Websites change every day. Sure, there are still some sites out there that are eternally frozen in 2010, but most websites — or at least, most business websites — change over time. They put out new content, create new pages, and update their layout to look fresher and more appealing.
Still, there may be a time when you want to go back and see what a page used to look like. When that happens, you may think it’s impossible without a time machine — but it’s not. All you have to do is go back and find a cached version of the page.
But what is web caching, and how can you view a cached page? We’ll answer both of those questions below as we explain how to use a web cache viewer.
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Caching refers to the process of saving old versions of web pages.
Let’s say your website looks a certain way one day, and then the next day, you roll out a redesigned version with a whole different layout. You could still view the cached version of your site to see what it looked like before.
In most cases, you’d want to view the most recent version of a page, but sometimes you might even want to go back several caches to find the one you’re looking for. Whatever the case, caching makes it possible.
When might you want to view a cached page?
There are several situations where you might want to pull up a cached version of a page. Here’s a brief overview of the most common scenarios.
1. A page is down
One of the main times you would want to dig into an Internet cache is when a page on a website is down. This could happen for various reasons, including:
A traffic spike has slowed the page down so much that it won’t load
The page has been removed from the website
The page is under maintenance
The page requires a password where it didn’t previously
In any event, if a page is down that you could view previously, you can still see it by pulling up a cached version.
Keep in mind that you can’t necessarily use any of the functions on a cached page — think of it as a “read-only” version of the page. However, if you just want to view the information there, it can be a valuable resource.
2. Your site is running slowly
Loading a cached page is much faster for Google than loading the current version of a page. That means that when you visit a site for the first time, Google will load the current version — but on subsequent visits, it will use the most recent cache.
Sometimes you might want to view a cached page for no reason other than curiosity. If you go far enough back in the archives, you can find versions of a page from years earlier.
This is the closest you can get to hopping in a time machine and traveling back to a site’s past. Maybe you want to see what the content of the page said a long time ago, or maybe you just want to marvel at the old visual design.
Whatever the case, an Internet cache allows you to see pages as they were a long time ago.
How to use a web cache viewer
Now that we know what web caching is and why you might want to use it, how can you view cached web pages? The solution is to use a web cache viewer, or a web cache tool that lets you pull up cached pages.
These web cache tools aren’t complicated or hard to access — on the contrary, they’re extremely accessible! Just try out one of the options below to start viewing previous versions of pages.
1. Find cached pages in Google search results
One of the simplest ways to view a cached version of a page is to pull it up in Google search results. When you find a page in search results, look at the URL listed there. To the right of it, you’ll see a drop-down arrow or three dots.
When you click on that symbol, you should see a button somewhere that says “Cached.” By clicking on that, you can view the most recent cached version of that page.
2. Use the address bar
Another method for viewing cached pages is to use the address bar in your browser. Copy the URL into the address bar as normal, but then type “cache:” at the very beginning. So, if you wanted to visit the most recent cache for webfx.com, you’d type “cache:webfx.com.”
This is the easiest method to use if you already have the exact URL for the page you want, since you can just paste it in and type “cache” to find the cached version in seconds.
3. Visit the Wayback Machine
As helpful as the previous two methods are, they only allow you to see the most recent version of a page. If you want to go back further in time, the best method is to use the Wayback Machine.
The Wayback Machine is a web cache tool that’s been collecting snapshots of websites across the Internet for years. By typing a URL into its search bar, you can choose from multiple previous snapshots to see how the site used to look.
4. Try a Chrome extension
Finally, there are a few Chrome extensions that can help you access Internet caches. Web Cache Viewer, in particular, is a useful tool that will let you right-click on links to view their cached versions in either the Wayback Machine or the Google Cache.
This extension offers a quick and easy way to access cached versions if it’s something you plan to do regularly.
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October 2021 brought a lot of new things to WordPress, from release updates to new versions of Gutenberg. More notably, in the latest episode of WP Briefing, Executive Director Josepha Haden reminded us about the importance of freedom in open source platforms like WordPress.
Free speech has with it a lot of responsibility, just like being a part of a community. Governments or communities, or in our case, this software is built by the people who show up.
For WordPress, at 42% of the web, every small choice we make can cause huge changes in the way that people experience the web today and tomorrow.
Josepha Haden, Executive Director of the WordPress project
Last month was yet another chapter in this journey. So keep reading to learn what’s new.
WordPress 5.9: All proposed updates will likely be included
We announced thego/no-go for WordPress 5.9 featuresin mid-October. The release will probably include all the proposed features—though not all of them are ready yet, they should be by the proposed release date (December 14, 2021).
WordPress 5.9 will include a new default theme called Twenty Twenty-Two! The theme’s foundation will be strong, and the unpredictable yet reliable behavior of birds inspired the intentionally subtle design.
5.9 bug scrub sessions began in September and will continue each week until the release on December 14, 2021. View the full bug scrub schedule.
The Test Team shared an overview of the team’s approach to testing WordPress 5.9.
Interested in contributing to WordPress core? Join the #core channel, follow the Core Team blog, and check out the team handbook. Also, don’t miss the Core Team’s weekly developer chat on Wednesdays at 8 PM UTC.
Gutenberg releases: 11.6, 11.7, and 11.8 are here
We released three new versions of the Gutenberg block editor between the end of September and October:
Version 11.6brings site logo cropping and rotation, block-level locking, improvements to Query Pagination block, support for child themes and thunks, template focus mode, and enhancements to the writing flow.
Gutenberg version 11.7includes bug fixes and polishes to the navigation block and editor, global styles and full site editing (including a handy back button that lets you quickly return to the site editor), and columns block support, among other improvements.
Finally, Gutenberg 11.8 is the second to last version to make it into the WordPress 5.9 release, and it comes with plenty of developments to the editing experience: featured Block Patterns, new animations for a few elements (like Dropzone and Insertion Point), spacing tools for heading blocks, and a lot more.
WordCamp US returned virtually this year with more than 3,600 attendees
WordCamp US 2021 was on October 1, and it was online for the first time. The event drew more than 3,600 attendees, 27 sponsors, and 18 remarkable speakers on topics ranging from accessibility and sustainability to e-commerce, to name a few.
Matt Mullenweg’s “State of the Word” is expected to be held as a separate event later this year, rather than being part of WordCamp US.
If you missed the live event, you can still watch the Yukon Track and the Columbia Track of WordCamp US 2021.
Team Updates: Polyglots monthly newsletter, a new Performance team, and more
The October 2021 edition of People of WordPress, featuring WordPress e-commerce specialist Ronald Gijsel, went live.
Following excellent responses to the initial proposal, members of the Core Team announced the next steps in launching a performance team that aims to increase the performance (speed) of WordPress.
A sprint is planned on November 10-12 to explore a dedicated volunteer program for the Training Team, similar to the Deputy program in the Community Team.
The Docs Team is consulting with independent legal experts to explore whether there are issues with having Gutenberg (which is dual-licensed GPL + MPL) coexist with other contents in WordPress (our documentation has a CC0 license and the code is GPL).
WordCamp Italia 2021 was held online on October 22-23, 2021. The event had 23 speakers, 17 sponsors, and more than 1,000 registrants. Check out its YouTube channel to watch the event replay.
Another highlight of the month was WordCamp Nicaragua 2021 which was held on October 8-9, 2021.
A two-day contributor event focused on Learn WordPress, took place on October 29 and 31, 2021. There was also another contributor day on October 8, 2021, which involved working groups across the board, from accessibility to user testing.
The Test Team organized the following Hallway Hangouts this week—check out their recaps:
