Seeing an invalid (old, expired) cached pages is one of the most common and frustrating stumbling blocks for people getting to WordPress development for the first time. Different caching systems have different (or non-existent) options to clear that cache. In this video and guide we explain how the clear the cache if you’re using the WP Super Cache plugin.
While editing your site’s PHP, you might run into a problem where the changes you make don’t appear on the live site. While WP Super Cache is a great way to make your site faster for users, it does mean that sometimes you as a developer have to remember to “purge the cache”. How that’s done varies, but the need to clear cache can be kind of frequent while doing small tweaks for client projects. Here’s the video explaining how to do it:
Here’s how to purge your cache of WP Super Cache
- From your site’s dashboard, select “Settings” and then “WP Super Cache”.
- Click the “Delete Cache” button under the “Delete Cached Pages” section.
(click to enlarge) - After your first click, your cache will be cleared! You’ll be re-directed to the “Contents” tab within the WP Super Cache settings. If you need to clear the cache again (or just want to make double-sure it cleared), you want to click the click “Delete Cache” here (ignoring the option for “Delete Expired” even though it’s highlighted by default).
(click to enlarge) - To see your refreshed (uncached) site, open it in a different tab and check that your desired change is now visible. If you already had your site open, you might need to hard refresh (command-shift-r) as well before it will appear.
- That’s it! If you’re making a lot of small changes to your site but you want to keep caching on, it’s a great idea to leave this tab open so you can repeat this process regularly.
Will it clear cache in other users browser too? I am using wp super cache plugin in my wordpress site, but users complain to me that they can’t see the updated content/links.
Hey Ashok, short answer is that it’s hard to say. Clearing the cache will change what the server for a page will deliver next time. But other layers of caching (like a DNS-level cache like Cloudflare) and/or local browser caching could cause people to still see older versions. Other thing to know–if you’ve not EXPLICITLY cleared the cache, a logged-in WordPress user usually will see non-cached pages when user who aren’t logged in will get a cached one.