Hard-refresh
Also called hard refresh.
In plain English
Force the browser to reload files from the server, not from its cache, so you see the newest version of a page.
Example
Colors look old until a hard-refresh pulls the new files. A page looks broken, then fine after a hard-refresh, because the cache was the problem. Teaching a beginner to hard-refresh saves a false “the deployTo deploy is to make a version of software available where it can run or be served, such as a preview, a test system, or production. is broken” alarm.
Why it matters
Browsers keep copies of files so pages load faster. A hard-refresh forces a reload from the server, not the cache, so you see the newest version instead of yesterday's CSS.
It is a visitor skillA skill is how to do a task: a saved method you can reuse instead of retyping the steps., not an installer. After a site update, try a hard-refresh before deciding a change did not ship. An ordinary refresh can still show cached files.
Updated October 1, 2026.