Trying to figure out the difference between browser cache vs cookies?
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Both of these technologies are a way to store data from your website on a visitor’s local device, but they both store different types of information and are used for different things.<\/p>
In this post, we’ll set the stage by explaining what “browser cache” and “cookies” actually are. Then, we’ll dig into the difference between the two, as well as what you should use each for.<\/p>
In general terms, “caching” something means temporarily storing it in a spot that makes for easier\/faster retrieval.
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There are a lot of different ways that you can cache your WordPress website, but we’re obviously focused on one specific implementation – the browser cache<\/strong>. Let’s start at the beginning – your site has a lot of static files that won’t change visit-to-visit. One common example is your site’s logo. You probably won’t change your logo that often, and your logo is likely the same on all or most of your site. So let’s say a visitor views three separate pages on your site – it would be a waste to force that visitor to download the exact same logo file three times in a row, right? The browser cache lets you avoid that situation by storing these static files on a visitor’s local computer. So with the browser cache, it would work like this instead:<\/p> And as a result, your website loads faster, which is a great thing. To control how long a visitor’s browser stores certain types of files, you can set expiration dates. For example, you can tell a visitor’s browser “store all JPEG images for 4 months, but only store MP4 videos for 1 month”. Additionally, if you do<\/em> need to change a file before the expiration is up (like your logo<\/em>), you can employ a technique called cache busting<\/a> to force visitors’ browsers to download the most recent version of a file.
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