A cache is a temporary storage mechanism that holds copies of web pages, images, and other resources. This is primarily utilised by browsers and search engines to enhance loading speed and improve user experience. When a user visits a website, their browser may save certain elements in its cache so that subsequent visits can load the page quicker without having to re-download all content from the server. Caching plays an essential role in indexing web pages efficiently. When a search engine crawls a site, it stores cached versions of those pages on its servers. This then ensures pages are retrieved quicker during searches and helps to ensure that users receive up-to-date information when they query specific keywords or phrases.
Some of the issue with caching is that if changes are made to the site’s content but the cached version remains unchanged, users may see outdated information until the cache is refreshed. To fix this issue, setting appropriate cache-control headers or using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can help manage how long resources are stored in caches.