How to clear web browser cache
What is Browser Cache
The cache is a kind of browser buffer. When you visit a website for the first time, certain content is saved, such as graphics, queries or CSS files, and more. Although, as this process takes place in the background, the user does not perceive it.
When a previously visited page is re-entered, the browser does not have to reload all the data. Instead, accesses the content stored in the cache. Thanks to this, it takes less time to display a web page.
Is it necessary to clean the cache regularly?
Cached web content, which can be deleted manually, must be removed regularly for several reasons:
- When there is too much content in the cache, computer operation may be slowed down.
- Even if cached data is outdated, it will continue to be displayed instead of loading new content.
- If the cache is deleted, the traces of data stored in the browser are also eliminated.
What happens if the cookies are also deleted?
Like the cache, cookies also help to load websites faster and thus facilitate browsing the network of networks. However, while the cache is responsible for saving the content of other sites, cookies focus on user identification.
For this, the web pages store data packages on the client devices, whether on computers, tablets or smartphones. Your browser uses them to be able to recognize the user again. Thus, you do not need to input the password and email address you have used regularly to log in on certain websites. That is why deleting cookies are different than deleting the cache.
When you want to clear the cache, it is recommended to pay attention when selecting the delete options as well as when adjusting the settings.
What are the disadvantages of browser cache?
The cache can take up a lot of space on your computer. Therefore, you can try to limit the available cache space in your browser, or you can directly clear the cache to free disk space.
If you are making a web page or a company is creating it for you, it can happen that sometimes changes have been made in the design and do not appear instantly unless you refresh the page or clear the cache. It is because your browser memorizes the webpage you have accessed in the old days.
Final Thoughts
The browser cache is used to download the content of a website much faster, as long as you have visited it before so that those files have been saved in your browser.
When you visit a web page for the first time, downloading all that web content is usually “somewhat slow,” It is because what you are doing is connecting to a server from anywhere in the world and accessing those files and other content.
It is there where the browser cache comes into operation, because it saves those files, speeding up the web loading speed in your future connections. While it is not highly recommended that you clear the browser cache too often, you will lose speed if you have too much cache stored.
We have outlined exactly how to clear your web browser cache. Simply follow the steps according to the type of web browser that you are using. In most cases, you can just issue a hard refresh by pressing Ctrl F5 (PC) or Cmd + Shift key + R (Mac).