Ever wish to revisit an earlier version of a webpage? Great news! There are methods to view archived pages—referred to as caches. Browsing a cached webpage allows you to see the page’s HTML as it appeared at an earlier time. To locate a cached page, Google is a reliable starting point.Google regularly caches web pages. If you wish to view a cached version of a Google page, there are several approaches. But what exactly are Google cached pages, and why would you want to view them? Additionally, how can you access them?We’ll delve into these questions below. Stay tuned for more insights. And don’t miss out on Revenue Weekly, our email newsletter, for more digital marketing insights from an agency with over 1,100 testimonials!Google cached web pages are essentially time-stamped versions of website pages.Consider your website’s homepage. Google currently caches the latest version. If you alter your homepage tomorrow, Google will cache that version too, but the previous cache will remain.By accessing the older cache, you can view how your site appeared before changes. Caches are more than just screenshots; they include the full HTML layout, enabling you to scroll and follow links.There are three primary types of cached pages:
Full version (an exact snapshot of the page)
Text-only version (no visual elements, just text)
Source code (the raw code for the page)
You can access each type based on your viewing needs.Google caches web pages as part of its indexing and ranking process. All sites listed in Google search results must be indexed, necessitating Google to scan the entire site. During this process, caches are created. A new cache is formed each time the site is scanned.Caches are used to assess the content of each website and how it should rank in search results. If you modify your website, Google must create a new cache to reassess the content.If you wish to view the most recent cached version of a page rather than the live site, there are several reasons for doing so.Here are three common reasons for viewing a cached page version!1. Your site is experiencing issuesA potential reason for viewing a cached webpage is that the live site is encountering issues.Perhaps your site is loading slowly. Retrieving a cache is much faster than generating a live site from scratch. So, if a site is taking a long time to load, you might prefer to use the cached version.Or, your site may be experiencing content errors. In this case, you could examine the source code cache to diagnose the problem.2. The desired page is unavailableAnother reason to view a cached page is that the live version is simply inaccessible. Sometimes pages go down for maintenance or technical issues, and if you want to view one in this condition, you would need to use the cached version.Keep in mind that in this scenario, you would be limited to reading the page. If there was a form you wanted to fill out, it wouldn’t work on the cached version.3. You want to view a past version of a pageLastly, you might simply want to see how a page looked in the past.Maybe you recently updated your website and want to compare it to the previous version. Or, perhaps you want to see the recent changes on a competitor’s site.In either case, you can view the previous cache to observe the differences.Now that you know why you might want to view a Google cache, how can you proceed?We’ll outline two straightforward methods for viewing Google cached pages!1. Through search resultsThe first method to view a Google cached page is by locating the page in search results. Once found, look at the top of the search result. To the right of the URL, you’ll see three dots in a vertical line. Click this button to open a pop-up on the page.
In the pop-up, you’ll find a button at the bottom labeled “Cached.” Clicking this button will display the most recent cached version of the page.2. Through the address barAnother way to view the most recent cache of a page is by using the URL, if you have it. Simply copy and paste the page’s URL into the address bar. Then, at the beginning, type “cached:” before the URL. For instance, if you were visiting amazon.com, you would type “cached:amazon.com.”These two methods allow you to view Google cached pages. However, if you wish to access a cached page in a different manner—or go further back in time, which Google doesn’t allow—you can use one of the following methods!Chrome extensionsOne option for viewing cached pages is to use a Chrome extension like Web Cache Viewer. This extension enables you to right-click on a link to open a cached version of the page, accessible either through Google Cache or the Wayback Machine.Wayback MachineIf you wish to go back further than just one cache, the Wayback Machine is the ideal tool. Created by the Internet Archive, it allows you to input a URL to see all available snapshots of that page over time. You could see what a website looked like yesterday or in 1999!Here are some quick answers to some of the most common questions about Google caching!How do I view cached pages on Google?You can view cached Google pages in two main ways—you can click the three vertical dots next to a search result and then select “Cached,” or you can type “cached:” before the URL in the address bar.What is stored in the Google cache?The Google cache stores a snapshot of each webpage’s HTML, including full, text-only, and source code versions.How long does a cached page stay on Google?Each cached page remains in Google for approximately 90 days before it gets replaced with a newer cache of the same page.Curious to learn more about Google caching, indexing, ranking, and more? At WebFX, with over 25 years of digital marketing experience, we are the experts. We are well-versed in topics like web design and search engine optimization (SEO).For more insights on marketing topics like these, subscribe to Revenue Weekly, our email newsletter. You’ll receive digital marketing tips from our blog directly to your inbox weekly, assisting you in enhancing your marketing strategies.For more information or to collaborate with us, please call us at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!
