Are you noticing that your website content is not updating as quickly as you'd like? This article explains why this happens and provides solutions to ensure your visitors always see the most current version of your content. We will explore why Ezoic caches content, the frequency of cache refreshes, and several methods to expedite content updates. Understanding these aspects will help you optimize your site’s performance and maintain an excellent user experience. Read on to learn how to troubleshoot and resolve this effectively.

If users are seeing outdated content, it suggests that your caching set-up could do with tweaking. This could be particularly noticeable on pages updated frequently, such as news feeds or blog posts.

Similarly, if you find yourself frequently needing to manually clear the cache through the Ezoic caching app, this might indicate an issue with how the cache is being managed or updated automatically.

These symptoms can negatively affect the user experience and overall site performance, highlighting the need for adjustments to your caching set-up.

1. Changes to content not being reflected on site:

• Issue: Users may notice that updates to their site content are not appearing immediately after being made.
• Solution:

1. This is expected behaviour when using any caching. You can however use the 'Clear All' function under Leap > Caching to force an update if significant changes to content have been made across multiple URLs. This will ensure any changes you've made since the cache was last cleared are reflected across your site.

2. Use the 'Clear for URL' option when changes have been made to a single URL only (or the 'Clear cache by multiple URLs' option if you have made changes to multiple URLs but don't wish to clear the cache site-wide).

If you find that you are needing to do this regularly, you may wish to reduce the Default Cache Age under Leap > Caching > Advanced Rules. The minimum age you can set is 1800 seconds, which equates to 30 minutes. This will mean that any changes you make to your site's content are reflected on the site within 30 minutes.

However, there is a better way to address this. If your site was built using WordPress, you can use the Ezoic plugin to automate the clearing of the Ezoic cache by page whenever you make changes. This is preferable to the above solution because adjusting the Default Cache Age for the entire site can negatively impact your site's Largest Contentful Paint overall user experience site-wide.

You can also have it clear the cache for the homepage should you wish for this to be cleared at the same time. If your site was not built using WordPress and you possess some technical know-how, you can use Ezoic's API found under Settings > API to replicate this instead. You can read more about how the plugin / API works here: How can I set up the Ezoic WordPress plugin for CDN management?

2. Need for Faster Content Updates for Specific Pages:

• Issue: Some pages, such as those with frequently updated news feeds or posts, may require faster updates than the default settings allow.
• Solution:

1. Under Leap > Caching, select Advanced Rules > Create New Page Rule. 

Create a page or directory-level rule that reduces the Default Cache Age for the specific page or directory. If the URL is the homepage, this should be represented by a forward slash (/).

2. Under Leap > Caching, select Exclusion Rules > Create New Rule. Exclude the URL from being cached by Ezoic so the caching defaults to the settings specified on the origin server.

In summary, to maintain optimal performance when using Ezoic's caching system, consider the following tips:

1. Install Ezoic's WordPress Plugin: This plugin automates the process of clearing your site's cache whenever changes are made. It ensures a balanced approach to cache refresh rates and site speed, offering the best user experience.
2. Use Cache Update Functions: Utilize the built-in cache update features within the Ezoic UI to force an update when significant changes to content are made. This helps reflect these changes quickly across site variants.
3. Set Page-Level Rules: For pages or directories that require frequent updates, such as news feeds, create page-level rules to adjust the caching duration accordingly. This ensures that fresh content is served more frequently without affecting the entire site's performance.
4. Exclude Specific URLs from Caching: For certain URLs, particularly those that need to reflect real-time changes, exclude them from Ezoic caching. This ensures that these pages always use the cache settings specified by the origin server.
5. Avoid Adjusting Max Cache Time Site-Wide: Generally, do not alter the maximum cache duration for the entire site as this can negatively impact the Time to Interactive and overall user experience. Instead, use targeted adjustments for specific needs.

Implementing these practices will help maintain a seamless and efficient experience for your site's visitors while leveraging the benefits of Ezoic's caching system.

If you need further assistance with configuring the Ezoic cache, please log in via https://support.ezoic.com/ to make use of our dedicated resources for support. We're here to help!