How to Clear Your WordPress Cache

You made a change to your WordPress site, but it still looks the same — sound familiar? The usual reason is caching. Caching stores a ready-made copy of your pages to serve them faster, which is great for speed, but it means recent changes can take a moment to show. Clearing the cache fixes it instantly.

There are a few layers of cache

To be sure your change appears, clear them from the site outward:

1. Your caching plugin

If you use a caching plugin like LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache, look for a Purge or Clear Cache button — often in the top admin bar or the plugin’s settings. For LiteSpeed specifically, see the note on the LiteSpeed Cache guide.

2. Server cache

Some servers cache pages too. A caching plugin usually clears this alongside its own, but if not, it may reset shortly on its own.

3. Your browser cache

Your own browser also stores a copy. Do a hard refresh (Ctrl+F5 on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac) or open the site in a private window to see the true current version.

When to clear your cache

• After changing your theme, layout or design.
• After updating content that still shows the old version.
• After troubleshooting, to rule caching out.

Frequently asked questions

Will clearing the cache slow my site down?

Only very briefly — the next visit rebuilds the cache, and speed returns immediately. There is no lasting downside.

I cleared everything but still see the old page.

Try a private browser window to rule out your browser, and check whether a CDN like Cloudflare is also caching — if so, clear it there too.

Should I disable caching to avoid this?

No — caching is important for speed. Just clear it when you make changes, or exclude pages you edit often.