Back navigation caching
Use back navigation caching in Internet Explorer 11 to help users of your webpage return to previous pages more quickly.
By default, pages are unloaded from memory when you navigate away from them. Beginning with IE11, webpages that meet specific conditions are cached when the user navigates away. If the user later returns to the page, it's restored from memory, rather than reloaded or reconstructed.
In order to be cached, webpages must meet these conditions:
- Served using the HTTP: protocol (HTTPS pages are not cached for security reasons)
- Page has no beforeunload event handlers defined
- All load and pageshow events have completed
- The page doesn't contain any of the following:
- Pending indexedDB transactions
- Open or active web socket connections
- Running web workers
- Microsoft ActiveX controls.
- The F12 Developer tools window isn't open
IE11 also supports pagehide and pageshow events so you can meet these conditions more easily.
When webpages are cached upon navigation, users are able to return to them more quickly. In addition, pages are returned to their previous states when restored from the cache.
Review your website to identify pages you want cached before navigation and verify they meet these conditions.
Use the pagehide and pageshow events to manage the features that prevent your pages from being cached.
API reference
Specification
HTML5, Section 5.6.10.1