Prevent Browser Caching — WordPress Caching Plugin
by Kostya Tereshchuk · WordPress.org page
Prevent Browser Caching has 10,000+ active installs on WordPress.org and 142,896 downloads all time. We have tracked it since September 4, 2026; download trends appear after 30 days of data. The last update was on August 21, 2026, tested up to WordPress 7.1.
Prevent Browser Caching at a glance
Is Prevent Browser Caching well maintained?
Features
The feature list from the plugin's own readme on WordPress.org, trimmed to the essentials.
- CSS & JS versions. WordPress loads assets with a “ver” URL parameter (e.g. style.css?ver=4.9.6). Browsers cache the file until this parameter changes. In the…
- Image versions. When you edit or replace a file in the Media Library, visitors get the new image instead of the cached one
- HTML page freshness. Asks browsers to check for a newer version of a page before showing a cached copy — fixes “I still see the old page on my phone”
- One-click update. The “Update versions” toolbar button forces fresh copies of all assets for every visitor — and shows a short report of what exactly happened
- Page cache stays in sync (opt-in). If a page-cache plugin is active, updating versions can also clear its cache — so cached HTML stops referencing the old file…
- Faster repeat visits (opt-in, new in 3.2). Because versioning guarantees freshness, the plugin can safely serve your static files with one-year browser caching…
- Auto refresh after updates (opt-in, new in 3.2). Plugin, theme and WordPress updates change CSS and JS files. With this option every update — including…
- CLI & AI agents. WP-CLI commands (wp pbc update, wp pbc status) and WordPress Abilities let deploy scripts and AI agents update versions safely
Prevent Browser Caching reviews and ratings
29 reviews on WordPress.org, with the most recent ones as their authors posted them.
29 reviews
- 5★
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28
- 4★
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0
- 3★
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1
- 2★
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0
- 1★
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0
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Continues to get better and better
The new features in 3.x versions raise a very good plugin to excellent! A must to empty users' browser caches after we make big design changes. Thank you!
Sea Jay -
Very good
It works great!
robertorefresh -
Best Cache Plugin ever
It is the first plugin that I install every time I create a new site, this plugin is the web designer's best friend, it instantly clears the browser cache and refreshes the page with one click, saving me a lot of time when I update and design the site, avoiding long trips in the browser, also works to show the page to customers, a heartfelt thank you.
rompikapo -
MAGIC!!!
10-30-23 I do not how this thing does it, but it just solved my problem that was bothering me for weeks and my hosting co could not help. I added this plugin (did not even need to change a setting) and now my changes show up on websites especially the CSS. thank you so much- you are so helpful and what you created is valuable!!!
teacherdesigner -
O unico que funciona!
Fui obrigado a logar no forum para avaliar, é o unico plugin que realmente limpa o css e js, sempre que preciso estou aqui instalando
mdknet -
Lifesaver - will now use for all dev work
I found this plugin while searching for a way to prevent CSS files from caching while working with a particularly annoying theme (A****). This works perfectly and I will use it on every website I'm developing from this point forwards. Thank you!
mrsminkie
Where Prevent Browser Caching ranks on WordPress.org
The rankings we track that Prevent Browser Caching appears in, and how its position changed over 30 days.
| Ranking | WordPress.org placement | Position | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Caching Plugins | #33 by tag, #79 in search | #43 | – |
Prevent Browser Caching alternatives
Plugins that solve the same problem, ranked by how closely they overlap with Prevent Browser Caching.
-
FastPixel Cache 4,000+ installs · 4.8 -
WP Super Cache 1 million+ installs · 4.3 -
Cache Enabler 100,000+ installs · 4.3 -
Hummingbird Performance 70,000+ installs · 4.7 -
Hyper Cache 8,000+ installs · 4.5
Details
Prevents browser cache problems: visitors always get the current version of your CSS, JS, images and pages, while caching keeps working.
The full description, screenshots and every review live on the WordPress.org page.
Rankings Prevent Browser Caching competes in
Tags
- browser cache
- cache busting
- caching
- speed
- WP Cache
More from Kostya Tereshchuk
-
Switcher 30+ installs -
Agent Toolbelt 20+ installs -
Admin Menu in Frontend 20+ installs
- Version
- 3.2.1
- Last updated
- Aug 21, 2026
- First published
- Oct 30, 2017
- Requires WordPress
- 4.7
- Tested up to
- 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 7.2
- Pricing
- Free on WordPress.org
Prevent Browser Caching FAQ
What does Prevent Browser Caching do?
According to its WordPress.org readme, Prevent Browser Caching offers CSS & JS versions. WordPress loads assets with a “ver” URL parameter (e.g. style.css?ver=4.9.6). Browsers cache the file until this parameter changes. In the, Image versions. When you edit or replace a file in the Media Library, visitors get the new image instead of the cached one, HTML page freshness. Asks browsers to check for a newer version of a page before showing a cached copy — fixes “I still see the old page on my phone”, One-click update. The “Update versions” toolbar button forces fresh copies of all assets for every visitor — and shows a short report of what exactly happened and Page cache stays in sync (opt-in). If a page-cache plugin is active, updating versions can also clear its cache — so cached HTML stops referencing the old file.
How many active installs does Prevent Browser Caching have?
WordPress.org reports 10,000+ active installs for Prevent Browser Caching as of September 7, 2026.
Is Prevent Browser Caching still maintained?
Yes. The last release was on August 21, 2026 and it is tested up to WordPress 7.1.
Does Prevent Browser Caching have good support?
On the WordPress.org forum, 1 of 1 recent support threads for Prevent Browser Caching are marked resolved. That is the developer's free support; a paid version usually comes with its own channel.
Is Prevent Browser Caching free?
Prevent Browser Caching is free to install from WordPress.org. Many plugins also sell a paid version or add-ons.
Where does Prevent Browser Caching rank among Caching Plugins?
Prevent Browser Caching is #43 in the WordPress.org Caching Plugins ranking.