Sample WordPress options with time-based cache flag

sample-wordpress-options-cache.php

<?php
function get_twitter_followers() {

    $ttl = 2 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS;
    $cache = get_option( 'my_twitter_followers' );
    
    if ( empty( $cache['timeout'] ) || $cache['timeout'] < time() ) {
        $followers = wp_remote_get( ... );
        $cache = array(
            'count' => $followers,
            'timeout' => time() + $ttl,
        );
        update_option( 'my_twitter_followers', $cache );
    }

    return $cache['count'];
    
}