Cache

There are multiple ways to manage the cache on ReligionAndPublicLife.org. Start with your browser (Chrome). Proceed with Caching plugins and the server options. In addition, it's also helpful to regenerate the CSS in Elementor and purge the cache in The Plus plugin.

1. Chrome Browser

a. Incognito Mode

Google writes, "When using the incognito mode, Chrome won't save your browsing history, cookies and site data, or information entered in forms. Files you download and bookmarks you create will be kept. Your activity isn’t hidden from websites you visit, your employer or school, or your internet service provider."

Steps to activate incognito mode: "On your computer, open Chrome. At the top right, click More More and then New Incognito Window. A new window appears. In the top corner, check for the Incognito icon Incognito."

b. Clear the Browsing Data

If you are not using the incognito mode, Chrome will store the cached images and files in in your browser. Chrome remembers parts of pages to help them open faster during your next visit. Text and images from pages you've visited in Chrome are removed. In Chrome, clear the browsing data for "cached images and files."

1. On your computer, open Chrome.
2. At the top right, click More More.
3. Click More tools and then Clear browsing data.
4. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
5. Next to "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files," check the boxes.
6. Click Clear data.

2. Breeze Plugin

a. Purge all Cache

In WordPress Dashboard, use the Breeze plugin to "purge all cache."

b. Purge Modules

Then purge two modules: (1) Purge Varnish Cache, and (2) Purge Internal Cache.

 

3. Cloudways

a. Cloudways > Cloudflare Enterprise

In Cloudways, choose your desired application (WordPress website either religionandpubliclife.org or dev.religionandpubliclife.org). Then go to Application Management > Cloudflare > Cloudflare Enterprise > Overview then click "purge" in the "purge cache" section.

a. Cloudways > Varnish

If the above steps do not work, you can clear the Varnish at the server level, but this will do so for all websites on the server. Visit Servers > 1791 Delegates Server > Server Management > Manage Serves > Varnish then press "purge." 

4. The Plus Addons

Visit the WordPress Admin Bar > The Plus Settings > Performance > then press Purge All Cache and then press Save.

Explanation: The Plus Addons plugin has an "advanced caching architecture" to optimize the frontend performance of pages that uses The Plus widgets in Elementor pages. The developers note, "We load nothing on the frontend, if you will not use any widgets from The Plus Addons on your website, thanks to our Advanced Caching Architecture. We generate one CSS and one JS file (Just 2 requests per page) (Cache file Location: "SiteURL/wp-content/uploads/theplus-addons/"), for all the widgets you have used on that page from The Plus AddOns for Elementor. For example, if you have used 5 widgets on one page, our advanced algorithm will Combine, Minify, and Compress their CSS & JS files into a "Separate One" file. This will make the whole process super efficient and bloat-free. This feature helps build super-fast websites with advanced/complex layouts with the Elementor page builder. One minor drawback to this is, you need to remove cache frequently during the development process. If you are having other 3rd party caching activated. That you can easily do from WordPress Admin Bar > The Plus Settings > Performance > Purge All Cache."

If this doesn't work, go to the Elementor editor and resave The Plus Addon design. This will refresh the layout.

5. Elementor

If the above steps do not work consider regenerating the Elementor files.

Elementor writes, "Quite often, the cache can cause the issue of Elementor changes not showing. You can first try to simply clear your browser’s cache, use a different browser, or view in an incognito browser. If this doesn’t help, then follow these steps:

1. Go to Elementor > Tools > Regenerate CSS and click the Regenerate Files button. 
2. Update your page. You may need to make a small change to enable the Update button. 
3. Clear all cache including server cache if it exists, any WordPress caching plugins you are using, and your own browser cache. You can also try checking in another browser, or in an incognito browser."

6. Mobile App API Caching

BuddyBoss reports, "API Caching improves the response time for API requests. Third party plugins or custom code that interacts with API data may conflict with the cache. This can be resolved by disabling the cache for that component, or by adding your own custom code for supporting additional API data in the cache." 

BuddyBoss recommends enabling all API Caching options:

1. BuddyBoss App > Settings > API Caching 
   • BuddyBoss App (Cache App Core)
   • Pages and Posts (Purge all App Pages, Blog Posts, Blog Comments, Blog Categories)
   • BuddyBoss Platform (Purge all Cache Activity Feeds, Cache Member Profiles, Cache Member Connections
   • LearnDash (Cache LearnDash Courses)

In this tutorial, BuddyBoss explains "how to use API Caching to improve the performance of your BuddyBoss App. This feature allows repeat visits to content in the app to load from a pre-built cache." BuddyBoss provides developers a tutorial for how to add custom API Endpoints into the API Caching system."

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OUTDATED INSTRUCTIONS

On April 17, 2022 we moved the server from SiteGround to Cloudways.

The following instructions are for archival purposes.

We have learned that whenever you clear SiteGround's cache, it's best to also purge all cache on Cloudflare.

1. SiteGround SuperCache

SiteGround writes, "SuperCacher increases the number of hits a site can handle and boosts the website loading speed. SuperCacher works before the Apache webserver providing an excellent caching solution for all types of websites. The SuperCacher includes 3 different caching options for maximum optimization. You can access the tool by going to your Site Tools > Speed > Caching. Once you click it, you will find brief information on how SuperCacher works and 3 tabs for the different available caching options."

a. NGINX Direct Delivery

Keep active the NGINX Directory Delivery for all sites on ReligionAndPublicLife.org. 

SiteGround writes, “With NGINX Direct Delivery we will serve most of the static resources of your website (images, JS, CSS and others) directly through NGINX to achieve the fastest possible loading time. It works for all kind of applications without additional customisation. For best results we highly recommend having NGINX Direct Delivery enabled at all times. However, if you need to use custom caching .htaccess rules for your static content you may need to switch it off.”

SiteGround writes, "NGINX Direct Delivery is a caching solution for your website’s static resources. When a page is loaded, it makes a copy of your static content – images, CSS, JavaScript, etc. and puts them into the server’s RAM. Next time your visitors load your website, the content is fetched directly from the server’s RAM which is significantly faster than the server’s hard drive. This type of caching can be used for all types of sites. For more information read our NGINX Direct Delivery article."

b. Dynamic Cache

SiteGround writes, "The Dynamic Cache is a full-page caching mechanism for non-static resources. It prevents unnecessary database queries, processing of each page visit, and more. It highly improves your loading speed and the TTFB (time to first byte) of your pages. For WordPress sites the best dynamic cache results are achieved if you also install the SG Optimizer plugin. This is an extremely effective solution for WordPress and other dynamic websites. It caches the HTML output created by the PHP code of the website application and serves it directly from the RAM, instead of generating it each time. This significantly improves the website loading speed. For more information read our Dynamic Cache option article."

c. Memcached

SiteGround writes, "Memcached is a popular caching system that is used by many database-powered sites like YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and many others. It caches the results from the database queries into the server’s RAM, speeding up the website tremendously. For more information read our Memcached Option article."

2. Cloudflare

Cloudflare writes, "The Caching app in your Cloudflare dashboard allows purge of cached resources by single-file (recommended), hostname or cache-tag (Enterprise plans only), or all cached content. All customers can purge by single-file (by URL) or purge all cached assets. Cloudflare Enterprise customers can also purge using hostnames and cache-tags." To purge everything, access the Cloudflare dashboard and:

a. Login to Cloudflare and select the site with the resources to purge.

b. Click the Caching app.

c. Click on the Configuration tab

d. In the Purge Cache pane, click Purge Everything.

3. Multisite Options in SG Optimizer

<< It is recommended not to activate the SG Optimizer. As a result, the following option will not be available when the SG Optimizer plugin is not active. >>

SiteGround writes, "When you log in to WordPress multisite installation as Network Admin, you will be able to access the multi-site management panel of the SG Optimizer. Some of the SG Optimizer settings (GZIP Compression, Browser Caching Option, Memcached) can only have one and the same status for all sites in your network. The Global Settings tab shows you the actual status of these network settings. Any change you do through this tab is applied to all your sites."

a. Supercacher Settings

At the network level, access the SG Optimizer plugin and go to the tab labeled, "Per Site Defaults." Activate the Dynamic Caching and the Automatic Cache Purge, which will automatically perform a smart purge after every content modification. Repeat this process for each SG Optimizer dashboard in the subdomains.

b. Scheduled Database Maintenance

SiteGround writes, "When the 'scheduled database maintenance' feature is enabled, this option schedules a database maintenance task that runs once every week. The optimization is performing the following operations: Database Optimization for MyISAM tables, deletes all automatically created post and page drafts, revisions, all posts and pages in your Trash, all comments marked as Spam or Trash and all expired transients."