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How to Fix WordPress Website Not Updating Right Away

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Are you trying to fix your WordPress website not updating right away?

Often, users ask us why some changes they make to their site, like a new blog post or widget settings, don’t appear right away. It is a common issue and very easy to fix.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily fix a WordPress website not updating right away.

Fixing a WordPress website not updating right away

Why My WordPress Site Not Updating Right Away?

The most common cause of a WordPress website not updating immediately is caching.

By default, many WordPress hosting companies enable their own caching systems, which store a temporary copy of your pages to improve website speed and reduce server load.

Apart from that, you may also be using a WordPress caching plugin on your own, which may not be configured correctly.

Last but not least, your browser may also store a cached version of your pages in temporary storage.

Usually, when you make any change to your WordPress website, those cached versions expire, and you get to see your changes right away.

However, this may not happen right away due to some configuration error. In that case, you will see the old version of that page for a while.

The most common symptom of this problem is new posts not appearing on the homepage of your WordPress website.

While you can still view the single post by clicking on the view post link from the WordPress admin area, you cannot see it on the main page.

That being said, let’s look at how to fix this issue easily.

Fixing WordPress Website Not Updating Issue

You’ll start by first clearing the browser cache. The instructions below will walk you through how.

For most users, this should fix the issue, and you wouldn’t need to proceed to step 2.

Step 1. Force the Browser to Reload or Clear the Cache

Sometimes, your browser (especially Google Chrome) will show you a cached copy of your website instead of showing the new one.

To resolve this issue, simply press F5 or Ctrl+R in Windows (or Cmd + R in Mac) buttons on your keyboard to reload the page.

This will ask the browser to reload the page by fetching a fresh version. In most cases, this would fix the issue for many users.

However, if that doesn’t work, the next step is clearing your browser cache. In Google Chrome, click on the three-dot menu in the top right corner. From the menu, you need to go to More Tools » Clear Browsing Data.

Clear cache in Google Chrome browser

For more details, see our guide on how to clear cache in all major browsers.

Step 2. Clear WordPress Cache for Your Website

The second and most likely cause of this issue is poorly configured WordPress caching plugin. Most caching plugins make it super easy to clear your cache with the click of a button.

1. WP Rocket

If you are using WP Rocket on your website, then simply go to the Settings » WP Rocket page and click on the ‘Clear Cache’ button under the dashboard tab.

WP Rocket clear cache

2. WP Super Cache

If you are using the WP Super Cache plugin, then go to the Settings » WP Super Cache page.

Under the Easy tab, scroll down to the ‘Delete Cached Pages’ section and click the ‘Delete Cache’ button.

Delete cache in WP Super Cache

3. Bluehost

Even if you don’t have a WordPress caching plugin installed on your website, many WordPress hosting companies deploy their caching system by default.

For instance, if you are on the Bluehost hosting platform, you’ll notice a ‘Caching’ button in the admin toolbar.

Clear cache in Bluehost

Take your mouse over, and you’ll see the option to ‘Purge All’ cache. This will delete all cached files from your website.

4. SiteGround

SiteGround is another top WordPress hosting company that offers its own built-in caching system.

You can manage the SiteGround cache by installing and activating the SG Optimizer plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to click on the Purge SG Cache button in the WordPress admin toolbar.

Purge SiteGround cache

This will clear up the SiteGround cache for your website.

For more hosting companies and caching plugins, see our complete guide on how to clear WordPress cache.

We hope this article helped you fix the issue of the WordPress website not updating immediately. You may also want to check out our guide on the most common WordPress errors and how to fix them.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

112 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

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  2. Afif Khaja says

    Solution for me was to update cdn cache on hostinger.com (that was my web-hosting site): hpanel.hostinger.com/websites//performance/cdn?redirectLocation=side_menu -> flush cache

  3. Jiří Vaněk says

    Deleting all cache may not update WordPress as expected. If the issue persists, check if you’re using any CDN. CDNs often have their own cache that’s separate from WordPress administration. For instance, CloudFlare clears cache on its own platform.

  4. Afrasiab Sajid says

    I’ve tried everything even different internet connection and devices but still nothing seems to work.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      If none of the methods work, please check with your hosting provider to ensure there are no caching issues on your host’s end that could be the problem.

      Admin

  5. terra says

    Thank you! This post helped me so much. I installed the Siteground Optimizer plugin and did the Purge SG cache, and this helped fix my situation. Phew. I was so frustrated and you saved me! Thank you!!!!!
    Terra

  6. Alita Pacio says

    Hello, thank you so much for the post. However, I have already done these but still, my site is not updating. Are there any possible other reasons for my site not updating?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      If none of the methods from our guide are working for you, we would recommend reaching out to your hosting provider to ensure they do not have server side caching that is causing a conflict.

      Admin

  7. Mike B says

    Thank you! Didn’t realize SiteGrounds was doing that, and that installing the plugin would help!

  8. MikeP says

    Wow thank you for this great & concise information! W3 purge & Google Chrome were both not doing it for me, so I tried the Siteground Optimizer and all problems went away! Thank you!!

  9. Anjum Alden says

    It is rare to find a solution to a problem so quickly and with such great instructions. The Site Ground plugin was what we needed and it worked perfectly. Thank you, so much!!

  10. Cheryl Strachan says

    I had this problem and clearing the cache fixed it. Will still need to figure out WHY it happened in the first place, but allowed me to get a time sensitive post out there. Thank you!

  11. Douglas Kempf says

    I’ve tried all of the above fixes. Some of them more than once. And none of them worked.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      If none of these recommendations are working, we would recommend reaching out to your hosting provider for assistance and they should be able to take a look at the reason.

      Admin

  12. Donna F says

    I have had the issue twice now, where my PC shows the changes I made to the site immediately but my Apple devices still did not show any changes 8 hours or more later. What I noticed was that both times this happened there was a plugin that needed to be updated on my WordPress site. This time it was the Backup plug in. When I updated the plugin, the information showed up on my Apple devices very shortly afterward.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      While it could be that, you may want to ensure you do not have a caching plugin on your site that could also be part of your issue.

      Admin

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