Can’t See Edits in Preview on WordPress Posts and Pages

ByMaAnna Stephenson

Discover why you may not be able to see changes you’ve made to your posts and pages, and easy workarounds to fix it.

Can’t See Edits in Preview on WordPress Posts and Pages

Multiple Caches

Caching stores a mirrored copy of your post/page in order to serve it to a visitor quicker.

But, because it is a copy, and not the original, the visitor will not see any edits to that post/page until the cache is cleared.

Keep in mind that you have 2-5 caches in play, including:

  • Your browser
  • Host server-side cache
  • Local cache plugin like WP Fastest Cache
  • Cloudflare
  • Your ISP (Internet Service Provider)

Plugin Cache

I checked with Emre, the WP Fastest Cache dev and he said that it is not caching any pages when you are logged in.

I have not contacted devs of other caching plugins, but you are free to ask them about this.

Cloudflare Cache

So, the next most-likely suspect is Cloudflare, and here’s why.

In your Cloudflare Page Rules, you should have the wp-admin pages bypassed. That’s because when you are logged in, all of your URLs have wp-admin in the path.

But, when you preview a page, it does not have wp-admin in the path. It has preview, followed by a string.

So, the Cloudflare cache may still be in play.

Put Cloudflare in Dev Mode

So, to get around this issue, if you are editing previously published pages or posts, you may want to put Cloudflare into Dev mode.

Dev Mode (short for Development Mode) bypasses all cache at Cloudflare.

You can find that setting in the Cloudflare plugin on your site this way:

  • Go to Settings > Cloudflare.
  • At the top are 3 blue tools, click the Settings tool.
  • Scroll down to Dev Mode section and turn it on.

You should now be able to see your edits when you Preview.

FYI, Dev mode will turn itself back off in 3 hours. 

But, you’ll want to turn it off when you are finished editing, as it has caching turned off for every visitor, not just you, and that slows down your page load.

And to ensure everyone sees your changes, you should purge your Cloudflare cache.

You can purge everything, or individual pages.

Purge Browser Cache

If you are still having issues with seeing changes, your own browser may have already cached your Preview page too.

To fix this:

  • Log out of your site
  • Close the browser tab for it
  • Purge all browser cache
  • Log back into your site and continue editing

Hard Purge Preview Page

This is the trick that worked best for me.

While editing the post, click Preview and have it open in a new tab, as usual.

Then hit the Refresh button on your browser.

That is considered a hard purge of that URL.

Still Can’t See Edits

If your host offers server-side caching and you have it turned on, you’ll want to ask them how to purge it.

Your ISP’s local hub for your area may not purge regularly. 

Mine sometimes holds static content for up to 24 hours.

This is why I had to get a paid VPN (Virtual Private Network), so I can act like I’m using an IP from another location, like across the country, where my recent website visits have not been cached.

One Other Trick

Some of my clients report that they have to Update to re-publish the post, and then they can see the changes. 

But, this trick only works for one preview, and then it’s cached again.

To me, this indicates browser caching, as there would be no way for Cloudflare to have time to even notice that you’ve re-published, much less cleared its cache of the post.

What I Tried

I tested on a site that is using Gutenberg and has no caching plugin and is not on Cloudflare. There were zero issues with preview.

Then I installed the paid version of WP Fastest Cache and retested. Still no issues.

I also tested on a production site that is still on the Classic Editor, and is on Cloudflare, but does not have a caching plugin. No issues with preview on it either.

I tried different browsers and logging in via incognito windows. Didn’t seem to matter.

I’m only seeing this issue on one of my production sites. It is using Gutenberg, has a caching plugin, and is on Cloudflare. Despite trying every combo of no caching plugin, Cloudflare in Dev mode to bypass its cache, publishing a draft post and then putting back into draft, I could find no rhyme or reason for the issue, and could not find a solution that I could replicate over and over. I also deactivated all of the plugins to rule them out, no joy with that either.

What’s even more confusing is that I have another production site that is also using Gutenberg, and the same caching plugin, and it has no issues. But, it is on the paid version of Cloudflare whereas the other one above is on the free version. Of course, both sites have entirely different themes, and several different plugins.

I looked all over the internet and it seems that Preview has been an issue since at least 2018, which was even prior to Gutenberg and WP going more heavily into JavaScript use. Most all of those forums say it’s a caching issue.

So, at this time, I have no fix for this. But I will keep looking into it, especially now that I have a site with this issue so I can properly test.

What Tricks and Tips Have You Discovered?

I’ll be updating this post as we continue to troubleshoot the issue.

Because there are so many factors in play with it, there are likely to be multiple causes.

Please do let us know what works for you, and provide us with details of your setup, like:

  • The browser you use
  • Caching plugin
  • Whether you are on Cloudflare or not

That way folks can determine if they have the same setup and why or why not your tip would work for them.

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MaAnna is a geek who can still speak in plain English. She helps DIY site owners plus webmasters and designers create sites that are secure, perform well, and get noticed by search engines and readers.