FAQs Stopped Displaying

Hi there,

Was it all working fine on the temporary domain before you moved it to the current domain?

As far as I can see all the files are being loaded okay but I also note that you’re getting an error on line 422 of jquery.js – I’m not sure where this is originating from so it may be worth temporarily deactivating other plugins to see if the FAQs start working.

Please let me know how you get on.

regards
Michael

Thanks, Michael,

Everything was working fine before migration and the plugin compliment was identical. I temporarily deactivated all the other plugins but that had no effect on the FAQ operation.

What should I try now?

Can you tell me how you migrated the site? What process did you use?

regards
Michael

Both the temporary site and the final destination are on the same server. Before I started I updated all the plugins and WP to the latest version as needed. I made a backup of the database with phpmyadmin and backed up the entire site within cPanel. Using SSH I copied the site backup to the new hosting account and expanded the files. I then created a new database and user in the hew hosting account and imported the database with phpmyadmin. I then used Search Replace DB to update the database to the new URL and username, working in parallel with a copy of the database in TextWrangler to confirm I had identified the values to change. When I was done I searched the database for the old URL, portions of the old URL, and the username to insure all were changed.

Does the temporary site still exist? If so, are the FAQs still working on that site?

Very good question! When I answered the previous Q I wondered if I had tested the site before I made the backups. Answer is they don’t work there either! Temporary site is https://tva.shenvalleyonline.com/frequently-asked-questions/

So it could be something to do with the updates you did prior to the migration. It’s going to be tricky to track down.

Certainly FAQ Concertina works with the current (v4.5.2) version of WordPress and all recent versions. So I’m guessing it’s conflicting with one of the other plugins. But then you say that you still had the problem after deactivating the other plugins!

Try one more thing. Change your theme temporarily to one of the defaults, such as Twenty-fourteen or Twenty-fifteen. Let’s see if that makes a difference.

regards
Michael

The real domain has been transferred back to the old design on the old host with another month of hosting, so we have time to work on https://tva.shenvalleyonline.com/frequently-asked-questions/ without affecting her traffic.

My cable service is out and I won’t see a technician until Monday so I have to drive 10 miles to a hot spot with my laptop. I’m tied-up this afternoon and tomorrow so I won’t get to try more for a while.

No difference with 2016.

I was thinking that another way to identify the problem is to backup the temporary site, delete everything, start a new WP site with a clean install of WP, and restore just wp-content and the database on the new temporary site. If everything works as expected, add the other plugins back in one at a time. I’ve never done this so I don’t know what happens if the plugins are in the database but not installed; probably nothing, but…

If you restore wp-content then you’ll be restoring all the plug-ins too.

Certainly in the case of FAQ Concertina all that is stored in the DB is the custom post data and the settings that have been set in the Settings page. Obviously I can’t attest to what the other plugins put in the database.

Rather than restore the database wholesale, why not export the different post types separately using the Export tool (under Tools in the dashboard) and then import them individually as you add the plugins. That way you’ll end up with a cleaner, or at least more controlled and controllable, database restore.

But I agree, at this stage I think a clean build is the next thing to try. Remember to check each time you add a plugin or import some data that the FAQs are still working.

Good luck, and do let me know how you get on.

regards
Michael

My internet is back and I could easily export files in cPanel w/o plugins, since I suspect the problem is with a .js file. Does the export tool export both files and database? That tool doesn’t give me much choice because there are no posts on the site. The remaining options include pages, media, FAQ, and Soliloquy Sliders.

Larry

Hi Larry

Yup, I also suspect a js file. Check that one of the other plugins isn’t loading a different instance of jQuery as my suspicion at the mo’ is that for some reason my js file isn’t communicating with jQuery.

The export tool in the dashboard only exports what you select from the database, e.g. pages, FAQs, etc.. and not the files. It means you can re-import the data into a new database without also bringing in a lot of the cruft that copying the whole database would bring. You’re just importing the content for your pages, or the content for the FAQs, etc… Of course that means that you have to redo any settings separately.

Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll figure out how the export/import thing works and it’s a useful thing to know as a WP developer.

regards
Michael

I see also when running a debugger that jQuery is throwing up the following error on line 422:

Syntax error, unrecognised expression: a[href=#scroll-top]

This expression is on line 192 of responsive-scripts.min.js. Try disabling whatever is loading responsive-scripts.min.js.

M

Thanks, Michael,

How is this for a troubleshooting procedure:

1. Backup the current filesystem and database in cPanel plus use Export to back-up portions of the database to make partial database backups
2. Start with a clean install of WP, Import pages and media, and note date/time of wp-includes/js/jquery.js
3. Install plugins individually and import corresponding database and note date/time of jquery.js to see if anything overwrites it and test FAQ each time

How do I determine who is loading responsive-scripts.min.js? My background is hardware engineer, not programmer.

Hi Larry

I copied the html from your page into a local file and loaded it into my browser. Obviously I got the same result and the FAQs didn’t expand. However, when I commented out the line that loads responsive-scripts.min.js then the FAQs worked! So that file is the culprit!

M