Have you noticed that when you visit a webpage, you have previously visited, it loads faster than when the last time? This speed can sometimes be negligible, but it is always there.
It is because web browsers store data as a cache to capture all the web pages you have visited. If you revisit this page, the web browser will load the cache.
Now you might already see what is wrong with this. In case we make any update in content to the webpage, you cannot see it, unfortunately. That is why you need to refresh hard/reload a web page.
A few days back, I faced a similar problem when the page I was working on did not show the new changes. To resolve it, Firefox hard reloads the only solution.
In this article, I will show you how this is done in a few straightforward steps. Let’s get into it.
Hard Refresh
The Mozilla Firefox browser has an in-built reload option command that helps reload the webpage without deleting the cookies and cache data.
Here are the steps to refresh the web page on a Firefox computer:
- Launch the Mozilla Firefox browser on the computer.
- Open any website, say browserhow.com.
- Click on the Reload
icon to refresh the current page.
This will reload the page and also remove any temporary errors. But, if you want to delete all the stored cache and remove the cookies, you should perform the Firefox hard reload operation.
Firefox Hard reload helps in clearing any major browser and website loading-related issues.
Hard refresh in Windows/Linux PC
Here, you can use two easy firefox shortcuts to delete the stored cache and cookies on the windows/Linux desktop.
- Hold down Ctrl, Shift, and the R key. ( + + )
- Hold down Ctrl and press F5. ( + )
Just choose whichever shortcut is easy for you to memorize and execute. Running those shortcut commands should do the work for you.
Hard refresh using a Mac computer
This also has two shortcut keys similar to the one in a Windows machine; the only difference is the Ctrl key is replaced by the Command key.
- Hold down Command, Shift, and the R key. ( + + )
- Hold down Shift and press the Reload command button. ( + )
Based on the operating system, you can hard reload the page and download the new files from the web server.
Bottom Line: Firefox Hard Refresh
When browsers store web pages in their cache, loading them becomes faster. This, however, means that you can miss any updates in case changes have been made to the webpage. This is where you will need to use the Firefox hard reload, a pretty straightforward task that can be done by a series of shortcut commands discussed earlier in this article.
The Firefox hard reload also eliminates any temporary errors you encounter on the website. If the page is not loading correctly, the Firefox hard reload will help resolve the issues.
I usually hard refresh a webpage after taking over 30 minutes to visit it. This is because I do not want to miss anything new that has been added to the page. Although it takes up a few extra seconds of your time, it is worth it. I also use it when working on a page that does not update itself with new information. All in all, Firefox hard reload is a practical option!
Tell us, under what circumstances do you hard refresh your web pages? The comments section is open for your suggestions and views!