How to Clear Your Cache

You’ve received the link to your dev site from the team working on your new website but it looks outdated! Or maybe you’re double-checking on a website update but don’t see the change that was supposed to be made anywhere. What now? You may need to clear your cache.

Here’s exactly how to clear your cache, and why it’s important.

Learn How To Clear Your Cache

Why Clearing Your Cache is Important

When you visit a website, your web browser “caches” certain information so that the page will load quicker the next time you visit. This is why a site might load slowly the first time you see it.

This is an important feature as most people are only willing to wait about 3 seconds for a page to load before they go to another site. Browser caching helps your site load quickly which creates an awesome user experience for your visitors.

However, when you’re waiting for website changes to be made caching can create a problem.

If your browser is showing you cached data from a previous visit to your site, then you may not see changes that have been made. Additionally, your cache may have become corrupted and could interfere with how the page functions.

Clearing your cache forces your browser to load the site as it is currently and not the cached version, often fixing a bug or outdated piece of information you may be seeing.

How to Clear Your Cache

** Please note that these instructions use screenshots from Google Chrome for desktop. If you would like to see examples or specific instructions from another browser or device, skip to the bottom of the post for links.

Go to “History.” In Chrome, click the three buttons in the top right corner of your browser and click “History.”

You should be looking at your browser’s history. From there, select “Clear browsing data” on the left side of the page.

This will open up a window allowing you to select which data you would like to clear. Make sure you’re clearing “Cached images and files.” Select “Clear data.”