How to clear the cache of WordPress site in 2025

Website performance continues to be a critical factor for success. Learning how to effectively clear cache of WordPress site has become an essential skill for website owners and administrators. 

When you clear cache of WordPress site regularly, you ensure that your visitors experience the most up-to-date version of your content while maintaining optimal loading speeds. 

According to recent statistics from Google, websites that load within 2.5 seconds experience 70% longer average session durations compared to slower sites, highlighting the importance of proper cache management. 

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about WordPress caching, including why, when, and how to clear cache of WordPress site to maintain peak performance.

What is a Cache?

A cache is a temporary storage mechanism that saves copies of files or data so they can be served faster in future requests. When a user visits your website for the first time, their browser downloads various elements like images, CSS files, and JavaScript. 

Rather than downloading these elements repeatedly on subsequent visits, the browser or server stores them in a cache.

The clear cache of WordPress site processes significantly reduces loading times and server load. In fact, according to WP Rocket's performance studies, properly implemented caching can improve page loading times by up to 70%. 

However, while caching provides tremendous performance benefits, it occasionally needs to be cleared to ensure visitors see the most recent version of your site. 

Thus, understanding when and how to clear the cache of WordPress sites is crucial for maintaining this balance between performance and content freshness.

What Is Caching in WordPress?

WordPress caching works on multiple levels to optimize your website's performance. When you enable caching on your WordPress site, it creates static HTML versions of your dynamic content. 

Consequently, instead of running resource-intensive PHP scripts and database queries in order to clear cache of WordPress sites, each time someone visits your page, WordPress serves the pre-generated static content.

However, this efficiency comes with a caveat: when you update your site, you'll need to clear the cache of WordPress sites to ensure visitors see your changes rather than outdated cached versions.

WordPress caching can occur at different levels, including:

• Page caching: Stores complete HTML pages

• Object caching: Stores database query results

• Browser caching: Instructs visitors' browsers to store certain files locally

• Opcode caching: Stores compiled PHP code for faster execution

Finally, each type plays a crucial role in overall site performance, but may require different approaches when you need to clear cache of WordPress site.

Why do you Need to Clear Your WordPress Website Cache?

While caching significantly improves your website's performance, there are several compelling reasons why you might need to clear cache of WordPress site:

1. After Content Updates: Firstly, when you publish new content or make changes to existing pages, clearing the cache ensures all visitors see the updated version immediately.

2. Following Plugin or Theme Changes: Moreover, installing, updating, or removing WordPress plugins and themes often requires cache clearing to prevent conflicts or display issues.

3. Troubleshooting: Additionally, to clear the cache of WordPress sites, the first step is diagnosing and resolving various WordPress issues. 

4. Form or Functionality Problems: If forms stop working or dynamic features malfunction, clearing the cache can restore proper functionality.

5. After Security Updates: Finally, in order to ensure security patches are fully implemented, clearing cached resources is essential.

Knowing when and how to clear the cache of WordPress sites properly is essential for maintaining both performance and functionality. 

Thus, let's explore the different types of caches before diving into the specific clearing methods.

What are the Different Types of Cache

Understanding the different types of caches involved in your WordPress site will help you determine the best approach when you need to clear the cache of a WordPress site. So, let’s take a detailed approach in managing caches:

WordPress Cache

WordPress cache is generated by caching plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache. Moreover, these plugins create static HTML files from your dynamic WordPress content, which can dramatically speed up page loading times. 

Research by Backlinko indicates that websites using WordPress caching plugins to clear cache of WordPress site experience an average improvement of 1.5 seconds in page load time.

Thus, when you make significant changes to your site and need to clear cache of WordPress site at this level, you'll typically use the plugin's interface or dedicated clearing functionality.

Server Cache

Server-level caching occurs on your hosting provider's servers and includes technologies like Varnish, Redis, or Memcached. Furthermore, this type of caching operates before WordPress even begins processing requests, making it extremely efficient.

When you need to clear cache of WordPress site at the server level, you'll often need to use your hosting provider's control panel or specialized commands.

Browser Cache

Browser caching happens on your visitors' devices, where their web browsers store copies of your site's images, CSS, and JavaScript files. Additionally, this reduces the number of requests needed when they revisit your site, thus resulting in faster loading times.

However, this type of cache can be the most challenging when you need to clear cache of WordPress site, as it requires action from each individual visitor or implementing version control in your asset files.

Proxy Cache

Proxy caches exist between your server and your visitors. Content management and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) like Cloudflare or Stackpath are common examples of proxy caching systems. 

Likewise, they store copies of your site at data centers around the world, delivering content from the location closest to each visitor.

Also, Cloudflare reports that its proxy caching can reduce bandwidth usage by an average of 65% while improving global load times. Moreover, when you need to clear cache of WordPress site at the proxy level, you'll need to use your CDN provider's dashboard or API.

How to Clear Your WordPress Cache with a Plugin

One of the most straightforward ways to clear cache of WordPress site is through caching plugins. However, without knowing how they work, utilising their full spectrum is quite futile. Thus, let's explore the process for some of the most popular options:

Clear Cache with LiteSpeed

LiteSpeed Cache is one of the fastest-growing caching solutions for WordPress, particularly popular with hosting providers that use LiteSpeed web servers. Additionally, to clear cache of WordPress site with LiteSpeed:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard

2. Navigate to "LiteSpeed Cache" in the sidebar

3. Click on the "Cache" tab

4. Select "Purge All" to clear the entire cache

5. Also, alternatively, use "Purge by URL" for specific pages

Clear Cache With Hostinger hPanel

This approach with hostinger hPanel is particularly efficient as it clears multiple cache layers simultaneously, including server-level caches that might be inaccessible through WordPress plugins. 

Moreover, if you're using Hostinger's hosting services with their proprietary hPanel control panel, you can easily clear cache of WordPress site directly from the hosting interface:

1. Log in to your Hostinger account

2. Navigate to the hPanel dashboard

3. Find the "WordPress" section

4. Click on "Cache Manager"

5. Select your domain and click "Clear Cache"

Clear Cache With W3 Total Cache

For more selective clearing, you can further use the specific purge options in the plugin's dashboard to target page cache, object cache, or browser cache individually.

W3 Total Cache remains one of the most comprehensive caching solutions for WordPress, with over 1 million active installations.

To clear cache of WordPress site using W3 Total Cache:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard

2. Navigate to "Performance" in the sidebar

3. Select "Dashboard" under the Performance menu

4. Find the "Empty all caches" button at the top

5. Click it to clear all cached data

Clear Cache with Cloudflare

For WordPress users, Cloudflare also offers an official plugin that lets you clear cache of WordPress site directly from your WordPress dashboard, thereby streamlining the process considerably.

However, if you're using Cloudflare as your CDN and proxy service, you'll need to clear its cache separately:

1. Log in to your Cloudflare account

2. Select your website from the dashboard

3. Navigate to the "Caching" tab

4. Find the "Purge Cache" button

5. Choose between "Purge Everything" or "Custom Purge" for specific files

Clear WordPress Cache with WP Fastest Cache

The plugin also adds a convenient cache clearing button to the WordPress admin toolbar, thus making it even easier to clear cache of WordPress site whenever needed.

WP Fastest Cache offers a user-friendly interface with powerful caching capabilities:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard

2. Navigate to "WP Fastest Cache" in the sidebar

3. Click on the "Delete Cache" tab

4. Select "Delete All Cache"

5. Finally, confirm the action when prompted

How to Clear WordPress Cache without a Plugin

Sometimes you may need to clear cache of WordPress site without relying on plugins. Here are several methods to accomplish this without taking on unnecessary burden when it comes to WordPress development:

Clear Your Web Browser Cache

Remember that this only clears the cache on your particular device and browser, not for other visitors to your site. Moreover, before troubleshooting server-side issues, it's often helpful to clear your own browser cache:

1. Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac)

2. Select the time range (usually "All time" for complete clearing)

3. Check the boxes for "Cached images and files"

4. Click "Clear data" or equivalent button

Clear Cache in Your WordPress Caching Plugin

Most major caching plugins add this convenience feature to the WordPress admin interface. Additionally, if you have a caching plugin installed but don't want to navigate through its interface:

1. Look for a cache purge button in the WordPress admin toolbar (top of the screen)

2. Click this button to instantly clear cache of WordPress site

3. Finally, check for confirmation messages to ensure successful clearing

Clear Cache in Your WordPress Hosting

Popular hosts like WP Engine, SiteGround, and Kinsta all provide one-click cache clearing functionality.

Moreover, many WordPress hosting providers offer built-in tools to clear cache of WordPress site directly from their control panels:

1. Log in to your hosting account dashboard

2. Navigate to your site management area

3. Look for caching options or performance settings

4. Select the "Clear Cache" or "Purge Cache" option

Clear Your WordPress Firewall Plugin Cache

Common security plugins like Sucuri and Wordfence include mechanisms to clear cache of WordPress site that should be cleared separately.

However, if you use security plugins with firewall capabilities, they may maintain separate caches:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard

2. Navigate to your security plugin settings

3. Look for caching or performance options

4. Use the provided tools to clear these specialized caches

Clear the WP Cache Using SSH

For advanced users with SSH access to their server, you can clear cache of WordPress site directly from the command line. 

Be extremely careful with shell commands, as mistakes can potentially damage your site.

Clear the WordPress Cache via FTP

If you have FTP access but not SSH, you can still manually clear cache of WordPress site:

1. Connect to your server using an FTP client like FileZilla

2. Navigate to your WordPress installation directory

3. Find the cache folder (typically in wp-content/cache/)

4. Delete all contents within this folder

5. Also, be careful not to delete the actual cache folder itself

This method to clear cache of WordPress site works for most caching plugins that store their cached files in predictable locations.

Disable Caching via FTP

Remember to rename it back once you've resolved your issues, as operating without caching will dramatically slow your site. 

As a last resort, you can temporarily disable caching completely:

1. Connect to your server using FTP

2. Navigate to your WordPress plugins directory

3. Find your caching plugin's folder

4. Rename the folder to [pluginname]-disabled

5. Finally, this effectively deactivates the plugin without losing settings

How to Clear Your Cache in Popular Web Browsers

Sometimes you need to clear cache of WordPress site in your own browser to see changes. This helps to improve the performance of your website. Here's how to do it in major browsers despite the steps resembling a similar pattern: 

Google Chrome

To clear cache of WordPress site in Chrome:

1. Click the three dots in the top-right corner

2. Select "More tools" > "Clear browsing data"

3. Choose the time range (typically "All time" for complete clearing)

4. Check "Cached images and files"

5. Click "Clear data"

Safari

To clear cache of WordPress site for Safari users:

1. Click "Safari" in the top menu bar

2. Select "Preferences"

3. Go to the "Advanced" tab

4. Check "Show Develop menu in menu bar"

5. Close preferences and select "Develop" in the menu bar

6. Click "Empty Caches"

Firefox

To clear cache of WordPress site in Firefox:

1. Click the menu button in the top-right corner

2. Select "Settings"

3. Go to "Privacy & Security"

4. Scroll down to "Cookies and Site Data"

5. Click "Clear Data"

6. Ensure "Cached Web Content" is checked

7. Click "Clear"

Microsoft Edge

To clear cache of WordPress site for Edge users:

1. Click the three dots in the top-right corner

2. Select "Settings"

3. Go to "Privacy, search, and services"

4. Under "Clear browsing data", click "Choose what to clear"

5. Select "Cached images and files"

6. Click "Clear now"

Conclusion

Understanding how to clear cache of WordPress site effectively is essential for maintaining optimal website performance in 2025. 

Whether you choose to clear cache of WordPress site through plugins, hosting controls, or manual methods depends on your specific needs and technical comfort level. 

Similarly, regular cache maintenance ensures your visitors always see the most up-to-date content while enjoying fast load times.

Remember that caching is a balance between performance and freshness. Furthermore, by knowing when and how to clear cache of WordPress site appropriately, you can maintain this balance for the best possible user experience. 

As WordPress and web technologies continue to evolve, staying informed about caching best practices with Autuskey, remains an important part of successful website management.