How to Clear Web Browser Cache

Sometimes, when you want to view a web page, the web browser might be presenting you with a cached version of that page.  Meaning, that many or all elements of the page are served to you from memory, having previously loaded the page.  This is a performance-enhancing feature that all web browsers employ, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc. 

However, this time-saving feature can occasionally prevent you from using some or all of the page, depending on what is being cached.  When this occurs, it's often necessary to clear the cache in your web browser.  

Clearing the Cache in Your Web Browser

First, load the website and/or specific page you wish to clear the cache for.  Next, you can press and hold the <Ctrl> key and then the <F5> key on your keyboard to perform a hard refresh. This will tell the web browser to ignore the local cache and ask for a fresh copy of everything.  

Developer Tools/Console

If you're performing development, caching might be even more evident and need to be and remain clear.  In this case, it will be necessary to also load and clear cache for the entirety of your web session.  In this case, you will want to press one of the following keystrokes to load the developer tools.  

• <Ctr>+<Shift>+<I>
• <F12>

Once loaded, you can find a checkbox under the Network tab to "disable cache."  Checking this will tell the web browser to use no caching while the tools/console is open.