Cache Clear

Update March 2022: The cache clear feature is no longer available. With the migration of the platform to a cloud service site owners should not need to clear a sites cache.

To make websites faster, Web Express stores web pages in a cache. Clearing the caches can be a useful first step in troubleshooting if your site is not displaying properly. This is relatively harmless but is not a process you will likely do very often. Be aware that sites might slow down for a bit afterwards while the cache fills back up. You will not be able to clear the cache more than once an hour.

Cache on Web Express

On the Web Express platform, we have implemented a three hour cache time period on the Page Cache (see definition below). This means the platform automatically creates a snapshot of your website and refreshes the snapshot every three hours. The purpose of this is to help with the peak of the start of the semester and improve the user experience on the entire Web Express platform. In short, it helps to make your websites fast!

When in doubt and not sure what this means for you, just reach out to us via websupport@colorado.edu and we can help you.

Types of Cache

Browser Cache

Every time a user visits a website, their web browser downloads all the images, CSS files, and other static files temporarily. When the same user goes to another page on the site, it will load much faster because all the static files are in their browser cache.

When to clear: You and your co-worker see different things when you view the same webpage on different computers when you are both logged in or just viewing the site as a regular user.

How to clear: OIT maintains step by step instructions for clearing browser caches for different browsers and operating systems.

Page Cache

The Page Cache is responsible for creating a static version of pages on your site and stores them for up to 3 hours. The purpose is to speed up the time it takes browsers to display content from your site on a user’s computer or mobile device. After 3 hours, it refreshes the page content and starts the cycle again.

When to clear: A page looks correct while logged in, but incorrect when you are not logged or viewing the content using another device or incognito/private browsing. In most cases you don’t need to do anything and can wait out 3 hour cache cycle. We recommend only clearing the Page Cache if you need your changes to be reflected immediately due to the urgency of a change, or you haven’t seen the change after 3 hours.

How to clear: Site Owners and Content Editors can clear the cache of any path at any time by entering the path or using the Page Cache link found next to Edit Layout on every page. Site Owners can clear the entire Intermediate Cache for the site once an hour.

Database Cache

Database caching reduces the server load by caching content objects in the database. This reduces the time it takes Web Express to process requests for specific pages. In very rare cases, the database cache can impact site editors from seeing changes they are making to their website while logged in -- such as adding a new page to the main menu and not seeing the new tab on your main navigation.

When to clear: The need to clear the database cache is pretty rare. The only time you would ever need to do this is if you are working on your website and none of your changes are showing while you are logged in. Site owners can clear the entire database cache once per hour if needed.

How to clear cache:

Site Owners have access to clear the different types of cache. You can access the clear cache by going to the settings area of your website:

1. Click Settings in the Express toolbar.
2. Click the Clear Caches link.
3. We suggest you start with a Clear Page By Path option first.
4. If after 10 minutes you still don't see your changes, you can go to Click the Clear Full Database Cache button.