You know that joke about turning your computer off and on again being the best solution to most IT problems? Sometimes clearing your browser’s cache is the equivalent in the web design world.
For a lot of reasons that are too technical and boring to go into here, your browser holds a “memory” of sites you’ve visited in the past. Sometimes, when we make updates to your page, your browser clings to the cached version, and shows you the non-updated version. It’s a really frustrating wrinkle to developing new web content for everyone involved.
Instead of unmitigated frustration with the constraints of modern technology, just follow our easy steps to clear your browser.
For Chrome:
- In the upper right hand corner of the browser, click the stack of three dots.
- In the menu that opens up, click “More Tools.”
- On the More Tools Menu, click “Clear Browsing Data.”
- Click boxes for “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.
- On the drop-down menu at the top of the pop-up bock, select “From the Beginning of Time” then click the “Clear Browsing Data” button.
- Voila! Your cache (since the beginning of time!) has been erased.
If it’s easier to follow, we have a user video that walks you through it.
For Internet Explorer or Edge:
(Pssst… Old Town Media highly recommends you switch to Chrome)
- Click the three lines in the upper right corner of your browser.
- In the menu that opens, click the “History” button. It’s marked with a clock icon.
- Select the “Cached Data and Files” boxes.
- Click on the “Clear” button.
- Bang! You’re surfing with a clean cache!
If you’re a video person, here’s our instruction video:
For Safari:
- Click on “Safari” in the upper left corner of your screen.
- In the drop-down menu, click on “Preferences.”
- When the menu opens, find the “Privacy” tab and click on it.
- Click the “Manage Web Data” button.
- Select “Remove All.”
- Just like that, you’re starting with a brand new cache.
Of course, we have a video for you Safari types, too:
If you don’t go crazy and select passwords, usernames or other options when you clear your cache, your browser preserves all that information. You’ll have no visible changes in your browsing experience.