Sometimes a mystery arises on your website that you need to solve. And that’s perfectly normal!
You may run into puzzles when you’re building or updating your website. Technology does not always work the way we think it’s supposed to – or the way we want it to. Don’t be discouraged when this happens! It means you’re making progress!
Last year, I wrote an article on what to do when you get stuck, which focused on overcoming unexpected challenges in the process of building your website or building your business. Today, I’ll share a key tool that can help you troubleshoot technical problems on your WordPress website.
There is a variety of possible causes for website issues, but from my experience, more than half of these issues are caused by “plugin conflicts.” Good news though! There’s a fun and easy tool that will help you detect plugin conflicts on your website. (See the fun video below)
First… What’s a “Plugin Conflict”?
If you’re new to plugins, here’s a quick review. A plugin is similar to an app. It adds new functions to your WordPress website, that the basic WordPress can’t do on its own. Thanks to plugins, you can turn your WordPress site into a powerful tool to do so many things without having to know website codes and scripts.
The EASY Way to Identify Plugin Problems!
However, there’s an easier way to identify plugin conflicts! This very cool plugin makes it so much quicker, easier, and even FUN to go through this process. Meet “Plugin Detective”!
Introducing: Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting
This plugin by NSquared will do all the heavy lifting for you to identify which plugin might be a problem for you. It uses a simple but very effective process to narrow down a culprit and help you solve your issue fast.
In fact, finding a problem plugin is now fun, thanks to this super user-friendly plugin detective! Just watch this video to see what I mean:
Watch this Short Video that Shows You How it Works:
The Hard Way to Identify Plugin Problems…
While plugins look simple to users, they’re actually made up of complex scripts that are working hard in the background. Sometimes, one plugin might not work well with another plugin. Or a plugin can sometimes cause issues when used with a particular theme. Occasionally, your site may experience issues if a plugin is not compatible with a particular WordPress version. This is called “plugin conflict.”
When a plugin conflict happens, the issue normally goes away when you deactivate the culprit plugin. Typically, what you need to do is to go to “Plugins” in your WordPress admin panel, deactivate all of your plugins, and see if the issue goes away.
If it does, start reactivating your plugins, one at a time, to find out which plugin triggers the issue. This method takes a lot of time and patience. That’s why I recommend the video and plugin above.
Conclusion
I’ve coached hundreds through the process of creating their own WordPress websites. The journey of building and maintaining your own website is exciting and empowering.
However, as with any technology, there can be glitches along the way. Fortunately, there’s a variety of tools you can use to overcome whatever website challenges you’re facing.
This plugin has been a lifesaver for me and my students. I highly recommend it if you’re having technical problems with your site.
Go here to learn more: https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-detective/. As with any plugin, be sure to ask yourself the right questions before making the decision to install any plugin on your site.
What tools have you found useful in helping you resolve website problems?