Freshness, data changes and cache purge
3 min read
A generated page is only as useful as it is up to date. This page explains how changes reach visitors, search engines and caches.
What changes a page
You change | Reaches the page | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
The template (content, layout) | Immediately on all pages | Pages render the template on every visit. Saving the template clears the page caches. |
A row in a data table (admin, form, API) | Immediately for row-mode tasks | The page of that row is rebuilt at once; combination tasks run again. See Running and scheduling. |
A row added or deleted, a CSV import, a feed sync | Within moments | The task runs (when Update pages when the data changes is on) |
A field group table row | At the next run | Field group sources do not trigger runs. Use a schedule or Run now. |
A page edited by hand | Immediately | The page editor clears that page's cache |
An AI run that wrote values | When the run writes them | The page's last modified date moves and its cache is cleared |
The task's SEO or structured data settings | Immediately (see Tasks for the exceptions) | Computed on each view |
Imports and feeds that use a unique match column update rows in place and keep their IDs, so unchanged pages stay unchanged and removed rows are removed; without one, an import keeps IDs by row position. This is what keeps lastmod meaningful.
What moves the last modified date
The Changed date of a page (sitemap lastmod, the Last-Modified header, article:modified_time) moves only when something visible changed: a new title or URL, new data in the row (the plugin stores a fingerprint of the row), changed AI or hand-edited values, status changes. A run that finds the same data leaves the date alone. Editing the template does not move it.
Cache purge
If your site uses a page cache plugin, the plugin asks it to clear automatically. This uses the shared setting Clear page caches after changes (WPM Fields › Settings, card Page caches, on by default). Supported caches: WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Fastest Cache, Breeze, SiteGround Optimizer and WP Engine.
Event | What is cleared |
|---|---|
A run that created, updated or removed pages | Everything (a run can touch thousands of URLs plus listings and sitemaps) |
A task or its pages deleted | Everything |
The template saved | Everything |
A page edited, shown or hidden, a row edited | The URLs concerned |
A page converted to a post | That post's URL |
Requests are collected and sent once at the end of the request; with more than 200 URLs the whole cache is cleared instead.
On top of that the plugin keeps its own caches in step: internal link lists, SEO health and sitemap dates are rebuilt when generated pages change (they depend on a counter that increases with every change).
If a cache serves old pages anyway
- Make sure Clear page caches after changes is on and your cache plugin is detected (the card lists the detected plugins).
- A cache that the plugin does not know (a server cache, a CDN, a host-level cache) must be cleared by you or through its own hook: listen to the action
wpmcf/cache/purge(an array of URLs; empty means everything) andwpmcf/cache/purge_post(developer actions are listed in the developer API section). - Pages answering
404,410and301can be cached too. After hiding or removing pages purge the URLs if you need an immediate effect. - Pages that vary by visitor (shown through personal variables) set the do-not-cache flag themselves.
Keeping a site fresh
- Daily or weekly sync (Business) for feeds you do not control.
- Update pages when the data changes (on by default) for data you edit.
- A Google Sheets feed with Sync automatically plus the task's update toggle keeps pages in step with a sheet.
- Use New pages per day only for gradual publishing, not for freshness.
Still stuck? Contact support