I've uploaded my new site but I still see the old version, why is this?
The most common cause of web pages not updating once you have uploaded new
files to your hosting space is caching. Caching is used widely across the
Internet to cut down the amount of time it takes to request information. It
works by keeping a temporary copy of information that has been requested
locally for a defined amount of time.
The most common forms of caching web pages occur with your web browser and
Internet Service Provider. Most web browsers cache pages when you
visit a web site so that the next time you go to that page it appears to
load faster, because it is using a local copy rather than requesting a new
copy be sent across the Internet. ISP caching works in much the same way
once you have visited a website your ISP may cache those pages so that they
appear to load faster the next time you visit them. The main problem with
this is that unlike your browser cache you can not delete these temporary
files, instead you have to wait until your ISPs cache expires and it
requests fresh copies of the files. This can be very frustrating if you are
trying to develop or make changes to your website. Unfortunately there is
very little that can be done except to change your ISP. Most ISPs do not
cache pages for more than half an hour or so but there are some that take
considerably longer.
You should first try to delete any temporary/cached files that your browser
may have. In IE6 go to Tools -> Internet Options, under "Temporary Internet
Files"click "Delete Files" and try re-visiting the web page.
If this does not work then your ISP is probably caching the pages you have
changed. If you have an alternative dial up connection with another ISP that
you have not used to visit your website, you will normally see the changes
you have made immediately.