How to Clear Your Shopify Cache: A Quick Guide to Faster Store Performance

If you’re running a Shopify store and noticing that changes to your site aren’t showing up immediately, or your store is loading slowly, caching might be the culprit. Caching is essential for fast performance, but sometimes you need a refresh to see updates or troubleshoot issues.

In this post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to clear shopify cache—even if you’re not super tech-savvy.

What Is Cache and Why Does It Matter?

Cache is a stored version of your website or its elements (like images, CSS, or scripts) that loads faster for repeat visitors. Shopify uses caching to improve performance, but the downside is that sometimes it shows outdated content.

You might want to clear the cache if:

Your theme changes aren’t appearing
Product images aren’t updating
You’re seeing an old version of a page
You’re testing new features or apps

Can You Clear Shopify Cache Directly?

Here’s the catch: Shopify doesn’t allow store owners to manually clear server-side cache. But don’t worry—you can still clear browser cache, theme asset cache, and app-related cache to get the job done.

Step-by-Step: How to “Clear Cache” on Shopify

1. Clear Your Browser Cache

Often, it’s your browser that’s storing outdated info.

How to do it:

On Chrome: Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data
Select Cached Images and Files and hit Clear Data

Do this after making theme or content changes to ensure you’re seeing the latest version.

2. Hard Refresh Your Store Page

This forces the browser to load the latest files from Shopify’s servers.

Windows: Ctrl + F5
Mac: Cmd + Shift + R

Try this first before digging deeper.

3. Rename or Update Theme Assets

Shopify aggressively caches theme files like styles.css or theme.js. If you’ve updated these and aren’t seeing changes:

Add a version number to the file reference, like:
/assets/styles.css?v=2
Or rename the file entirely and update the reference in your theme

This tricks the cache into loading the “new” file.

4. Uninstall and Reinstall Apps (If Needed)

If an app seems glitchy or stuck with outdated content, try:

Uninstalling the app
Clearing browser cache
Reinstalling the app from the Shopify App Store

This resets the app’s cache and often resolves display issues.

5. Use Shopify’s Built-In Preview Mode

When editing your theme, use the Preview option in the Theme Editor. This bypasses some of Shopify’s caching and shows a more accurate view of your changes before publishing.

Still Seeing Issues?

If you’ve tried all the above and still see outdated content:

Try viewing your store in an incognito window
Ask a friend or colleague to load your store and compare views
Contact Shopify Support—especially if CDN (Content Delivery Network) caching seems to be the problem

Final Tips

Always backup your theme before making major changes
Use version control for theme files if possible
Test changes in private/incognito mode before going live

Wrapping Up

You may not be able to clear Shopify’s server cache directly, but you can still work around it with some simple tricks. By clearing browser cache, tweaking asset names, and using preview modes, you can ensure your store shows the most up-to-date content every time.

Got stuck? Drop your issue in the comments or reach out to support—it’s better to double-check than to let a cached version cost you sales!

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