By Brian Christie
Works ≠ done (again)
Your caching plugin is installed. Is it actually configured. Is it actually working. These are three different states and most site owners assume the first one covers the other two.
What caching actually does, in one sentence
Instead of building the page from scratch every time someone visits, caching saves a pre-built copy and serves that instead. Faster for the visitor, less work for the server, everyone wins.
Where it goes wrong
1. Installed but never configured. Default settings are rarely optimal for your specific site.
2. Caching pages that shouldn’t be cached. Your cart page, your login page, dynamic content that changes per visitor.
3. Never clearing it after changes. You update your site, the cache still serves the old version, and you think the update didn’t work.
4. Multiple caching layers fighting each other. A plugin cache, a server cache, and a CDN cache all running independently without knowing about each other.
The check
Open your site in an incognito window after making a visible change. If the change shows up instantly, caching is either working correctly or not working at all. If the old version persists, something needs configuring.
Want your caching actually set up correctly, not just installed? That’s part of our website care plans.
