be retrieved from the host servers. Instead, the data is re-downloaded from the browser cache. Since the browser cache is in your PC’s hard drive, the browsing process speeds up dramatically.The browser cache is thus a space in your computer where browsed web content is saved to facilitate quick access to visited websites in the future.At times, the cached files and images create problems when you try to visit a webpage that again results in poor browsing speed and user experience. Clearing the browser cache can help resolve the issue.
Why Clear Browser Cache
There are several reasons why you should clear browser cache. We all know that websites are regularly updated with new content and features. The website data saved a year ago may have greatly changed on the respective webpages. Clearing browser cache is a great solution that prompts your web browser to retrieve the most updated version of the webpages.You may have also come across 502 errors or 404 errors while trying to visit your own website. These errors indicate that your browser is corrupted and clearing browser cache helps with this issue.Besides, your browser cache might itself be carrying malware. To get rid of it, you must clear the browser cache.Also, it’s important to know that browser caches in your PC’s hard drive are subject to size limits. When they’re filled to capacity, browsing speeds are affected. When you clear the cache, you free up space on the hard drive, allowing for smoother browsing.Hence, clearing the browser cache helps you start fresh on the particular web browser you frequently use. Having said that, there are different ways to clear the cache on different browsers. Let’s take a look at them:
Clearing the Cache for Commonly Used Web Browsers
If you’re not sure how to clear browser cache on the browser you use most often, this section can be of great help. If you’re facing trouble with only one webpage on your website, simply performing a hard fresh of that page should help resolve the problem.Performing a forced refresh is quite simple, regardless of the browser you’re using. Depending on the browser you use, the following hotkeys will do that job for you:
- Google Chrome: Press CMD + Shift + R
- Internet Explorer: Press CTRL + F5
- Mozilla Firefox: PressCMD + SHIFT + R
- Windows and Linux Browsers: Press CTRL + F5
- Apple Safari: Press SHIFT + Reload toolbar button
Keep in mind that forcing a single-page refresh on any of the web browsers will only enable you to bypass the cache for that particular page. The cache for the rest of the webpages on your site will not be altered.To resolve a problem that extends throughout your website, clearing the entire browser cache should help. Let’s find out how you do that for different browsers:
How to Clear the Cache on Chrome
On your Google Chrome browser, you’ll find three dots on at the top right corner of the window. Click on them and from the dropdown menu, navigate to More tools and click Clear browsing data, as shown below:
Alternatively, you can simply press CTRL + SHIFT + Delete to reach this step.Then, choose only the box labeled “Cached Images and files” to clear the browser cache. If any other box is chosen such as “Browsing history”, “Passwords and other sign-in data”, “Cookies and other site data”, etc., uncheck them unless you want to clear them, too.Other web data that Chrome allows you to clear from here includes browsing history, cookies, download history, saved passwords, site settings, autofill form data, and hosted app data.
The browser also allows you to choose a time range for which you wish to clear the cache. By default, it will only clear the cache saved in the past one hour. Therefore, if you want to clear more or all browser cache, don’t forget to change the ‘Last hour’ time range to “Last 7 days”, “All time”, or any other given time range.To clear the browser cache in your Chrome mobile app, launch the application and press the three dots you see at the bottom of the screen. From the menu, navigate to Settings < Privacy < Clear Browsing Data. Tap on Cached images and files button to check it before choosing to clear the browsing data. Finally, tap Clear browsing data again to confirm your actions.
How to Clear the Cache on Mozilla Firefox
If you find yourself more comfortable working on Mozilla Firefox, you might want to know how to clear browser cache on this browser. Open the browser window and select the hamburger icon on the upper right corner of the window.
From the dropdown, navigate to Options. Then, choose the ‘Privacy and Security’ tab from the options on the left-hand side and scroll down to the ‘History’ section. Now select the ‘Clear history’ option.The window that now appears will enable you to select items you wish to delete including download and browsing history, login information, cache, cookies, and form history. You may also choose to delete offline website data and data pertaining to site preferences.
After checking items, select the time range for which you wish to delete the items and finally select “Clear Now”.Pressing CTRL + SHIFT + Delete buttons on your keyboard should directly bring you to the ‘Clear All History’ you see in the screenshot above.If you use the browser on your smartphone, clearing the cache on the browser app isn’t difficult either. Once you’ve launched the app, press the three dots menu on the bottom of the screen and navigate to Settings < Data Management. You will see an on/off slider next to the term ‘Cache’. Switch the slider to the on position and select ‘Clear Private Data’.
How to Clear the Cache on Internet Explorer
If you’re used to browsing on the Internet Explorer, you should know how to clear browser cache on the browser. On the upper right corner of the browser window, you’ll find a gear icon. Click on the icon, hover the mouse on Safety and click on Delete browsing history from the dropdown.To access the menu directly, press CTRL + SHIFT + Delete on your keyboard.
Now choose the items you want to delete by checking the relevant boxes. Make sure you uncheck the items you wish to keep so you don’t end up accidentally deleting important information.For instance, if you wish to delete only the browser cache, check the ‘Temporary Internet files and website files’ box. Once you’re done checking and unchecking items, select ‘Delete’ to clear the chosen items including the cache.
To clear the cache from your Internet explorer mobile app, launch the browser app and select the ‘More’ option. Click ‘Settings’ and tap ‘Delete history’. Finally, click the ‘delete’ button again to confirm the action.
How to Clear the Cache on Safari
There are two ways to clear browser cache on Safari. First, click on Safari and select ‘Clear history’ from the dropdown.
On the window that pops up, click on the ‘Clear history’ button. This will delete your entire browsing history, including all searched pages, cookies, and of course, the browser cache.The second technique allows you to only delete the browser cache and keep the rest of the history. You can do that by navigating to Safari < Preferences < Advanced. At the bottom of the ‘Advanced’ window, you’ll find a checkbox labeled ‘Show Develop menu in menu bar’. Check that option so that the ‘Develop’ item appears on the menu bar on the top of the window.
Now go to the ‘Develop’ option and select ‘Empty Caches’. This will clear your cache.
You can also clear cache on your Safari browser app on your smartphone or tablet. To do that, launch the Safari browser app on your mobile device and click on ‘Settings’. Upon scrolling down, you’ll see the option “Clear history and Website Data”. Choose that option and then tap again on ‘Clear history and Data’ to confirm your action.
How to Clear the Cache on Microsoft Edge
When it comes to clearing the cache on Microsoft edge, the technique is simple. Tap the three horizontal dots you see on the top right corner of your browser and choose the ‘Settings’ option from the dropdown.
On the window that appears, go to ‘Privacy & Security’ and select ‘Choose what to clear’ option.
You’ll now see a list of items that you may want to delete, such as ‘Cached Data and files’, ‘Browsing history’, etc. A shortcut to this browser is to press CTRL + SHIFT + Delete.
Select ‘Cached Data and files’ and all other items you want to delete and tap ‘Clear’. Your browser cache is now cleared.As seen in the screenshot above, there’s an on/off toggle at the end of this menu labeled ‘Always clear this when I close the browser’. Switching it ‘on’ will automate the clearance process.To clear the cache on Microsoft Edge app, open the browser app and select the three-dots option at the bottom. Navigate to Settings < Privacy and click ‘Clear browsing data’ from there. Select cache and all other web data you wish to delete. Finally, click ‘Clear browsing data’ and then ‘Clear’ to confirm the action.
How to Clear the Cache on Opera
To clear the cache on Opera browser, start by tapping the Opera icon on the top left corner of the browser window. Then, navigate to History < Clear browsing data from the dropdown that appears.
The next window will give you the choice to delete cached images and files, browsing history, and cookies and other site data. Once you have made your selections, tap ‘Clear data’.By clicking on the Advanced tab, you can delete other web data such as login passwords, autofill form information, download history, and so on.Clearing the cache on Opera mobile app is also simple. Open the Opera browser app and press the three-dot option at the top of the app screen. Select ‘Clear browsing data’ and then select the ‘Cached Images and files’ box. Finally, tap the ‘Clear’ button at the bottom of the app screen to clear the data.
If, however, you use Opera Mini app, select ‘Settings’ and choose ‘Clear browsing Data’. Then select ‘Clear cookies and data’ and tap ‘OK’. The browser cache and data from the app will be cleared.
Final Word
Now that you know how to clear browser cache from all the popular web browsers, you can use WordPress seamlessly. Deleting the cache is really beneficial as it can improve your site performance, page loading speeds, and user experience.Despite clearing the cache, if you experience issues with your WordPress site, One Smart Sheep can help you out. Get in touch with us now!
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