Software Development:
Individual Programming

Symptom

I have updated my website and I am very sure that I have uploaded all of the files to the correct document root. Nevertheless, the previous page is still shown instead of the new page.

Cause

There are at least three possible causes:

A) It is possible that the web server knows the correct new page, but the Nginx reverse proxy, when Nginx caching is switched on, still delivers the old content. Nginx caching ensures that static content can be delivered particularly quickly because it does not have to be read from the hard disk, rendered and processed by the slower Apache web server every time it is accessed. Depending on the set caching period, this can also lead to old content being delivered from the cache even though you have changed the files on the hard disk of the web server.

B) Your web browser also contains a cache, and it also provides the data it is already familiar with for as long as possible. So you may be seeing the old content because your web browser is delivering it from its cache instead of getting the new version of a file from the server.

C) If it is the index page of a directory, e.g. the homepage of your website, it is also possible that you named the previous page e.g. index.php and the new index.html. There are several index file types that the web server checks for their existence in sequence. If it is successful with one, it delivers the file found, even if there is another in a different notation that may be newer.

Solution

Regarding A) Just wait a while or turn off Nginx caching. To do this, click on the “Apache & nginx Settings” icon in the webspace control panel. Uncheck the box "Activate nginx caching" and then click on "OK".

Regarding B) Press the “F5” function key on your computer or click the “Reload” or “Refresh” icon in your browser. You can also delete cached content via the settings menu of your browser.

Regarding C) Check whether you have several files beginning with the name "index" in the same directory. Rename the files that should no longer be delivered by the web server if you access the website or a subdirectory of the website without a specific file. Alternatively, you can delete the incorrect, outdated files.

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