Why is the Google Chrome cache not cleared

February 17, 2021, by Santiago Comment

Clearing the browser’s cache, be it Google Chrome or any other, allows you to delete temporary files that the browser has previously downloaded so that a page loads faster the next time. The idea of ​​removing these files is to force the browser to download the updated files from that page, something important when it is believed that there have been changes to it. Although this is useful for any user, it is especially necessary if you have a blog or website and have edited your site files with WordPress (As the functions.php O style.css) or other platforms.

Incognito mode

Before clearing the cache of your browser, the simplest thing is to open a window in incognito mode. In this case Chrome should “work from scratch”, that is, without considering previous files from some website. It should be “reset,” so to speak. So you would not have to clear the cache manually as I indicate below every time you need «open the current version of a website«.

Clear cache normally

To clear the cache, the most normal method is to go to the browser settings. In the case of Chrome, touch the three-dot button, option “Settings”, “Privacy and security”, “Clear browsing data. There you will have the option to delete cached images and files, including style sheets, function sheets, site images or thumbnails, etc. You will also have the option to erase your browsing history, logins (site data) and cookies, passwords, forms and even settings on websites.

Why is the Chrome cache not clearing?

However, for whatever reason, use incognito mode or clear Chrome’s cache in the above way it does not work and many times recent changes to a website are not seen. Style sheets .css, files .php and even the previous images continue to load and prevent being able to visualize the modifications that have been made. This despite having cleared the WordPress cache (which is the platform with which I have had these problems) something equally necessary to see the recent version of the site.

Another way to clear the cache in the case of Android is to clear the application cache, that is, go to Android Settings, Applications, Google Chrome, Memory, Clear cache. However, this method it has not cleared the cache of my Chrome either and my site files have not been reloaded. In addition, this method has the disadvantage that it will clear the entire browser cache, including passwords, logins and history, something you probably do not want to do.

Empty cache and force reload

The solution to this problem is to make a forced loading of the website or «hard reload»And on Android it is as simple as entering the following in the address bar:

javascript:location.reload(true)

This should clear chrome cache and force reload the website.

On a PC the procedure is somewhat different. You must first activate the developer tools by pressing Ctrl + Shift + J at the same time. Once the tools appear, hold down the “Update” button at the top left of the address bar. Finally choose the option «Empty cache and force reload«.

Don’t forget to clear the cache of the website you are working on.

7 gestures to use Google Chrome faster on Android

What is it, why and how to clear the Android cache

How Google Chrome’s data saving works and why you should activate it