No cache plugins on site, but site is still caching. Will W3 Total Cache resolve

Hi All

I haven’t installed your plugin yet, but I’m hoping that if I do it will help me sort out a problem I’m having.

I am using a plugin called “Participants Database” (https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/participants-database/), which is an excellent plugin, but I’m having issues with the search functionality.

There is a setting within the plugin where you can enable AJAX search functionality. Apparently this enables list search results that are updated without reloading the page. It requires Javascript, but search will still work if Javascript is disabled in the user’s browser.

When this option is enabled, the search function works perfectly in Microsoft Edge, but doesn’t work in Google Chrome. If I disable it then the search function doesn’t work in either option.

The plugin developer has checked but cannot find a reason for this aside from telling me that the page appears to be loading a cache result which is why I’m not getting the actual search result.

To my knowledge, I have no caching enabled on this site and the only reference I can find for caching is 2 files in the wp-includes folder, namely:

Cache-compat.php
Cache.php

I have no idea where these come from or what they are related to.

I did also notice when looking at the Site Health section under Tools that Caching was mentioned, but it reads as “WP_CACHE: false” so I don’t know if it is applicable or not.

All my plugins are 100% up to date as well as my WordPress and Theme being 100% up to date as well.

Active plugins are:

Loginizer – Version 1.6.4 by Softaculous | Auto-updates disabled
Participants Database – Version 1.9.6.6 by Roland Barker, xnau webdesign | Auto-updates disabled
Re-add text underline and justify – Version 0.3 by Brice Capobianco | Auto-updates disabled
UpdraftPlus – Backup/Restore – Version 1.16.31 by UpdraftPlus.Com, DavidAnderson | Auto-updates disabled
Wordfence Security – Version 7.4.12 by Wordfence | Auto-updates disabled

So my question regarding W3 Total Cache is as follows:

If I install this plugin and set it to NOT cache the search results page, will it overwrite whatever is causing the cache to occur at the moment and thereby solve my problem?

Alternatively, can anyone point me in the direction of what may be causing the caching to happen in the first place, when everything that I can see appears to indicate that there is not caching on my site at the moment?

Any suggestions / help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Regards.
Sara

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