One of the best ways to boost performance and reduce page loading time in a CMS-based website is to configure caching.
A cache is effectively a snapshot of a website. When users visit the site, they’re served the cached version rather than forcing the entire site to reload each time. This makes browsing faster and more efficient.
From an admin perspective, the downside is that updates may not be immediately visible on the front-end until the cache is refreshed. This is exactly how caching is designed to work – but it’s not ideal if you’ve just made a change and want to see it live.
To complicate things further, there are several types of caching that can affect what you see:
- Website caching – configured within your CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc).
- Browser caching – all modern browsers store cached versions of websites.
- Server caching – this could be Cloudflare, Litespeed or other hosting-level cache systems.
- Network caching – occasionally, a local router or network may cache content too.
Website caching
Most CMS platforms offer built-in caching options or plugins to manage cache. The right solution depends on your platform and hosting environment – your web developer or hosting provider can advise what’s appropriate for your setup.
Once you’ve finished making changes and everything looks correct, we recommend manually clearing the cache in the backend, then visiting a high-traffic page like your Site Map to re-cache the site for the next visitor.
Browser caching
If changes aren’t visible after clearing the site cache, the issue is often browser caching – meaning it’s your device.
Here’s what to try:
- Ask someone else to check the site from their own device and note what they can or can’t see.
- Clear your browser cache (instructions vary by browser and device).
- Restart the browser.
- Restart your device.
Server caching
If nobody can see the changes on the live site but you can see them in the admin dashboard, it’s likely a server-level caching issue. This could be Cloudflare, Litespeed or another hosting configuration.
If we manage your website, contact us and we’ll investigate. Otherwise, reach out to your hosting provider for support.
Other troubleshooting ideas
Occasionally, we’ve seen cases where people inside an office can’t see updates, but external users can. This usually points to a local routing cache issue. In these cases, we recommend contacting your IT support. Sometimes a router reboot resolves it, but it’s best to check before making changes to network hardware.
Need help troubleshooting caching issues or improving site performance? Get in touch.
