What the heck IS browser cache and why is matters…

Have you ever been to a site that seemed to load slowly the first or second time, but then if you want back to it, it loaded quickly? Most likely because of something called browser caching. The first time you visit a website in a browser such as Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari on your desktop or mobile device, the browser stores data from the visited website (such as html files, images, scripts, etc.). The reason it does this is to speed up the load time of your previously viewed websites. Many people don’t know that this is actually what’s happen or why it occasionally makes sense to clear that cache.

You actually have total control over this type of cache and it’s individualized to your device that you’re viewing the website on. Many times I’ve had a client not see an update that we made to their website, for example, because they haven’t cleared their browser cache in a while and their browser is actually holding on to an OLD version of their website.

Another issue that can be caused by caching is every now and then, the cache becomes corrupted and can lead to display or even login issues (if you’re on a site where you’ve saved your password).

These are kind of the downsides to caching and why it’s important to know how to clear cache. So let’s get into …

how to clear your browser cache in the most popular browsers:

Google Chrome (Desktop):

• Open Chrome.
• Click the three vertical dots (More) in the top right corner.
• Go to “More tools” > “Clear browsing data”.
• At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select “All time”.
• Check the boxes next to “Cached images and files” and “Cookies and other site data” (if you also want to clear cookies).
• Click “Clear data”.

There’s also a second option that does a more thorough job IMO and that is a “hard cache” clear in Chrome:

• From the three vertical dots (More) in the top right corner, open Developer.
• Right-click the Refresh Button (the circular arrow next to the field where you type in a website address).
• When the window comes up, select Empty Cache and Hard Reload” from the menu.

Mozilla Firefox (Desktop):

• Open Firefox.
• Click the three horizontal lines (Menu) in the top right corner.
• Go to “History” > “Clear Recent History”.
• In the “Time range to clear” dropdown, select “Everything”.
• Check the boxes next to “Cache” and “Cookies” (if you also want to clear cookies).
• Click “OK”.

Microsoft Edge (Desktop):

• Open Edge.
• Click the three horizontal dots (Settings and more) in the top right corner.
• Go to “Settings”.
• Select “Privacy, search, and services” in the left sidebar.
• Under “Clear browsing data,” click “Choose what to clear”.
• Select a time range from the dropdown menu.
• Check the boxes next to “Cached images and files” and “Cookies and other site data” (if you also want to clear cookies).
• Click “Clear now”.

Safari (macOS):

• Open Safari.
• In the menu bar, click “Safari” > “Preferences” (or use the keyboard shortcut Command + ,).
• Go to the “Privacy” tab.
• Click “Manage Website Data…”.
• Click “Remove All” to clear all website data, or select specific websites and click “Remove”.
• Click “Done”.

Android Mobile (Chrome):

• Open the Chrome app.
• Tap the three vertical dots (More) in the top right corner.
• Tap “History”.
• Tap “Clear browsing data”.
• Choose a time range.
• Check the boxes next to “Cached images and files” and “Cookies and site data” (if you also want to clear cookies).
• Tap “Clear data”.

iPhone Mobile (Safari):

• Open the “Settings” app.
• Scroll down and tap “Safari”.
• Scroll down and tap “Clear History and Website Data”.
• Confirm by tapping “Clear History and Data”.

Additional Notes:

These are general instructions, and the specific steps might vary slightly depending on the browser version and device model. Clearing your cache won’t delete your bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history unless you specifically choose those options. It’s generally safe to clear your cache regularly, but keep in mind that you might need to log in again to websites after doing so. By following these steps, you can keep your browser cache clear and ensure a smoother browsing experience across your devices.

Caching ON the website is different than browser caching. Here are some additional notes for website owners:

Caching is different when you actually own/run a website. This is only controlled by the website owner (or sometimes 3rd party services such as a web host or a service like Cloudflare). In theory, this type of caching speeds up loading times for all visitors to the website.

• Before even thinking about caching, you should optimize certain content (such as large images) that can help load time. When I’ve reviewed slow loading sites, they almost always have non-optimized images (you can easily use a service such as tinypng.com before uploading them to your site) that are bloating their website load time.
• I asked Gemini (Google’s AI bot) if Google could actual penalize a site for slow loading and here’s its response, “Yes, Google can effectively ‘penalize’ a website by lowering its search engine ranking if it loads too slowly.” Also see my post about website speed.
• If your website is WordPress based (especially if you’re on a mass-market host like Godaddy, Hostgator, Bluehost, etc.) caching can be really important. The combo of a dynamic/database driven website and a “cheap” web host does not often equal a fast loading website. So optimizing as much as you can and considering adding a caching service (like Cloudflare) or a plugin may be able to compensate a little bit (Note: if you’re looking to step up in the hosting world and get exceptional speed and service, the only host we personally recommend is WordKeeper.