How to clear your browser’s cache

“Have you tried clearing your browser’s cache” – this is a phrase that you are almost guaranteed to encounter various times throughout your journey with us, but what does it mean and how do you do it?

In Google Chrome:

1. On your computer, open Chrome.
2. At the top right, click More.
3. Click More tools. Clear browsing data.
4. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
5. Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files,” check the boxes.
6. Click Clear data.

In Firefox

1. Click the menu button and select Preferences.
2. Select the Privacy & Security panel.
3. In the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data….
4. Remove the check mark in front of Cookies and Site Data.
5. With Cached Web Content check marked, click the Clear button.
6. Close the preferences page. Any changes you’ve made will automatically be saved.

On Safari

1. On the keyboard, press Command+Y
2. Click on Clear browser history
3. In the popup that appears, select the time range and then click on Clear History

On Microsoft Edge

1. Click on the 3 horizontal dots on the top right corner
2. Click on Settings
3. Under the Clear browsing data option, click on Choose what to clear
4. Select the checkbox Cookies and saved website data and Cached data and files
5. Click on the Clear button

What does clearing cache mean?

When you visit a website frequently, your browser will store certain information so that it can quickly display information and images upon the next visit. Clearing the cache just means emptying it / removing stored information so that the next time you display a webpage, everything must be downloaded and new changes can be seen.

If I have to clear my cache to see changes, what does this imply for my site visitors?

“But If I constantly have to clear my cache, will my guests have trouble seeing new changes too?” Not necessarily:

You can view users as belonging to different levels.

Administrator: This is the case with your caching issues. Once a user signs into a site as an admin the user experience changes and the caching behaves differently. This is why you will have to clear your cache extraordinarily often to see our changes – as developers we do this all day.

Frequent Visitors: This is the case with your office admin – she may be looking at the site from the front end multiple times a day/week, which heightens the likelihood of a larger cache/saved information on her desktop – she should also clear her cache.

Normal Users/Visitors: Your normal users will likely not have visited your site right before changes have been made, or extraordinarily frequently, and as such are less likely to have information cached or not see changes.

*Beyond these factors, the type of device plays a role in caching, which is why you sometimes see changes on your mobile yet not on your desktop.

To test how your visitors experience the site or if changes have been made but you can’t see them: try using an incognito browsing window. In this Google Chrome setting, no cookies or cache are applied.

How to browse in private and set up an incognito window: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95464?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en