Experiencing delays in your WordPress website updates can be frustrating. When changes don’t appear immediately, it disrupts your workflow and visitor experience. This issue is common and can stem from various reasons.
Caching problems, browser issues, and server-side delays are typical culprits. Understanding these causes can help you resolve the problem quickly.
This guide will help you troubleshoot and fix common issues that prevent your WordPress site from updating right away. Follow these steps to ensure your updates reflect promptly on your site.
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.
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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.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, keep reading.
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.
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 a poorly configured WordPress caching plugin. Most caching plugins make it super easy to clear your cache with the click of a button.
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.
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.
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.
If you hover your mouse over ‘Caching’, you’ll see the option to ‘Purge All’. This will delete all cached files from your website.
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 Speed 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.
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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kzain
I’ve struggled with outdated content appearing on my website,
and this post perfectly explains the reasons behind it and offers clear solutions. The breakdown of clearing cache from both the website and browser is very helpful
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide was helpful!
Admin
Afif Khaja
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
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for sharing how to do this on hostinger
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
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.
WPBeginner Support
That is something to keep in mind for those using CDNs
Admin
Afrasiab Sajid
I’ve tried everything even different internet connection and devices but still nothing seems to work.
WPBeginner Support
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
terra
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
WPBeginner Support
Glad to hear our post was helpful!
Admin
Alita Pacio
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
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
Talha
WP Rocket clear cache helped, phewww!!
WPBeginner Support
Glad the recommendation was able to help!
Admin
Mike B
Thank you! Didn’t realize SiteGrounds was doing that, and that installing the plugin would help!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide could help!
Admin
Bri
Thanks so much! The SG Optimizer fix did it!!!!!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide could help
Admin
JAMES
Wow I’m so relieved. The SG OPTIMIZER worked for me . Great work guys, thanks alot!!!
MikeP
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!!
Cristian
You are best of the best. The cache plugin is the problem.
Anjum Alden
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!!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide was helpful
Admin
Rachel
The SG Optimizer plugin immediately fixed the problem. Thank you!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our recommendation was helpful
Admin
kate
SG plugin was a winner – thanks!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide could help
Admin
Ruben
The SiteGround plug in worked for me. Thank you so much for the tips!! Cheers!
WPBeginner Support
Glad the recommendation helped
Admin
Cheryl Strachan
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!
WPBeginner Support
Glad our recommendation was able to help
Admin
Douglas Kempf
I’ve tried all of the above fixes. Some of them more than once. And none of them worked.
WPBeginner Support
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
Donna F
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
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