My changes aren't showing up
How to fix the common reasons why edits you make in WordPress don't appear on your live website.
You saved your edits in WordPress, but when you look at the live website, nothing has changed. Or you see the old version. This is a very common experience, and it is almost always caused by caching — not a mistake on your part.
Quick summary
Most of the time, your changes saved correctly — they're just being hidden by a cache (a saved copy of your old site). Try a hard refresh first. If that doesn't work, clear your site's cache from the WordPress dashboard. Your changes will appear within a few minutes.
What is a cache and why does it matter?
A cache (pronounced "cash") is a saved copy of your website stored either in your browser or on the web server. Caches make websites load faster by serving a pre-built copy instead of building the page fresh every time.
The downside: when you make a change, the cached copy might still show the old version — to you and to your visitors.
There are two main types:
| Type | Where it lives | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Browser cache | Your computer or phone | Just you |
| Server/site cache | Your hosting server | All visitors |
Most of the time you only need to clear one of them.
Step 1: Hard refresh your browser
This is the fastest fix and solves the problem about half the time.
Press Ctrl + Shift + R in your browser, or hold Ctrl and click the refresh button. This forces your browser to download a fresh copy of the page.
Press Command + Shift + R in Chrome or Firefox. In Safari, hold Option and click the refresh button (or press Command + Option + R).
In Safari, hold down the refresh icon in the address bar until a menu appears, then tap Reload Without Content Blockers. Or try opening the page in a private browsing tab.
In Chrome, tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then tap Refresh. Or open a new incognito tab and visit the page there.
Did that fix it?
If your changes now appear, you're done. No further action needed.
Step 2: Clear your site cache from WordPress
If a hard refresh didn't help, the cached copy is stored on the server — not just in your browser. You need to clear it from within WordPress.
Most WordPress sites use a caching plugin. Common ones include WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, and LiteSpeed Cache. The exact steps vary slightly, but the process is similar:
Log in to WordPress. Go to yoursite.com/wp-admin.
Look at the top black bar (the admin bar). Many caching plugins add a button there — you might see "Clear Cache", "Flush Cache", or something similar. Click it.
Alternatively, find the plugin in the left menu. Look for your caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache). Click on it and find the option to clear or purge the cache.
Visit your live site and do a hard refresh (see Step 1 above). Your changes should now appear.
Not sure which caching plugin you have?
If you don't see a cache button anywhere, contact us. We'll clear the cache for you and confirm which plugin is in use.
Step 3: Check that you actually saved the changes
It happens to everyone — you edited a page but closed the tab before clicking Save or Update.
Log in to WordPress and find the page or post you edited.
Look at the content. Does it reflect what you intended to change?
If not, make your edits again and this time click Update (for published pages) or Save Draft, then Publish (for new content).
If you're using the block editor, look for the Update button in the top right corner of the screen.
Step 4: Check if the page is set to draft
If a whole page is missing or not accessible, it might have accidentally been set back to draft (unpublished) mode.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Pages or Posts.
Look for the affected page in the "Drafts" tab. If it's there, open it and click Publish.
Step 5: Hosting-level cache
Some hosting providers — especially managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine, Flywheel, and Kinsta — have their own server-level cache that runs separately from WordPress. This requires clearing the cache from your hosting dashboard.
If you have access to your hosting account, look for a "Clear Cache" option. If you're not sure how to find it, contact us — we can clear it directly.
Common questions
Related guides
- How to clear your cache & hard refresh
- How to edit a page
- Drafts, previews, and publishing
- Page and post revisions
- Fixing the "white screen" error
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