BerqWP caches your pages so repeat visitors get a fast, pre-built version instead of a freshly generated one every time. Max Cache Lifespan controls how long a cached page is kept before BerqWP considers it old enough to refresh on its own. This article covers your options and which one to pick.
TL;DR: BerqWP offers three Max Cache Lifespan options: 30 Days (default), 7 Days, and 24 Hours. Since BerqWP already flushes the cache automatically whenever your content changes, 30 days is recommended for most sites, there’s little downside to keeping it high.
What Max Cache Lifespan Actually Controls
This setting isn’t about how often your cache gets cleared when you publish or update something, that happens automatically regardless of this setting. Max Cache Lifespan is a backstop: it controls how long a cached page can sit untouched before BerqWP refreshes it anyway, even if nothing about that page has changed.
Your Three Options
Found under BerqWP > Cache Management:
- 30 Days (Default), the recommended setting for most sites.
- 7 Days, refreshes cached pages more often, even without a content change triggering it.
- 24 Hours, refreshes cached pages daily at most.
Why 30 Days Is Recommended for Most Sites
Since BerqWP automatically flushes the page cache whenever your content actually changes, you don’t lose anything by setting this high. A page you haven’t touched in three weeks doesn’t need a fresh rebuild just because time has passed, it’s still showing the same content either way. Keeping the lifespan at 30 days means BerqWP spends less time rebuilding pages that haven’t changed, which is better for performance overall.
When You Might Want a Shorter Lifespan
If part of your site pulls in content from somewhere BerqWP’s automatic cache-flushing doesn’t know about, an external feed, a third-party widget, or content that updates on a schedule outside of WordPress itself, a shorter lifespan like 7 Days or 24 Hours makes sure that content doesn’t stay stale for too long between automatic refreshes. For typical WordPress content, posts, pages, and anything BerqWP already detects changes to, the default is the better choice.
How to Change It
- Go to BerqWP > Cache Management
- Find Max. Cache Lifespan
- Select 30 Days, 7 Days, or 24 Hours
- Save your changes
If you’re not sure which option to pick, start with the default. You can always come back and shorten it later if you find a specific reason to, but for most sites, there’s nothing to gain from changing it.
