How to Clear Your Browser Cache to See Your Website's Latest Changes

If you have just updated your website but you still see the old version, your browser is probably showing you a saved copy of the page instead of fetching the new one. This is called browser caching, and it is usually the first thing to check before assuming something went wrong with the update itself.

Why Your Browser Shows an Old Version

Browsers save (cache) copies of pages, images, and style sheets on your computer so that sites load faster the next time you visit. This is normally helpful, but it means that after you or your web designer changes something, your own browser may keep showing you the version it already saved instead of downloading the new one.

This is different from DNS caching, which affects whether your computer can find the right server at all. If you have recently changed hosts or nameservers, see our guide on how long DNS changes take to propagate. If your site loads fine but looks outdated, browser caching is the more likely cause.

Try a Hard Refresh First

Before clearing your entire cache, try a hard refresh. This forces the browser to reload the current page from the server instead of from its saved copy.

• Windows or Linux: press Ctrl + F5 or Ctrl + Shift + R
• Mac: press Cmd + Shift + R

If the page still looks the same after a hard refresh, clear the cache fully using the steps below for your browser.

How to Clear the Cache in Each Browser

Google Chrome

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and go to More tools, then Clear browsing data.
2. Under the Basic tab, set the time range to All time.
3. Check Cached images and files (you can leave cookies and history unchecked if you only want to fix a caching issue).
4. Click Clear data.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) and choose Settings.
2. Go to Privacy & Security and scroll to Cookies and Site Data.
3. Click Clear Data, make sure Cached Web Content is checked, and confirm.

Safari (Mac)

1. Open Safari, then from the menu bar choose Safari and Settings.
2. Go to the Advanced tab and enable Show features for web developers if it is not already on.
3. A new Develop menu will appear in the menu bar. Click it and choose Empty Caches.

Microsoft Edge

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and go to Settings.
2. Go to Privacy, search, and services, then find Clear browsing data and click Choose what to clear.
3. Set the time range to All time, check Cached images and files, and click Clear now.

Mobile Browsers (Android and iPhone)

1. Open your browser app's menu (usually three dots or lines) and look for Settings or History.
2. Find an option called Clear browsing data, Privacy, or Clear cache.
3. Select cached data or files and confirm.

Still Seeing the Old Version?

If clearing your cache does not fix it, try opening the site in a private or incognito window, since these do not use your saved cache at all. If the new version shows up there but not in your normal window, the cache was the cause and you may need to fully close and reopen your browser as well.

If the page still looks outdated even in a private window, the issue is likely happening somewhere else, such as a caching plugin on the website itself, a content delivery network, or DNS propagation after a recent change, rather than your browser.