Have you ever attempted to access your website after a short while of inaccessibility and the site won’t just display the content? Instead, your website displays a Server not found error and even after having the issue fixed, the site still won’t work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, to get around this, there are two things you need to understand. The first is that, your browser caches information on the links accessed. That way, instead of fetching the web pages all the way from the servers, the browser loads your site from cache memory after first time loading from the servers. The second thing is that, your ISP also caches website information. This is especially so for 301 redirects. The ISP will cache the information for roughly 24 hours. This way, when you access a website, it is loaded from the ISP’s cache instead of fetching the content from servers.

This of course increases web site loading speeds, but the downside is that, cache links may be outdated or inaccessible at the moment. So let us have a look at how we get around the error.

Step 1: Clear your browser cache

Firefox

To clear browser cache in Firefox,

1. Click the three line Menu icon on your browser.

2. Click on Options. Some versions call this Preferences

3. Go to Advnaced >> Network

4. Under Cached Web Content, Click Clear Now

Chrome

To clear browser cache in Chrome,

1. At the top right, click the three bar Menu icon.    

2. Click More tools Clear browsing data.

3. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.

4. Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files,” check the boxes.

5. Click Clear data.

Step 2: Clear DNS cache

If the first step didn’t solve your issue, do the following:

If your computer runs Windows OS follow the steps below to clear your DNS cache:

1. On the search box in the Windows computer, type Command prompt

2. Right click the application and select Run as Administrator

3. Type the following command and press enter:

• ipconfig /flushdns

If your computer is running Linux OS, follow the steps below to clear your DNS cache

1. Open a terminal window

2. Run the command: sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

3. If Ubuntu, use sudo service network-manager restart instead

If your computer is running Max OSX, follow the steps below to clear your DNS cache

1. Open a terminal window

2. Run one of the following lines

• lookupd -flushcache

• dscacheutil -flushcache

• sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Step 3: Change your network or IP

If steps 1 and 2 above still won’t work, you may need to change your IP address temporarily until your ISP refreshes cache and releases the cached information. Changing your network public IP is not hard. There are three ways to effect this

1. Change the Internet source. If you can use another router or source of internet eg mobile phone hot spot, switch to that one.

2. Reboot your router. Most routers have their IPs changing dynamically. This means, after sometime, the IP address the router uses to access the internet is changed. One such moment when the IP changes is when the router boots. Thus, rebooting the router forces a change of IP which will allow you t avoid your ISP cache.

3. Use a browser VPN. A Virtual Private Network allows your browser to hide the IP it’s using to access internet services. Instead of using the router’s IP, a VPN allocates you another IP address which you will use to access the internet. We have free and premium VPNs. Here’s how to get a free VPN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Firefox

1. Go to Menu >> Addons

2. Search for Hoxx VPN Proxy (There are several other free ones yo can use) and install it.

3. The addon icon will appear at the top right of your browser. Register a free account with Hoxx. You will be provided with a password via your email address

4. Once you get your password, click on Hoxx VPN icon and log in.

5. Select a country where you’d like to obtain an IP address.

6. Done. You can now access the internet with your IP masked .

In chrome

1. Go to Menu >> Tools >> Extensions

2. Click on Get more Extensions

3. Search for Hoxx VPN Proxy(There are several other free ones yo can use) and install it.

4. The addon icon will appear at the top right of your browser. Register a free account with Hoxx. You will be provided with a password

5. Once you get your password, click on Hoxx VPN icon and log in.

6. Select a country where you’d like to obtain an IP address.

7. Done. You can now access the internet with your IP masked .