My changes aren't showing up
What to do when you've saved edits in WordPress or your site platform but the live site hasn't updated.
You saved the change. You can see it in the editor. But when you visit your live site, everything looks the same as before. This is one of the most common things people run into — and it almost always has a quick fix.
Quick summary
The most likely culprit is caching. Start with a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R). If that doesn't work, clear the site cache from your dashboard. If the change still isn't live, double-check that you saved and published it correctly.
Step 1 — Hard refresh your browser
Your browser stores a local copy of web pages to load them faster. That "cached" copy may be outdated.
Press Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows / Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) to force your browser to reload the page from scratch.
Check in a private / incognito window. This bypasses your browser's stored files entirely. In Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac).
Try on a different device or network. Ask a colleague to load the page on their phone and confirm what they see.
If the change shows in a private window but not your normal browser, your browser cache is the issue. See how to fully clear it.
Step 2 — Confirm the change was saved and published
Drafts and unpublished edits don't appear on the live site.
Go back to the editor for that page or post.
Check the status. In WordPress, the top-right of the editor shows the status (Draft, Pending review, Published). The page must be Published for changes to be live.
Click Update or Publish if you see a button available. Sometimes an edit is saved as a draft revision, not yet applied to the live version.
Using Elementor or a page builder?
In Elementor and similar page builders, clicking "Save" saves a draft. You must also click Update (or sometimes Publish) to push it to the live page. Check that you did both steps.
Step 3 — Clear the site cache
Most WordPress sites use caching to serve pages quickly. The cache may be holding onto the old version.
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Look for a caching plugin in the top toolbar or the left menu. Common names: WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, or Swift Performance.
Click "Clear Cache" or "Purge All." The exact label varies by plugin, but it's usually prominent.
Reload your live site and check if the change is now visible.
Step 4 — Clear the hosting-level cache
Some hosting providers (Flywheel, WP Engine, Kinsta) add their own caching layer on top of WordPress.
Log in to your hosting dashboard.
Look for a cache management option. On Kinsta it's called "Clear Cache." On WP Engine it's under "Utilities." On Flywheel it's in the site overview.
Clear the cache and reload your site.
Change showing now?
If clearing the cache fixed it, you're all set. For future reference, clearing the cache after making edits is good practice.
Step 5 — Check if a CDN is involved
A CDN (Content Delivery Network — a global network of servers that speeds up your site) caches pages too. If your site uses Cloudflare or a similar service, its cache may need purging.
Contact us if you're not sure whether your site uses a CDN. We can clear it on your behalf.
Common questions
Related guides
- How to clear your cache & hard refresh
- My site looks broken
- Drafts, previews, and publishing in WordPress
- Publishing your changes in Elementor
- Info to gather before contacting support
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