I must’ve done something to anger the computer gremlins, because this week was IT havoc at my place.
First,I spilled half a glass of water on my work laptop while it was plugged in to recharge. At the speed of lightning, I rushed to lift the laptop up, rip the plug out and turn the computer upside down. Then I shut it down. After speaking with our helpdesk, they told me that was all that could be done. I waited two days for it to dry, and then cautiously tried turning it on again. It worked, disaster averted!
Meanwhile, the same evening, all of the widgets disappeared from my blog. Panic ensued. I worked on it for hours and nothing good happened. The admin was impossible to use: everything was just white with no preview, and the move and update buttons didn’t work.
Luckily, Amanda and Graham came to the rescue by suggesting I change themes (thank you). It turned out, they were right. My theme was so old it had quietly and unceremoniously retired.
For the first time in 7 years, I was looking for a new theme. Perhaps it was time I updated the site anyway. As criteria, I selected compatibility with block editing because surprise: widgets are now blocks, too (yay)! As a result, the blog no longer looks how I want it to look, but at least it’s there. I just want it to work – I don’t have time to keep fixing it.
But that wasn’t the end of my tech problems: the new theme’s widgets started disappearing, too! Just when I had finished setting up everything, in the blink of an eye they were all gone again! No amount of updating and saving could keep them in place. Again, hours and hours of my precious time was wasted fixing the same things repeatedly, and – another first in my 7 years of blogging – my frustration had grown to the level that I was ready to completely delete my blog, once and for all.
What finally helped was coming, by trial and error, to the educated guess that my widget admin must be bug-ridden and I needed to avoid going there at all costs. Once I simply stuck to the customizer, the widgets seemed to stay where I’d put them.
I’m sure the gremlins were having a blast this week but for me, it was a tad exhausting.
Summary: if you have widget problems: 1) Check your theme, and 2) Use the customizer!
86 replies on “Blog Meltdown”
Good lesson for all of us. I avoid widgets except on a REALLY need-to-know basis! I do like your new look! And the car!
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Good idea to avoid widgets if you can! …but then things like follow button options are widgets, too… I used widgets quite a lot on my old theme to highlight my best posts, since my blog moonlights as my work portfolio with writing samples. Without widgets, the free blog doesn’t offer that many options for navigation. I’ve noticed people rarely explore the menus up top. But hey, thanks for reading and commenting! 😋
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I always knew widgets should be spelled as witches. Keep far from them! 🙂
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Hahah!
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Tech problems are the frustrating, tear-your-hair-out worst. My sympathies 🙂
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Yes they are! 🤪 Thanks!
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Nice big photo, yeah! But only one! I’m in love with your new layout. But yes, blogging should be fun, and you don’t have time to fiddle with new themes and disappearing widgets. I’m glad you didn’t delete it all. And I wonder how long my five previous blogs will hold together. I suppose their themes will eventually be retired too… Good luck and more photos, please! 🙂
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Thanks, Manja! With these big photos comes a bit of stress because now I really have to choose carefully which pic to select as the featured one. And it cannot be the same photo that is first used in thw blog post, because then it displays it twice in row, in a silly way… 🤪📷
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Ah yes, the marvellous mysteries of WordPress. 😀 And about most things you can’t do a thing! But it’s true: with bigger photos quality and size play a bigger role.
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Thanks for the reminder to check my own earlier blogs. Time to delete them, in my case.
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I learned the same lesson last year about my theme. I was so attached to it, but ever onward. I’m not big on widgets, but sometimes you have to use them.
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The theme had become a part of my blog’s identity! This theme doesn’t even allow for a header pic – oh well, I guess they aren’t trendy anymore since these newer themes lacked the option
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I felt the same way. My current theme is okay, but not like my previous one… yet we soldier on.
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Yes, we soldier on!!
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I had to change themes a while back – same reason. Nothing worked. The widgets kept going wacko. Good luck!
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Thanks! It’s a bit consoling to hear this is a universal problem. I asked WP support and their response made me think I was the only one! (Though I’m happy and impressed that they answered. Though their answers didn’t help.)
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Ahh good to know! I have been having a bit of difficulty dragging photos to the imaging block. It goes every other place it shouldn’t or non place at all. Keep having to upload over and over until it finally works. Not sure if WordPress changed or my Mac. But I feel your pain!
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Yeah, there are so many little changed that have happened and none of them work really well. Like adding an image used to be a simple click, and now it’s about 7 clicks… 😆😃
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You have just terrified me – the theme I use for my blog is no longer available, probably because it doesn’t work with the block editor. I changed themes on my two smaller blogs but was unwilling to change the theme on my travel blog, especially with over 1400 published posts. So far it works but who knows when it will stop.
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My goodness, you have a lot of posts! How long have you been blogging? I just checked: I have 611 posts and that’s 7 years! Half of your amount!
But yeah, I know what you mean. It’s nerve-racking! I already noticed some of my older posts’ layout got mixed up but not all of them. Oh well, finding old posts is quite hard and they don’t get much traffic so maybe it doesn’t matter. Changing themes is a good way to get rid of perfectionism!
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I started in January 2011 so 11 years. Plus I’m a bit of a chatterbox so it all adds up!
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😄
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So annoying. Add that to the list of reasons I am avoiding my blog!
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It’s a shame for us readers that you’re avoiding your blog! 😅
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That’s sooo frustrating. I hope you will figure out the little vexing details in time. Sometimes it’s best to walk away from something if it gets too frustrating. Better than deleting your blog!
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You’re right, Tanja! Thanks for commenting and reading! 🙌
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That must be why I don’t have any issues with the widgets I am a bit addicted to the customiser! I am currently playing around with background wallpaper. Fun.
Hope the problems are sorted now. Good on you for being so persistent. WordPress keep pulling that rug out from under us and I don’t think it is only just the free plans.
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Happy to hear the customizer is working for you so well that you’re addicted! That gives me hope! 😅 And yeah, one thing holding me back from upgrading to a premium plan is uncertainty. Will it be better? Worth paying for? I’m still not conviced. Overall, I waa very happy with the free blogging experience until the block editor was forced on us… my photo work flow got slower as they removed in-app editing, too, etc etc… Anyway, still hanging in there! Here’s to smooth blogging!!
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I still debate about paying for a blog and there has been posts and discussions on my blog about it. Removing ads and more storage is the only real advantages for me but the ads aren’t always there and I have solved the storage issue. Plus you then have to do your own backups and manage plugins with paid plans. I don’t want to have to do that.
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I was under the impression that our free blogs required us to do backups ourselves, but if we update, WP will help us with it by offering an easy way? Hmm 🧐
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I have never done a backup. You would have to ask WordPress.
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That’s what the ads say: business plans are automatically backed up by WP. Free plans are not. But you can export your blog’s content onto your own computer, which I’ve done, only recovering it might prove more difficult…
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I think you have to import it back again to read it. You have to manage all the plugins yourself with a paid plan though…
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Or is that only for the self-hosted .org version? 🧐 I know that those blogs aren’t shown in the Reader so I’m not switching to self-hosting, since most of my traffic comes from the Reader!
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You are probably right! I find it all confusing.
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It is! Again, another reason not to upgrade, because it’s all so unclear!
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Yes!
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I didn’t realise widgets were blocks now too. Your new theme looks great.
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Thanks, I’m happy to hear my blog is okay! At least the font is quite large now and it’s much simpler! I read somewhere, while researching all this, that widgets are ”so last season” and they are going to be a part of the block post editor. I wonder how that’ll work. Or maybe this is it already?
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Glad things have settled down for you. I think your blog looks fine and, by the way, I want that car and I want to get it running without changing a thing about its appearance. It would be a perfect Hawaii car!
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Haha! It would be perfect for Hawaii. Just cut a hole in the roof to get some air, and perfect!
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changing themes is an exciting but also frustrating thing to do. Nothing is quite how it looks in the examples and things never work smoothly!
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Exactly!!! It really was hard to try to choose one and also to try to take advantage of its features. I didn’t manage to get it looking at all like the example!
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As I’m new, I will follow your advice. 😁
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Hah! 😆 Good!
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1. I’m glad your computer still works.
2. Thanks for the heads-up! I’ve been waiting for the day for my theme to be retired… I know it’s coming. Until then, I will change nothing. I like it the way it is.
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I felt like that, too: I liked my site the way it was! The new theme is ok, but it’s stripped of all personality, just another blog…
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I’m so glad the crisis was rectified and you’re able to get back to writing! I really enjoyed reading this tonight ❤️ the photo you posted is great too! That car is super cool
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Thanks for reading and hope to see you visit again ☺️ That car really doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion, eh?!
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Will definitely be checking back in!
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Good lessons! Hope you had a pleasant weekend!
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I did, thank you! Wishing you a beautiful week!
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and i thought Blogger was a pain! 🙂
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Hahah!!! 🙃
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Nice new theme Snow! I get frustrated to try new themes all the time because free themes mean limited options to choose from, haha! That car is very photogenic and cool!
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Thanks, dear friend! I have to agree in the theme choosing: I was expecting to find one I loved, but they were all very similar and ”blah”. They didn’t even display their year, to let us guess how long they will be functioning well, so I went with the Twenty Twenty theme because at least the name tells that it’s pretty recent! 😆
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Ah, reminds me of my own blog and widget problems when I was just starting out. I’d like to think that 4 times out of 5 it’s a problem on WordPress’ side, but give it a shot anyway just to see
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Yes, it was WP. Changing themes and using the customizer (instead of the admin) helped
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Honestly this all sounds tragic really. All in all I’m glad you saved your laptop and that your site is still up. You will get it there look-wise!
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Thanks! It’s a struggle I really didn’t want
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Great Post … Phew, so glad you didn’t delete your blog! 👏
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Heheh, thank you, Julie!
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Oh I’ve had that where they unexpectedly retire an old theme- it caused me so many problems!! I wish they at least warned you when they’re going to do that!!
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I agree: it would be nice to get a bit of a heads up! Thanks for reading and commenting! ☺️
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I am brand new to this blog thing. But I am going to remember that. Because that sounds awful! And completely frustrating!
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Good luck! It sure was a struggle! But don’t worry, most of it is pretty easy. So, welcome to blogging and hope you have fun! ☺️
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Thank you! It’s been alot of fun so far! It’s just been alot of time figuring everything out so far! And creating what I want for it!
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And you get to decide everything yourself, which I love!
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Yes, that has definitely been the best! but also the hardest part for me! Is there such a thing as to many options?
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There is! I can get overwhelmed sometimes! 😁
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I totally understand! I struggled as well but a great (sort of 😐) learning experience. 😂😂
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I’m not sure I learned anything but how fleeting my patience is! 🤣
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The danger of looking for a new theme is that I’ll fall down THAT rabbit hole, and that’s even before we get to customisation. I do sometimes consider giving my site a makeover, but the amount of work involved just stops me right in my tracks, lol.
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Yeah, it’s a lot of extra hassle! And my site doesn’t look the way I want anymore. But at least it’s in working order… still alive n kickin’!
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I so struggle with all the updates in WordPress that I keep it as simple as possible, never tinkering with it. Even when writing a post, I use good old Microsoft Word and then copy it here for the blocks have me at a state of permanent mental-block and everything seems chock-a-block.
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Block editor = mental block, hahah! I get you! Although sometimes copypasted text gets formatted weirdly: does copying from Word work for you? It sure does aound like a nicer writing experience. Sometimes, when I’m just in the middle of a nice writing flow, all of those block problems interrupt me and I lose train of thought…
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It has been working fine so far. The paragraphs do get converted to blocks again but I find it easier to edit them then adding one block at a time.
Oh I get it. I started with much gusto writing directly on WordPress and realised, No Sir, it ain’t happening.
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😄I still do it though! (Now I’m wondering why!)
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Now you know better! 😀
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Sorry about your dealings with the computer gremlins…
(I wonder whether my theme might be getting old too.)
Meanwhile the gremlins are beginning to tear Europe apart…
Darn.
🇺🇦
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I’ve been super stressed about the war. People on WP are posting away like nothing is happening. In Finland, we feel we are under direct threat and have heard it from Russians, Americans etc. A nuclear third world war is really on our doorstep. It’s quite incredible.
Take care! 🇺🇦
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It is. Incredible. Dr Strangelove. A useless maniac who keeps his country in poverty and has nothing better to do.
And the threat is real. What so many in the West don’t see.
You too.
🇺🇦
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…The Russians are now shooting and killing children. Who does that?! I have no words. Also just watched footage of the attack on the nuclear plant where workers warned the shooters, “Stop shooting, you are endangering the entire world, stop shooting”. How people can continue life in “business as usual” style is beyond me.
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Part of it is a concept Io once invented for Coca-Cola, in a study I did for them on consumer behaviour after a major economic crisis we had had here. After a while, consumers “went back to normal”. Client (Coke) asked why… I was standing in front of senior management. Had no idea why. Then it hit me. And I told them: “It’s the Beyruth effect”
“What?”
“Yeah. After a while, during the Civil War in Lebanon, people got used to it, and still had to go out and buy groceries…”
What we have here is a combination of the Beyruth effect and “Me? I doesn’t affect me.”
(Until the bombs start falling right?)
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Good to know! Gosh….. Cannot imagine if I lose the blog
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Yeah, same here!
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