Synthesis, Inc. - Synthesis, Inc. - Administrative Support for Creative People

My website was updated, but I’m still seeing the old page.  What can I do?

This is a question all web workers are familiar with, and there’s an easy solution!  The answer lies in your browser’s cache.

What is a cache?  Back in the ‘old days’ of dial up – it could sometimes take awhile to load graphics heavy websites.  So, the browser folks designed the cache to retain information from the last time you visited the page.  It is supposed to automatically check for updates to the page, but this part of the process has never met my expectations.  Sometimes clicking the refresh button works.  Sometimes closing your browser and reopening it works – but really, who has time for all that?  Here’s how to make a change once that will ensure you are seeing the newest version of every page you visit.

Using Internet Explorer 7:

Click the Tools button  in the upper right of the screen and choose Internet Options.

Under the General tab you’ll see Browsing history.  Click Settings which will bring up this window:

Under Check for newer versions of stored pages select the option Every time I visit the webpage.

Then click the OK options until you’re back to your browser.

Using Firefox:

In the address field (Where you usually type the web address) type: about:config

This will prompt a warning box that says:

Click on the button that says I’ll be careful, I promise!

Then scroll down the list to find browser.cache.check_doc_frequency (it will be in bold for easy finding!)

Double click the value field and enter 1.  Then click OK.

The cache can still be useful for low speed dial up connections, but if you’re on a high speed connection you won't notice a change in the speed of your browser when it checks for a new page each time, and you’ll be able to see exactly what the site owner intends for you to see.