What is Site Caching?
Site caching is the process of temporarily storing files of a web page to decrease page loading time on subsequent page views.
Caching is beneficial to the user because site elements such as logos, colors, fonts and other information have already been "downloaded" so the browser doesn't have to complete the process from scratch.
Caching is beneficial to site admins because caching decreases bandwidth usage, server load and other benefits.
The 5-Minute Cache Cycle
The TownNews servers feature a 5-minute cache cycle. This means that a site or asset change can take up to 5 minutes to appear on the site. Since the cache cycle is a server configuration and not a site configuration, the duration of the cache can't be changed.
Preview Mode
While caching is preferred in most cases, viewing the site in a non-cached environment can be beneficial, such as while making design changes where you want to see changes instantly. This can be accomplished by viewing the site in Preview Mode. This option is located at the top of the BLOX CMS interface, within the Active Site dropdown arrow.
Pages being viewed "in Preview" will take longer to load, but will feature the most-recent versions with the latest changes. Banner ads also do not show while being viewed in Preview.
How to bypass the cache cycle for delivering important news updates
Time-sensitive content can have the cache reduced to 1-minute if the following conditions are met:
1. The article asset must feature one of the following Flags: Breaking, Developing, Feature, Top Story, Spotlight or Urgent.
2. The asset must have been originally posted within the previous 24 hours.
3. The block that is pulling in the content must be on the homepage AND have a Query Rule set to look for Flags noted in step 1: Breaking, Developing, Feature, Top Story, Spotlight or Urgent.
This clearing of the server cache does not affect either your browser cache, or that of your reader. Therefore, you may want to force your browser to refresh when testing. To do so on a Windows computer, use CTRL + F5. On a Mac, Command + R. And when using Linux, click F5.
To maintain the stability of the entire system, using these flags to clear the server cache should be done sparingly. BLOX CMS will limit its use to once every few minutes for each publication.