Cloudflare WordPress Plugin Guide

If your website changes aren’t showing, it’s usually due to caching. This guide shows how to fix it using the Cloudflare plugin in WordPress.

If you’ve updated your website but cannot see the changes on the front end, it is usually due to caching. Cloudflare is a service that helps your website load faster and stay secure by storing copies of your pages. We use it to improve performance and reliability, but sometimes it means updates do not appear straight away.

Where to find the Cloudflare plugin

In your WordPress dashboard, go to: Settings → Cloudflare.

If you're an Elmnet customer and don't have the Cloudflare plugin installed on your site, please contact us and we will set it up for you.

1. Development Mode (temporarily disable cache)

Development Mode temporarily bypasses Cloudflare’s cache so you can see changes immediately.

When to use it:

  • You are actively editing or working on your site.
  • You want to see changes immediately as you make them.

How to enable:

  1. Go to Settings → Cloudflare.
  2. Turn on Development Mode.

Important:

  • This lasts for 3 hours, then turns off automatically.
  • Your site may load slightly slower while it is enabled.

2. Auto purge on content update

This automatically clears cached pages when you update content.

When it helps:

  • Pages or posts update but changes do not show.
  • You want updates to appear without manual steps.

What to check:

  1. Go to Settings → Cloudflare.
  2. Make sure Auto Purge, or similar wording, is enabled.

Tip: Keep this enabled so updates appear automatically.

3. Manual cache purge (clear everything)

This forces Cloudflare to clear all cached files so visitors see the latest version of your site.

When to use it:

  • Changes still are not visible.
  • Design or styling updates are not showing.
  • After larger updates.

How to purge cache:

  1. Go to Settings → Cloudflare.
  2. Click Purge Cache.
  3. Select Purge Everything.

Quick troubleshooting steps

  1. Enable Development Mode.
  2. Refresh your page using Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R.
  3. Use Purge Cache, then Purge Everything.
  4. Check that Auto Purge is enabled.

Sometimes your browser cache is the issue. If changes still do not appear:

  • Open the page in an incognito or private window.
  • Or clear your browser cache.

If all else fails, contact us and we'll happily help you get it sorted.

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