Clear Your Caches With Confidence

Caching is a great way to speed up server requests and deliver a better user experience, but it can also prevent changes from appearing in real-time when you (or your clients) are working on sites.

This often prompts the question: “have you cleared the cache?”

But there’s more than one cache, and determining which one(s) you need to clear (and then finding them all) can quickly turn into a game of wack-a-mole.  

That’s why WP Engine is bringing clarity to cache clearing with new, advanced features for our caching tools and the ability to manage them all in one place—providing precise control over the caching layer.

If you’re a current customer, you can access the new features under the WP Engine plugin in WP Admin on the Caching tab.

Once enabled, you’ll gain easy access to your cache settings at any time, with the ability to clear all caches at once, and confidence that what your sites are showing is true. 

Admin users will notice that access to cache settings is also now available in the top menu on any page. This feature was previously available but turned off by default. We’ve turned it on based on widespread user feedback noting just how helpful it is.

---

Clear Your Caches With Confidence 

Not only do these new features make it easier to clear caches without bogging down your development workflow, you can be sure your caches have cleared and that you’re not experiencing false test outcomes when working through site changes. 

Before you launch a new site, you’ll want to make sure your caching is fully optimized to maximize download performance and ensure the best experience for your customers. After a  few quick selections on the Caching tab, your site will be ready to go! 

The newly available Cache Times controls (seen below) provide you with granular control over things like cache timeouts as well as the ability to schedule header updates.

Here’s a detailed look at what these new caching features can help you achieve:  

Total Cache Control 

• Enable users to improve their caching by setting their timeouts to match the level of interactivity of their site. This will improve site performance, especially for pages that are less frequently updated.
• Set post and API timeouts from 10 minutes up to four weeks.
• Use Smarter Cache to automatically set pages that haven’t been updated in the past four weeks to expire in six months.
• Enable last-modified headers, which encourages browsers to use local versions of pages first.

Accurate Testing With Easy and Reliable Cache-Clearing

• Improved cache clearing from the WP Admin mu plugin.  
• Updated cache clear tool ensures all caches are cleared and provides user feedback if any issues arise.  
• Because caches can only be cleared every few minutes, the updated plugin buttons will disable and a countdown timer will be shown to let the user know when caches can be cleared again.
• The “quick cache clear” top menu link will now be enabled for all WordPress Admin users allowing them to clear their caches from any WP Admin page.

---

Smarter Cache 

In addition to greater caching control, you’ll also gain the ability to automate caching preferences using Smarter Cache, which makes your site set-it-and-forget-it-friendly.

This feature allows the plugin to work away in the background, making sure your caching is automatically enhanced while taking one more job off of your to-do list.

---

Take the Hassle Out of Caching

With the new caching features available on WP Engine’s platform you’ll be able to speed up your development workflow, rest easy, and “test easy,” with assurances that your caching is optimized for your site. 

Click here to find out more about WP Engine’s caching features or speak to a specialist now for answers to your questions!