How to manage Nginx cache in cPanel and Plesk

Nginx reverse proxy cache stores temporary copies of your website’s content. When visitors access your site, Nginx serves the cached version directly instead of processing each request through your primary web server. This reduces server load and speeds up page delivery.

You will enable, disable and clear the Nginx cache through your hosting control panel. The process differs slightly between cPanel and Plesk.

Manage Nginx cache in cPanel

cPanel displays Nginx cache controls on the main overview screen. You can toggle caching on or off and clear stored content when needed.

Enable Nginx cache

Open the general information panel.
Log in to cPanel and locate the General Information panel on the main overview screen.
Click the Nginx cache toggle.
Find the radio button next to Nginx Cache and click it. A spinning icon appears while the change processes.

Confirm activation.
The button turns blue and displays Active when caching is enabled. A Clear Cache button also appears.

cPanel showing Nginx cache status as active with a blue toggle button — Active Nginx cache displays a blue button and Clear Cache option.

Disable Nginx cache

Click the active toggle.
In the General Information panel, click the blue Active button. The loading icon appears while the change processes.

cPanel Nginx cache toggle showing loading state during deactivation — The toggle processes your deactivation request.

Confirm deactivation.
The button turns clear and displays Inactive when caching is disabled. The Clear Cache button disappears.

cPanel showing Nginx cache status as inactive with a clear toggle button — Inactive Nginx cache displays a clear button with no Clear Cache option.

Clear Nginx cache

Click Clear Cache.
In the General Information panel, click the Clear Cache button. A green banner appears at the top of the screen confirming the cache was cleared.

cPanel showing the Clear Cache button for Nginx with a success banner — The Clear Cache button removes all stored Nginx cache files.

Manage Nginx cache in Plesk

Plesk stores Nginx cache settings within your subscription’s hosting configuration. You access these through the Apache and Nginx settings page.

Enable or disable Nginx cache

Open Apache and Nginx settings.
Log in to Plesk, select your subscription and click Hosting & DNS. Then click Apache & nginx Settings.

Plesk subscription dashboard showing the Apache and nginx settings option under Hosting and DNS — Access Nginx settings through Hosting & DNS.

Locate the caching checkbox.
Scroll down to find Enable nginx caching. An unticked checkbox means caching is currently disabled.

Plesk Apache and nginx settings page showing the Enable nginx caching checkbox unticked — An unticked checkbox indicates Nginx caching is disabled.

Toggle caching and apply changes.
Tick the Enable nginx caching checkbox to enable caching, or untick it to disable. Click Apply at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Plesk showing the Enable nginx caching checkbox ticked with the Apply button highlighted — Tick the checkbox and click Apply to enable Nginx caching.

Clear Nginx cache

Click Clear cache.
On the Apache & nginx Settings page, locate the Clear cache button below the Enable nginx caching checkbox. Click it to remove all stored cache files.

Plesk Apache and nginx settings page showing the Clear cache button — The Clear cache button removes all Nginx cache files for your domain.

Wrapping up

You can now control Nginx cache through your hosting control panel. Enabling cache improves site performance by serving stored content to visitors. Clearing cache forces Nginx to fetch fresh content from your web server, which is useful after making site updates.

Monitor your site’s performance after enabling cache. If you notice outdated content appearing, clear the cache to force a refresh. Our website speed testing guide explains how to measure the impact of caching on your site’s load times.

If you run into any trouble, get in touch and our team will be happy to help.