If you’ve just made a change in Smile and don’t see it visible yet, it may be due to caching. Caching helps Smile load faster, but it can briefly delay when recent updates appear across customer-facing areas of your program.
What is caching in Smile
Definition: Caching temporarily stores data so Smile can load your loyalty program faster on your website. By saving some information for a short time, Smile reduces loading delays and improves your customers’ experience.
Why Smile uses caching
When Smile loads on your website, it needs to fetch your loyalty program configuration from our servers.
Caching allows us to store that configuration temporarily so the loyalty launcher and panel can appear almost instantly — even when your store has heavy traffic.
What caching does for your site
Speeds up loading times for your loyalty program
Ensures consistent performance for every visitor
Reduces unnecessary data requests from your site to Smile’s servers
How caching works in Smile
What data is cached
The following data is stored temporarily (for 15 minutes) to improve load speed:
Program-level configurations: earning and spending rules, VIP tiers and perks, referral options
Visual styles and text: colors, headings, positioning, and panel content
What data isn’t cached
Sensitive or dynamic customer information is never cached. This ensures customer-specific information always displays the most up-to-date details. This includes:
Points balance
Current VIP tier
Referral URL
Points history
What caching means for your store
Because Smile caches some data for a short time, changes you’ve just made may not appear immediately on your site — this only affects when those changes become visible.
Here are some examples:
You launch your loyalty program, but the launcher and panel may take up to 15 minutes to appear.
You change an earning or spending rule, but don’t see the update reflected right away.
You update your panel text or styling, and it takes a few minutes for the changes to show.
Workaround: If you want to preview your updates right away without waiting for the cache to refresh, you can add /?smile_no_cache=true to the end of your store URL.
ℹ️ Note: Browser caching can also lead to delays in displaying recent updates, since browsers may store older versions of your site. Try clearing your browser cache or using an incognito window if you’re not seeing your most recent changes.
Important notes
If you’re checking right after making a change, it usually appears within about 15 minutes. In rare cases, it may take up to 25 minutes to fully update across your site.
Even if changes aren’t visible immediately due to caching, they take effect right away. For example, if you update your earning rule from “Earn 1 point for every $1 spent” to “Earn 2 points for every $1 spent,” new orders will earn points based on the new rule as soon as you hit Save in Smile Admin. Only the launcher and panel display may take up to 15 minutes to update.
Caching only affects how quickly updates appear — it doesn’t change how earning rules, rewards, or customer data work.
Quick answers
How long does Smile cache data?
Most cached data refreshes every 15 minutes. In some cases, it may take slightly more or less time.
Does caching affect customer balances or VIP tiers?
No. Customer-specific information like points and tiers is never cached.
Can browser caching affect how Smile appears?
Yes. Your browser may temporarily store older versions of your site, which can delay how soon updates appear. Try refreshing your site or clearing your browser cache to see the latest version.
Can I clear Smile’s cache manually?
No — caching happens automatically on Smile’s servers. Updates will show after the cache refreshes, usually within 15 minutes.