How to reload a page using JavaScript
How can you refresh or reload a web page using JavaScript? What are the different methods to trigger a reload, and how do they behave in terms of browser cache? Let’s explore simple ways to achieve this using JavaScript.
Reloading a page using JavaScript is a simple task and can be done in multiple ways depending on whether you want to refresh the page using cache or bypass it completely.
The most common method is using the location.reload() function:
location.reload();
This method reloads the current URL. By default, it reloads the page using the browser's cache. If you want to force the browser to fetch the latest version from the server (bypassing cache), you can pass true:
location.reload(true);
However, note that passing true is now deprecated in modern browsers and may not work as expected in all cases.
Another way to reload the page is by reassigning the current URL:
location.href = location.href;
This effectively reloads the page but acts like a fresh navigation, which could be useful in certain situations.
Key points:
- location.reload() is the standard method to refresh the page.
- To force a reload from the server, you can append a timestamp or random query to the URL instead of using true.
- Reloading can be triggered by a button click or any other event.
Example with a button:
Reload Page
Reloading pages can be helpful in auto-refresh dashboards, form resets, or simple debugging tasks. Just use it wisely to avoid interrupting user interactions.