Introduction
Caching is a way to decrease page load times. Normally, your site’s HTML is stored on our live server, meaning each request to view a page requires communication between the server and your computer. With advanced caching, your site’s assets, such as images, and HTML, are stored on the global Cloudflare Content Distribution Network (CDN). With worldwide distribution, the CDN will be able to deliver pages to website visitors faster – decreasing bounce rates and increasing SEO scores.
Note: In WordPress, the term “Post” refers to pages, posts and all other custom posts types. In this article, when we refer to caching posts, this applies to both pages and posts.
Activating advanced caching
Advanced caching is automatically activated for all Elementor hosted websites. However, you do have a number of options for advanced caching including the option to disable it.
To access the advanced caching options, go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
Deactivating advanced caching
To deactivate advanced caching:
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Use the dropdown to change the Status to Disable.
- Click Save Changes.
Note: When you edit a cached post, your changes will not appear to site visitors until the cache is cleared. Conversely, if you’re logged into a site, you’ll be looking at the live version of the post, which could be different from the cached version which your visitors are reading.
Advanced caching options
Cache timeout
When a visitor goes to a post for the first time, the assets and the HTML are loaded into the cache, where they can quickly be accessed by any visitor around the world. Cache timeout is the amount of time that post will remain in the cache. In general, if you update your site frequently, you will want a shorter cache time, otherwise you’ll want to keep them in the cache longer.
Note: By default, Cache timeout is set to 7 days, meaning the cache will be cleared every 7 days unless you update the content.
To change the cache timeout:
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Use the dropdown to change the Cache timeout to the desired time.
- Click Save Changes.
Exclude from cache
Your site may include posts, or groups of posts that you do not want to cache. These are generally exact post URL paths that contain information found on other posts (e.g. a list of courses, or custom products), so you want visitors to see the most recent version. You may also want to use this option to exclude posts with user-specific information (e.g. a post that displays content based on user location).
Note: There are also some predefined exclusions to help dynamic content remain fresh.
To exclude posts from the cache:
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Fill in the text box next to Exclude from cache with the definition of the pages you do not want cached. These posts must be defined by relative path patterns. You must fill this field in exactly, including beginning and end slashes. These definitions can include wildcards (*).
Following are examples of acceptable definitions:/* (This will include all the posts in a directory)
/foo (This will include the post in the directory called “foo”)
/*foo (This will include all posts in the directory that end with “foo”)/foo* (This will include all posts in the directory that begin with “foo”)
/*foo* (This will include all posts in the directory that have “foo” in them)
/bar*/ (This will include all posts in a directory that begins with with “bar”)
/*bar/ (This will include all posts in a directory that ends with with “bar”)
/*bar*/ (This will include all posts in a directory that has “bar” in it)
/baz/faz (This will include the posts “faz” in the directory “baz”)
/*baz/faz (This will include all the posts named “faz” in directories that begin with “baz”)
/baz*/faz (This will include all the posts named “faz” in directories that end with “baz”)
/baz/*faz (This includes all the posts that end with “faz” in the directory “baz”)
/baz/faz* (This includes all the posts that begin with “faz” in the directory “baz”)
/*baz*/*faz* (This includes all posts with “faz” in them, located in any directory that has “baz” in it.) - Click Save Changes.
Always clear cache
If you have posts that are constantly being updated (e.g. a post containing a list of the next day’s schedule), you can mark them as, Always clear cache. This way, anytime a change is made to the post or asset, the cache will be cleared and the edited version will be uploaded to the cache when the first visitor requests this asset.
To mark posts as Always clear cache:
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Fill in the text box next to Always clear cache with the definition of the pages you do not want cached. These posts must be defined by relative path patterns. You must fill this field in exactly, including beginning and end slashes. The definitions assume you are using a wildcard, so if you write in /blog/ it will clear all assets in the “blog” directory.
Following are examples of acceptable definitions:/foo (This will include all posts in the directory beginning with “foo”)
/bar/ (This will include all the posts in the directory named “bar”/baz/faz (This will include all posts that begin with “faz” in the directory “baz”) - Click Save Changes
Manually clearing cached items
If you need to refresh your site, you can manually clear all cached items.. There are two ways to manually clear the cache:
From the dashboard:
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Click the Clear All button.
From the top toolbar
- Go to Settings>Elementor Hosting on the WordPress dashboard.
- Click Clear Posts Cache from the top toolbar.
Possible downsides of caching
When you cache pages, you are storing a copy of the page on the CDN. This means any changes you make, or that are made dynamically, to the page, will not be seen by site visitors until the cache is cleared. This could be an issue for pages like an event schedule where you may be making last minute changes, while your visitors are viewing cached pages with outdated information.
While the system is designed so that changed pages have their caches cleared, we suggest you familiarize yourself with, and make use of, the exclude from cache and always cache features. You may also want to manually clear the cache at especially important times.
FAQ
- Why should I use the advanced caching feature?
The new advanced caching feature will significantly improve your website’s performance, specifically the Time to First Byte (TTFB). Advanced caching provides you with total control over your website caching, and allows you to easily configure which pages you want to cache and which ones to not cache.
- Can I use Advanced caching on my WooCommerce website?
Absolutely! This feature is fully compatible with WooCommerce. If you experience any incompatibility issues with caching or other plugins, please contact us - I already have a caching plugin installed, what should I do?
Elementor hosting supports caching plugins, though we recommend using our native advanced caching feature. Many caching plugins also provide other functionalities ( such as compressing photos) and you can leave those functionalities active even when using Elementor’s native caching. If you experience any incompatibility issues with caching or other plugins, please contact us.
- Why might I see different post versions when I’m logged in to my site vs not logged in user?
This might happen in case you haven’t cleared the cache of your live website. If you’re logged in, you’ll see the most recent version of your post, but if you’re not logged in, you’ll see the cached version (which may not reflect the most recent changes).
- How long does it take to clear cached items?
When clearing the cache of your website or pages it could take up around 30 seconds to take effect.
How can I measure how fast my website is?
There are a number of 3rd party tools to measure website speed. These include:
Pagespeed Insights (from Google Developers)