How to empty your browser cache - Updated!

In working with the web it's helpful to understand what an internet browser is, a bit about how browsers work, and how to empty your browser's cache. Knowing this will help you with your own website, blogs, and other projects to which you contribute content.

Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Internet Explorer are the main internet browsers for desktop computers. They are all free programs and you can use any you like regardless whether you are on a PC or a Mac (with the exception of Internet Explorer, there is no IE for the Mac). Firefox, Safari and Chrome tend to stick to the W3C (Worldwide Web Consortium) standards and thus provide a better browsing experience. Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser but it is also the most prone to malware and due to it's lack of adherence to standards, frequently renders sites incorrectly. If you're looking for a recommendation, I would personally recommend Firefox.
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Browsers do a lot of things to speed up the delivery of information and one of these things is caching (storing) files that it thinks you'll need in the future. The problem is that when you work on your own website and make an update, you might not see the change right away because your browser is displaying the files from your previous visit to that page. The solution is to empty your browser's cache.

Here are detailed instructions for how:
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Firefox | Chrome

Internet Explorer 9 |  Internet Explorer 8 | Internet Explorer 7 | 
Internet Explorer 6 (do not use - upgrade to at least Internet Explorer 7). 
If you don't know which version you have, click on Help in the toolbar and then About Internet Explorer. The version number can be found there.

Safari for Mac | Safari for Windows

iPhone | Android
If any of those links break, here's a permalink to the ever-updating instructions at WikiHow (thanks to over 155 contributors for the great crowd-sourced article!