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How To Clear Cache

After chatting with our support team at XRF Digital it became clear that one of the most common things our support team ask a client is for them to clear their cache, and not surprisingly many do not know how… why would you, it’s not something you need to do as a day to day chore right? Wrong, by clearing the cache regularly you will be saving storage space on your computer or device which can slow it down.

However, when changes are made to your website by our support team, for example, clearing cache allows you to see these changes…Why? Well in this blog we explain cache and the all-important How you clear it!

What Is Meant By Cache?

Cache which is pronounced ‘Cash’ is a storage location that collects temporary data, this data is collected to help the speed of loading apps, websites, browsers etc…  It is a bit like a memory bank taking information locally (the device you are using) rather than having to download information every time you visit or open with a website or app for example.

What Is The Difference Between A Cache And A Cookie?

Cache remembers information on the sites you have visited, whilst cookies will be looking at your behaviour whilst on that site.

The cache remembers website pages you have previously visited and will keep some of the content on your computer or device, by doing this the next time you visit the same page the page will load faster because some of that information has already been stored.

This is why if one of our support team make a change to your website, and you go to check it, and it looks the same as before, it is because your computer has downloaded the elements before the changes were made and are remember the page that way…… a cache clear will show you the page in its current version.

Cache will store elements such as HTML files that describe the site visited, CSS style sheets, Javascript, cookies, videos and images all elements which take time to download on a first visit.

How do I clear Cache In My Browser?

In this particular article, we are going to look at clearing cache in a browser, this is because when our support team are assisting our clients it is generally when they are checking changes and updates on their websites… hence the browser cache needs to be cleared.

Chrome

  1. Click the 3 dots (Mac) or exclamation point (PC) top right corner of the browser.
  2. Go to More Tools and click Clear Browsing Data…
  3. Choose your time frame “Clear the Following Items From” field.
  4. Select Cached images and files,
  5. Click Clear Browsing Data.

Edge

  1. Click the 3 dots in the top right corner of the browser window.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Clear Browsing Data click Choose What To Clear.
  4. Select Cached Data and Files.
  5. Click Clear.

Firefox

  1. Click the menu in the top right corner of the browser window.
  2. For a Mac click Preferences or for a PC click Options.
  3. Click Privacy on the left in the menu bar.
  4. Click Clear Your Recent History.
  5. Choose your time frame from the ‘the Time range to clear’ (drop-down menu), to clear all cache, choose Everything.
  6. Click the down arrow and select Cache
  7. Click Clear Now.

Internet Explorer

  1. Click Tools, or the Gear icon.
  2. Click Internet Options
  3. Select Delete Browsing History.
  4. Select “Temporary Internet Files and website files” and “Cookies and website data” You may want to deselect Preserve Favorites website data.
  5. Click Delete.

Safari for Mac

  1. Click the Safari menu,
  2. Click Clear History
  3. Select All History
  4. Click Clear History.

Safari for PC

  1. Click on the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the browser.
  2. Click Reset Safari
  3. Select the items you wish to clear. (It is recommended to check all items).
  4. Click Reset.

And here is how you clear cache on your mobile…..

Mobile Safari for iOS

To clear cache and cookies:

  1. From the home screen, Select Settings > Safari.
  2. At the bottom of Safari’s settings screen, Select Clear cookies and data or Clear Cookies and Clear Cache.
  3. Confirm when prompted.

Android

  1. Select Menu
  2. Select More.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Under “Privacy settings”
  5. Select Clear cache,
  6. OK to accept.

TOP TIP Shortcut For Clearing Cache

If you are using the following browsers – Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, or Firefox Whilst you have the browser open press Ctrl + Shift + Delete at the same time.  Come out of the browser and then reopen.

Chrome– Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac, and Ctrl+F5 on a PC – This is called a Hard reload. This will force the browser to download the cache again.

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