Why Your WP Fastest Cache Keeps Clearing or Not Updating

If you've noticed your WP Fastest Cache files disappearing, not being created automatically, or failing to update after a post edit, you're not alone. These are some of the most common issues reported by users. This guide will explain why these caching problems occur and walk you through the most effective troubleshooting steps.

Common Symptoms and Their Causes

Based on community reports, the issues typically fall into a few categories:

• Cache Files Disappearing: You publish or update a post, and the cache files for other, unrelated posts are automatically deleted.
• Cache Not Created Automatically: New posts or pages do not have their cache files generated unless you manually visit the URL in an incognito browser.
• Old Content Served: You update a post, but visitors still see the old, cached version even after clearing the cache.
• Selective Cache Clearing: The plugin clears more cache than intended, such as entire categories instead of just the single updated post.

These problems are often not direct bugs but are caused by conflicts with other software or specific plugin settings.

How to Troubleshoot and Resolve These Issues

1. Check Your "Update Post" and "New Post" Settings

The plugin's behavior when content is published or updated is controlled by two key settings. Misconfiguration here is a common cause of problems.

• Navigate to WP Fastest Cache > Settings.
• Locate the "Update Post" and "New Post" options.
• If your cache is clearing too aggressively (e.g., wiping entire categories when you edit one post), you may want to disable these options. Be aware that this means the cache for new or updated content will not be cleared automatically.
• If your cache is not updating when you edit a post, enable the "Update Post" option.

2. Investigate Server-Side Caching Conflicts

If you've cleared the WP Fastest Cache but still see old content, the issue likely lies with another caching layer. Many hosting providers implement their own server-level cache (e.g., OPCache, Varnish, Nginx FastCGI Cache, or a proprietary object cache).

• Contact your hosting support and ask if they have a server-side caching mechanism enabled.
• If they do, ask them how to purge that cache or if they provide a bypass cookie for administrators. This often explains why you see the updated page (because you're logged in and bypassing the server cache) while logged-out visitors do not.

3. Understand the Limits of Caching Dynamic Content

WP Fastest Cache works by saving pages as static HTML files. This means any PHP code, including shortcodes that pull live data (e.g., event lists, real-time counters), will not execute for cached visitors. The content will be frozen in time.

• For dynamic elements: The recommended solution is to load that specific content via an AJAX request. This allows the main page to be cached while the dynamic element is fetched fresh from the server each time.
• For "next/previous" post links: As highlighted in the community, when you publish a new post, the cache for the previous post must be cleared so its "next post" link can update. This currently requires manual cache management for that specific page.

4. The Cache and WordPress Cron

WordPress relies on a system called "Cron" to schedule tasks. The "Automatic Cache Preload" feature uses this system. If your host has strict limits on resource usage or if your site doesn't receive enough traffic to trigger scheduled tasks, the automatic preload may fail, resulting in the "Errors" shown in the settings.

• You can try to manually execute the preload via a Cron Job as a more reliable alternative.

5. Private Posts Are Not Cached

It is important to know that WP Fastest Cache does not cache private posts or pages. This is by design. Since private content is only visible to logged-in users, caching it as a static file would not be secure or functional. You can verify a page is cached by checking its HTML source for a comment like <!-- WP Fastest Cache file was created... --> at the very bottom.

Conclusion

Most issues with WP Fastest Cache not behaving as expected can be traced to settings conflicts, server-side caching, or the inherent nature of how static caching works. By methodically checking your settings, consulting with your host about other caching layers, and understanding the plugin's limitations with dynamic content, you can usually identify and resolve the problem.