Identifying Errors
Welcome back team! Today we wanted to show you some common errors you might see happening on WDS websites and the steps to take to resolve these errors as quickly as possible.
The Video
The Why
It is important to be able to correctly identify errors on a customer’s site so that we can get them the correct help first and resolve the error faster, resulting in the best customer experience possible.
The How
There are a lot of different errors that can occur on a website. We have a couple examples to show you today, but remember you are encouraged to use every resource you have at your disposal to help the customer.
Critical Errors
One of the most common errors you will see in WDS is a critical error. We typically see one of these two:
- A single page critical error
- This is usually caused by a memory limit or having too much content on a single page. Please submit a ticket for the builders to troubleshoot.
- More Commonly, A sitewide critical error
- In most cases critical errors are a result of a failed plugin update. This will result in the site becoming inaccessible and display an error message “There has been a critical error on this website”. Common culprits of this issue include WooCommerce, Yoast SEO and the Beaver Builder Theme. These situations require an internal builder to troubleshoot the issue and should be sent via ticket.
500 errors
500 errors are where the server cannot be reached. It is typically not something that can be resolved by troubleshooting as it is based on the server. This should resolve itself within 24 hours. If it has been more than 24 hours, please open a ticket for a builder to troubleshoot further.
404 Error
You will see this error when a page has been removed and not redirected properly. Here are some things you can try to resolve the issue:
- Verify the link you are searching for is accurate.
- Make sure the link you are trying to visit has not been deleted. Check the trash folders in the WP Dashboard and restore any that are missing.
- If you can see the page in the WP Dashboard, doublecheck the permalink is the same as the link you are looking for.
- Reset permalinks. Settings > Permalinks > Change to any of the other options > Save > Then change back to the original selection.
- If the link is from an old site and the page does not exist on the new site, you need to set up redirects using the approved Redirection plugin. The customer is welcome to do this, or a ticket can be submitted for the build team to set up the redirects.
If it has been longer than 24 hours and you have tried all the above troubleshooting, please submit a ticket for the builders to do additional troubleshooting.
CSS Missing – Skip to Content
https://styleguide.wdsgallery.com/how-to-fix-missing-or-broken-css/
If you come across a site where the styling is missing and has a “Skip to content” link at the top of the page, hover over GD cORe in the dashboard and click on the “Clear Site Cache” link.
Open the site in an incognito or private browser to verify the site is displaying correctly. In some cases, it may take a few minutes for the site to return to normal.
If you are still seeing the broken site after 10 minutes of clearing the cache, submit a Technical Clarification for further troubleshooting.
Resource Links
Check out our help guide on General Troubleshooting for more tips on Identifying and addressing errors.