Pages Not Loading from Cache Despite Positive Test

  • Resolved skifos

    (@skifos)


    8 months, 1 week ago

    Dear WP Super Cache Support Team, I am writing to seek assistance with an issue I am experiencing with the WP Super Cache plugin on my website, mangup.su.
    I have followed the initial setup process, but I am encountering unexpected behavior regarding caching, and I would appreciate your guidance.
    Here are the details of the problem:
    I installed the WP Super Cache plugin and enabled caching using the default settings.
    I performed a caching test for the homepage (https://mangup.su/), and the plugin reported a positive result. The test showed matching timestamps (e.g., 2025-08-27 11:11:45 GMT), indicating that caching was working.
    The plugin began caching other pages on my site, as confirmed in the “Contents” section of the plugin interface.
    However, when I checked the homepage using Google Developer Tools in incognito mode, I noticed that the page is not loading from the cache. The HTTP response header shows:
    cache-control: no-cache
    The Date header (e.g., 2025-08-26 11:39:25 GMT) matches the time I launched the page in incognito, rather than the cached page creation time (e.g., 11:11:45 GMT).
    Additional context: I am using WordPress with the Twenty Fourteen theme, hosted on Beget with approximately 100 visitors per day and 4-5 updates per month.
    I am operating in “Simple” cache delivery mode, as I have not switched to “Expert” mode.
    The server returns cache-control: max-age=3 or no-cache instead of the expected timeout (e.g., 7200 seconds) set in the plugin.
    I have tried clearing the cache, excluding cookies (though they are regenerated by analytics scripts like Yandex.Metrica), and ensuring the “Cache HTTP headers with page content” option is enabled. However, the pages continue to load dynamically rather than from the cached static files.
    Could you please advise on the following: Why the plugin reports successful caching in its test but the pages load dynamically in Developer Tools?
    How to ensure the server respects the plugin’s cache timeout (e.g., 7200 seconds) instead of overriding it with max-age=3 or no-cache?
    Any potential conflicts with my hosting environment (Beget with Nginx) or the “Simple” mode that might cause this behavior?
    I would be grateful for any troubleshooting steps or configuration adjustments you can suggest. Please let me know if you need additional logs or details from my server. Thank you for your support! Best regards,
    P.S.
    WordPress Version: 6.8.2
    WP Super Cache Version: 3.0.1
    Hosting: beget.com

    • This topic was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by skifos.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Support Stef (a11n)

    (@erania-pinnera)

    8 months, 1 week ago

    Hello @skifos,

    Thanks for sharing all those details, they’re very helpful. From what you’ve described, WP Super Cache is generating and storing cached files correctly (as seen in the test and “Contents” tab), but your browser is getting cache-control: no-cache or max-age=3, which overrides the plugin’s timeout.

    This usually comes from the server/host setup (Beget / Nginx) or another layer between WordPress and the browser. A few things to check:

    1. Hosting (you guessed it right): many Nginx hosts set their own cache headers. Please ask your host if they’re overriding these and whether they can let WP Super Cache control them.
    2. Simple vs. Expert mode: in Simple mode, PHP still sends headers, so host rules can override them. Expert mode (mod_rewrite) serves cached files directly and often avoids this.
    3. Other plugins: some security/optimisation plugins may also set headers. Try briefly disabling others to see if headers change.
    4. Debug tip: turn on the Debug Settings as explained here. This should help you confirm whether the plugin is working well or not.

    Hope that’s all clear! In a few words, WP Super Cache is caching as expected, but your server’s headers are telling the browser not to. To fix this, you’ll likely need either Expert mode or help from your host to adjust Nginx’s default caching headers.

    Let me know what you find out, and we’ll take it from there if necessary.

    Plugin Support Stef (a11n)

    (@erania-pinnera)

    7 months, 4 weeks ago

    Hi there, @skifos,

    Do you have updates about that, do you still need help? We usually close inactive threads after one week of no movement, but we want to make sure we’re all set before marking it as solved. Thanks!

    Thread Starter skifos

    (@skifos)

    7 months, 4 weeks ago

    Thank you, but I could not fix the problem with my hosting provider, so unfortunatelly I uninstalled your plugin. So you may close the thread.

    Plugin Support fujifika (a11n)

    (@fujifika)

    7 months, 4 weeks ago

    Hi @skifos,

    Thank you for letting us know, and I’m really sorry to hear you couldn’t resolve the issue with your hosting provider.

    If you’re open to sharing what they said during troubleshooting, we’d be happy to take a look, there might be some clues we can work from.

    And if you ever decide to give WP Super Cache another try in the future, whether with a different host or setup, you’re always welcome back. I’d be more than happy to help troubleshoot things step by step!

    Wishing you all the best with your site!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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