WordPress – Clearing your site cache

This guide explains how to clear the cache on your Public Internet hosted WordPress site – either for a single page, or for your whole site.

Finding the Clear Cache Menu

While logged in, look for the black admin toolbar that runs along the very top of the screen. It shows a lightning bolt icon labelled Clear Cache. Hover over it (or tap it on a touchscreen) to open its menu.

• This Page: Clears the cache for the page you’re currently viewing. Shown on the front end of the site to Authors, Editors, and Administrators.
• Entire Site: Clears the cache for every page on the site. Shown to Administrators only.

Tip: If you don’t see the Clear Cache menu at all, your account doesn’t have permission to use it – ask an Administrator to clear the cache for you.

Clearing the Cache for a Single Page

Use this when you’ve updated one specific page and want to make sure visitors see the new version straight away.

1. Visit the page on the live site (not the editing screen).
2. Hover over Clear Cache in the admin toolbar.
3. Select This Page.
4. Wait for the page to reload and show a “Cache emptied!” confirmation message.

Tip: This Page only clears the page you’re currently viewing – it won’t affect any other page on the site.

Clearing the Cache for Your Entire Site

Use this after a bigger change – a new theme, several page edits, or a plugin update – when you want to be certain every visitor sees the latest version of every page.

1. Hover over Clear Cache in the admin toolbar.
2. Select Entire Site.
3. Wait for the page to reload and show a “Cache emptied!” confirmation message.

Tip: Entire Site also clears the site’s behind-the-scenes data cache, not just the pages themselves, so it’s the option to use if a change still isn’t showing after clearing a single page. The site quietly reloads its most-visited pages in the background afterwards, so visitors shouldn’t notice things running any slower.

Checking Whether Caching Is Switched Off

If caching has been paused, or the data cache has been disabled in Settings, the Clear Cache button turns amber and shows a status such as Caching Disabled or Object Cache Disabled in its menu. This is a reminder that the site is running slower than usual and shouldn’t be left that way longer than necessary.

When the Cache Clears Itself

You won’t usually need to clear the cache manually. It already clears itself automatically when you:

• Publish, update, or delete a post or page.
• Switch to a different theme.
• Save changes in the Customizer.

Tip: A brand new page can take a minute or two to appear live even without any caching, simply because WordPress itself needs a moment to register it – that’s normal and not something Clear Cache will speed up.

When You Might Need to Clear It Manually

Reach for the Clear Cache menu when:

• A page still looks out of date a minute or so after you’ve saved your changes.
• You’ve changed something that isn’t a post or page – a widget, menu, or a setting in another plugin.
• A file was edited directly on the server rather than through the WordPress editor.

Pausing the Cache While You Work

If you’re making several visual changes in a row and want to see each one update instantly without clearing the cache every time, Administrators can pause caching completely for a while.

1. Go to Settings > Site Manager.
2. Tick Disable caching.
3. Click Save Changes.

To turn caching back on, repeat the steps above and untick the box – or simply leave it, since it switches itself back on automatically after 24 hours.

Tip: The site runs noticeably slower for every visitor while caching is paused, so only use this while actively working, and switch it back on as soon as you’re done.