Clear Your Cache!

How many times have you been told you need to “clear your cache” on your computer, and wondered what, exactly that means? If you are like most people, you have a vague idea that this will free up space on your computer, but not much else.

First, you need to know that the cache on your computer is the file that holds temporary Internet files. These are the webpages that you have visited in the past through your browser. When you go to a website, browser downloads everything on the page being viewed, including pictures, text, the style, and anything else you can see. This is the “cached copy” of the page. The next time you go to that web page, you will not immediately go to it out on the Internet. Instead, your browser will pull up the cached copy from your temporary Internet files. This is quicker because it saves the time of downloading all of the information again.

In most cases this is a terrific time saver and doesn’t create a problem. But if a website changes frequently or has been upgraded recently, you may not being seeing the most recent version of a website when you go to it through your browser, since it will first pull up the version you last visited. If the site you visited a week ago has undergone major changes yesterday, you won’t see them because you are looking at the temporary Internet file on your own computer, not the actual site.

There are ways to update to the most recent version that are relatively simple. The easiest is to click on the “refresh” button on your browser, which will direct the browser to the most recent, live version of the site. If you are working with a design company to upgrade or change your website, you must refresh the website every time you visit your site to make sure you are seeing the most recent changes that have been made.

This way, you avoid calling the designers and saying, “Hey, I don’t see the changes you said you made. Where are they?!”

To make sure what you are seeing is always the most recent version of any website you view, you can set up your computer so that it will not use the cached version. This should always be done during the design phase of website construction or changes so that when the client and the designer talk to each other by phone, they are sure that everyone is literally “on the same page.”

To clear the cache of all saved pages, go to the Tools tab on your menu bar (or in the Control Panel if you prefer). Click on Internet Options. You will see a box called Temporary Internet files; there will be a button or bar marked Delete Files. Click on this, then click on OK. This will clear out all of the stored pages except “Cookies,” which are used for security purposes or by companies to determine your pattern of computer use.

Clearing the cookies is slightly different and will take a few more steps. You still go to Tools, then Internet Options, and look for Temporary Internet files. Under Settings, click on View Files. This will display a list of the files left in your browser cache. Cookies will be files that resemble regular text files, with names that resemble email addresses or domain names (like bigdog@www.mysteryspot.com). Right click on the cookie, then click on Delete from the drop-down menu that will appear.

While you are developing your website, you may still have some problems with your browser’s cache, so consider disabling it until your site work is completed. Although this means browsing the Internet will go slower, it is worth it to avoid confusion during the design phase. At this point, you have done everything you can to make sure caching will not be a problem, but there are situations that you can not change that may still cause some problems. If you are networked in your office, the main server for the networked computers may still be cached. The server that hosts your website could also be caching. While you can not change these situations, if you keep them in mind you will be able to work with your website designer and avoid misunderstandings.

Doing what you can on your end to make sure you are seeing the most recent version possible will help, and clear communication will make the project much more enjoyable for everyone involved.