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WordPress – Debug frontend changes and cache issues

Problem to Solve​

When developing or debugging a WordPress site, newly written code does not take effect immediately, even though the files have been updated correctly.

This often leads to confusion during local development or debugging sessions.

Context / Keywords​

  • WordPress
  • Browser cache
  • Disable cache

Typical Symptoms​

  • JavaScript changes do not apply after refresh
  • CSS updates are not reflected
  • No console errors, but behavior is unchanged

Debugging Solution (Immediate)​

Disable Browser Cache in DevTools​

disable cache

When Chrome DevTools is open:

  1. Open DevTools
  2. Go to Network
  3. Enable Disable cache
  4. Refresh the page

⚠️ This only works while DevTools is open.

This forces the browser to re-fetch all assets on every reload.

Root Cause Analysis​

This is not a WordPress bug.

The real reason is browser-side caching, which is designed to improve performance but interferes with development and debugging.

What is cached?​

  • JavaScript files
  • CSS files
  • REST API responses
  • AJAX GET requests

If the file URL does not change, the browser assumes the content is unchanged.

Why This Fix Works​

With Disable cache enabled:

  • The browser skips all cached resources
  • Every JS / CSS file is requested again
  • The latest code is executed

This reflects the true current state of your code.