Knowledge
Which cache plugin works well with Breakdance?
A cache plugin works well with Breakdance if it clears the cache when you save a template, header or footer, and if it does not strip the CSS of the mobile menu. Most plugins know the WordPress hooks, but Breakdance writes its data in its own way. That explains why you sometimes still see the old page after a change. Below is what is needed and what Spark Speed does about it natively.
In short
- A Breakdance site needs a cache that follows template, header and footer changes, not only ordinary page saves.
- Breakdance writes CSS per post to uploads/breakdance/css, next to a global-settings.css. After regenerating, the page cache must be cleared too.
- On WP Rocket an issue has been open since July 2023 reporting that the cache was not cleared after a Breakdance save.
- Spark Speed detects Breakdance, clears the cache on template changes and keeps the CSS rules of the mobile menu.
- No plugin is better everywhere: other plugins clear more related pages or re-warm the cache faster.
What must a cache plugin do for Breakdance?
A Breakdance page is more than the page itself. The header, footer and templates return on every URL. A cache plugin must therefore be able to do four things.
- Clear the cache when a template, header, footer, global block or popup is saved, even when WordPress sends no ordinary save event for it.
- Deal with the CSS files Breakdance writes itself and clear the page cache after regenerating. Breakdance itself advises clearing external caches afterwards.
- Leave the CSS that only becomes active through JavaScript, such as the rules of the mobile menu.
- Keep cart, checkout and my-account out of the cache if you use WooCommerce.
How does Breakdance store its CSS?
Breakdance writes generated CSS to wp-content/uploads/breakdance/css. In a public directory listing of a live site you find a global-settings.css and, per post, a post-ID.css and a post-ID-defaults.css. Under Breakdance, Tools there is an action that rebuilds the CSS cache. The documentation adds that you should clear external caches afterwards.
Why does WP Rocket not clear the cache after a Breakdance save?
The WP Rocket project on GitHub has issue 6053, about the cache not being cleared after editing posts with the Breakdance builder. It dates from July 2023 and is still open. A contributor wrote in 2024 that it should be fixed on the third-party side. In our code review of WP Rocket 3.23.3.3 we found no Breakdance code, only code for Elementor and Beaver Builder. Anyone using WP Rocket therefore has to clear the cache by hand after a template change.
What does LiteSpeed Cache need for Breakdance?
The sources we consulted show no Breakdance-specific integration for LiteSpeed Cache. You therefore rely on the general settings: a rule that clears everything on updates, and the option to add extra hooks that wipe the whole cache. After a change to templates or global styles, clear the LiteSpeed cache after regenerating the Breakdance CSS. More on this is in the article about Breakdance on LiteSpeed hosting.
What does Spark Speed do natively for Breakdance?
Spark Speed listens for changes in the Breakdance data, even when no ordinary save event arrives. For a template, header, footer, global block or popup the whole cache is cleared once at the end of the request. For other posts only that URL goes. The plugin detects Breakdance and writes its own exclusion lists, and the rules that open the mobile menu stay in place. It is also fair to say what it does not do: a change in the global settings of Breakdance does not clear the page cache, so clear it by hand. After such a full purge Spark Speed does not re-warm the pages straight away. FlyingPress and WP Rocket do, and WP Rocket also clears more related pages, such as author and date archives.
After each template change, check in a private window that the new header really shows on another page. If you see the old one, clear the cache.
Spark Speed detects Breakdance, clears the cache on template changes and keeps the mobile menu intact.
Frequently asked questions
Usually the cache plugin serves a stored copy because it did not see the Breakdance save as a change. Clear the cache and, for CSS problems, regenerate the CSS first under Breakdance, Tools.
No. Many sites run on it. You just need to know that, according to the open issue and our code review, Breakdance saves do not clear the cache automatically.
With Spark Speed, yes: that change does not clear the page cache automatically. Clear it yourself after saving.