How to Clear Cache in WordPress Website?

Is your WordPress website loading slowly? Are you experiencing frequent crashes or errors? A common reason behind these is caching issues.

A cache stores static versions of your website to speed up loading times. However, over time, this cache can become outdated or corrupted, leading to performance degradation. When this happens, your website can appear unformatted, frustrate visitors, and even increase bounce rate.

To keep your WordPress website optimized, it is crucial to clear the unnecessary cache. In this blog, we’ll dive into various methods used by WordPres development experts to clear cache. With that said, let’s start!

What is Caching in WordPress?

Caching in WordPress is a technique used to improve website performance by temporarily storing static files or data. When you cache a page or database query, the requests for that page or data are served from the cache. By using caching you can enhance the website load time as it’s faster to fetch data from the cache storage than querying the database.

Types of Caching

• Page Caching: Stores a fully rendered version of a webpage. When visitors access the page again, they get the cached version instead of querying the server.
• Browser Caching: Stores static resources (images, CSS, JavaScript) in the user’s browser to avoid re-downloading them every time.
• Object Caching: Caches the results of database queries, helping reduce the time spent on repeated queries.
• Opcode Caching: Caches PHP code to reduce the need for re-compiling the scripts with each request.

By implementing caching effectively, you can significantly enhance your WordPress website’s speed and overall user experience. Now let’s learn how to clear cache in WordPress website when you come across caching issues.

How to Clear Cache in WordPress?

Caching is an essential feature in WordPress that significantly improves website performance. However, there are times when you need to clear your cache, such as after updating your website or troubleshooting display issues. Here’s a detailed guide on clearing WordPress cache using various methods:

Method 1: Using LiteSpeed

The LiteSpeed Cache plugin is an efficient tool for managing and optimizing WordPress cache. It leverages the LiteSpeed server’s unique caching capabilities to improve website speed and performance.

Step 1: Install and Activate the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin

• Log into your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Navigate to Plugins → Add New.
• Search for LiteSpeed Cache and click Install Now, then activate it.
• If your hosting provider (e.g., Hostinger) comes with pre-installed plugins, you can skip this step.

Step 2: Access the LiteSpeed Cache Dashboard

• From your WordPress admin menu, select LiteSpeed Cache → Toolbox.
• The Toolbox window displays various caching tools. In the Toolbox section, you’ll find options for clearing:
  • Page Cache: Static content like posts and pages.
  • CSS/JS Cache: Stylesheets and scripts.
  • Object Cache: Database query results.
• Select the type of cache you need to purge.

Step 3: Clear Cache

• To completely clear the cache, click Purge All.
• For clearing specific cache scroll to the Purge By section to clear specific content.
• Enter details like the category, tag, or URL of the content to purge only the desired cache.

Step 4: Purge Cache for a Single Page

• Visit the page you want to clear as an administrator.
• Hover over the LiteSpeed Cache icon on the admin bar and select Purge This Page.

Ideal For: Websites hosted on LiteSpeed servers and users looking for advanced caching and optimization features.

Method 2: Using hPanel

Hostinger’s custom control panel, hPanel, simplifies cache management, making it easy to clear cache without plugins.

Step 1: Log Into hPanel

• Visit the Hostinger website and log into your account.
• On the dashboard, locate your hosting plan and click to manage it.
• Navigate to Advanced → Cache Manager from the hPanel menu.

Step 2: Enable Automatic Cache Clearing

• Toggle the Automatic Cache option on. This ensures the system clears the cache every 30 minutes.
• A success message will confirm the updated cache status.

Step 3: Clear Cache

• Click the Purge All button to clear all cached files instantly.
• A confirmation message will indicate the cache has been successfully cleared.
• To clear cache on a specific website, enter the URL you want to purge in the provided field and click Purge.

Ideal For: Hostinger users looking for a simple, plugin-free solution and beginners who prefer an intuitive control panel for website management.

Method 3: Using WP Super Cache Plugin

The WP Super Cache plugin is popular for its versatile caching modes and ease of use. It supports high-traffic websites with advanced caching features.

Step 1: Access WP Super Cache Settings

• Log into your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Navigate to Settings → WP Super Cache.

Step 2: Delete Cached Pages

• Scroll to the Delete Cached Pages section on the plugin’s settings page.
• Click Delete Cache to clear all cached pages and files instantly.

Step 3: Set Up Garbage Collection

• Navigate to Settings → WP Super Cache → Advanced.
• Scroll to the Expiry Time & Garbage Collection section.
• Configure the Cache Timeout:
  • For static websites, set the timeout to 3600 seconds.
  • For dynamic websites (e.g., eCommerce), set it to 600 seconds to keep content fresh.
• Click Change Expiration to apply your settings.
• If you want to stop automatic cache clearing, set the cache timeout to 0 seconds.

Ideal For: High-traffic websites using WP Super Cache for enhanced performance and users needing automated cache expiration settings.

Method 4: Using Cloudflare CDN

Cloudflare is a content delivery network (CDN) offering robust caching and optimization features. It enables quick cache clearing to ensure global consistency across cached content.

Step 1: Set Up Cloudflare and Log In

• Create an account on Cloudflare’s website.
• Add your domain name and allow Cloudflare to scan your DNS records.
• Select a plan (free or paid, based on your needs).
• Update your domain’s nameservers to the ones provided by Cloudflare. This can be done in your hosting account.
• Navigate to your Cloudflare account and select the domain for which you want to clear the cache.

Step 2: Clear Cache

• From the Cloudflare dashboard, go to Caching → Configuration.
• To clear all cached content, click Purge Everything. This ensures all stored files are refreshed.
• For specific pages, select Custom Purge and enter the URLs to be purged.

Ideal For: Websites relying on Cloudflare for CDN and performance optimization and users seeking a global caching solution for high-speed content delivery.

By using any of the above given methods you can easily clear cache in WordPress website. If you need a simple approach, clear cache with a plugin. On the other hand, if you want to use advanced methods for more control, use the CDN platform.

Clearing Cache in a Browser (Chrome)

Clearing your browser’s cache is often necessary to troubleshoot website display issues or load updated content. An outdated or corrupted cache file can sometimes cause problems. Here are the steps to clear cache in Google Chrome:

Step 1: Open Chrome’s Settings

• Launch Google Chrome and click the three-dot (⋮) menu icon in the top-right corner of the browser window.
• Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Access the Privacy and Security Settings

• In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and Security.
• Under this section, select Clear browsing data.

Step 3: Choose What to Clear

In the Clear browsing data window, you’ll see two tabs: Basic and Advanced.

• Basic: Provides quick options to clear browsing history, cookies, and cached images and files.
• Advanced: Offers additional options, such as clearing passwords, autofill form data, and site settings.

Step 4: Select the Time Range

Use the dropdown menu to choose a time range. Here are the options that will be available:

• Last hour: Clears cache from the last hour.
• Last 24 hours: Clears cache from the past day.
• Last 7 days: Clears cache from the past week.
• All time: Clears all cached files stored in Chrome.

Step 5: Check the Cache Option

In the Basic tab, ensure that Cached images and files are checked. This option deletes the stored static resources from websites. If you want to clear other data, such as cookies, select Cookies and other site data (optional).

Step 6: Clear Cache

• Click the Clear data button to remove the cache.
• Depending on the amount of cached data, this process might take a few seconds.
• Close all browser tabs and reopen Chrome for the changes to take effect.

By clearing browser cache you can ensure that the last version of the website is displayed on your browser. If the issue is still not resolved, test your website using various testing tools to find out the reason behind caching.

FAQs About How to Clear Cache in WordPress Website

Wrapping Up

Clearing cache on a WordPress website is an essential step to ensure updated content delivery, and a seamless user experience. You can clear cache in WordPress website using plugins like LiteSpeed or WP Super Cache.

If you don’t want to use a plugin, you can prefere using CDN such as Cloudflare or hosting tools like hPanel for clearing cache. Regular cache clearing helps resolve issues caused by outdated files and prevents potential conflicts.

By choosing the right approach based on your setup, you can maintain a fast, responsive, and reliable online presence. If you are looking to build a website that is well-designed and loads quickly, get services from our WordPress development company.