Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian proverb
For longer than I care to admit, I’ve been battling technical issues with my WordPress blog.
Every time I wanted to comment on someone’s post, or even reply to comments made on my posts, I was forced to log in.
Every. Single. Time.
This was despite my having asked WordPress to remember me. And despite already being logged in.
And when I keyed in my username and password, I’d be taken to a page with a random photo and a link to the blog I was visiting, forcing me to pull the site up again just to see if my comment had registered.
The whole thing was becoming so complicated — and time-consuming — that I questioned whether I wanted to keep blogging. Or just chuck it all.
During this time, I read of others who were having blog problems, but they only alluded to the problem — never specified what it looked like or what steps they’d taken to resolve it.
So I contacted the “Happiness Engineers” at WordPress, explained my problem, and asked for help.
It wasn’t long before I received some suggestions: Try a different browser; make sure JavaScript is enabled; disable browser extensions. I promptly jumped through those hoops.
No improvement.
Then, one of my blogging friends said my posts weren’t arriving via email the way they had in the past. What was that about? She contacted WordPress, and someone worked with her to remedy the issue. Thankfully, she also asked them about my login problem. They theorized cross-site tracking had somehow gotten messed up.
She sent me a link, and a light bulb went off!
I did a bit of research on my own and learned that the browser I use (Firefox) automatically protects your privacy while you browse (a good thing). But that protection might be considered overkill if you’re unable to visit your friends’ blogs and make comments without jumping through a gazillion hoops.
This article explains the matter in some detail. But if you, too, have been having this issue, you’ll want to fix it NOW. Here’s what you do:
Unblock the trackers by clicking the shield at the left on your address bar to see what’s being blocked. Toggle the switch at the top of the panel that pops up — to turn enhanced tracking protection off for that particular site. You can always go back and turn it on again if you need to.
That’s it! The page will reload automatically, and you’ll be good to go.
Suffice it to say, blogging is enjoyable once more, and spending less time on social sites frees me up to write and do web design. A win-win, if you ask me.
Thanks, Linda!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
Debbie, what I find ironic is that Blogger blogs are having very similar issues. Two weeks ago, I could not leave a comment on another Blogger’s blog for three weeks. UGH! Thankfully, because I used a different commenting system, I haven’t had the same issues on my own blog. However, occasionally a readers comment will go into spam. But overall, I’m so happy I have an alternate system to comment on my blog because the one on Blogger has never worked well.
And besides the commenting issues on Blogger, they also changed the editor system (where we compose a post), and made it almost impossible to upload photos or center them. I’ve been with Blogger since 2006, and this last update they did was truly the worst.
I’ve never had a problem leaving a comment on a WordPress blog though.
So glad your friend Linda was able to help you sort things out. Technology is wonderful. And it’s something we all depend on everyday. So when something goes awry, it can be so frustrating.
Have a fabulous weekend, my friend! X
Ron, Word Press has changed its editing system, too. Now, they’re featuring something called “Blocks,” which I’ve never taken the time to try to figure out. I’m going to keep doing it the old, familiar way until they force me to change, ha! (how curmudgeonly does that sound!!)
Thanks for empathizing with my blogging issues. They can be so maddening, especially when you only have time for so many things in a day — and logging in repeatedly isn’t one of them. We’re blessed to have this supportive, generous community to come to our aid!
Hope you have a fabulous weekend as well! xx
To quote King Charles: Oh dear, oh dear! What you wrote makes so much sense. I have been having big problems with blogging on my desktop computer. So much so that I do most of my blogging on my phone, which doesn’t have—you guessed it—Firefox. No problems at all reading and commenting via my phone. But I will definitely take a look at that article. Thanks!
Laurie, I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one! (Not that I’m happy you, too, are having problems, you know!) I hope you can get yours resolved as quickly as I did, once I found the right solution.
Good information, Debbie. Thanks.
You bet! I hope anyone who’s got similar problems will get them resolved. We don’t need any more bloggers disappearing on us!
Ha ha ha. So true.
Wow. None of what you said makes any sense to me, but I’m glad you got it resolved. I don’t know how to fix anything nor do I understand basic directions to fix stuff. But I might be just putting up defensive shields because I feel so inept around this stuff. Thank you for putting the fix out there for everyone who has struggled with this. Knock on wood, so far I haven’t!
Dawn, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all this fast-moving tech stuff. I work in tech, but it’s a constant challenge to keep up with the young’uns! I was particularly frustrated by this situation though because it was just so doggone time-consuming. If I can help even one blogger resolve the problem, I’ll be happy.
Congrats for conquering your WP issues, Debbie. Your perseverance paid off!
Thank you, Eliza. Perseverance and a good friend, generous with her time and knowledge!
How great that your friend was able to find the solution to your problem! In general I find WordPress great, but I must say that whenever I hit a technical problem, I find the Happiness Engineers rarely make me happy, I’m glad you’ll still be blogging – that certainly does make me happy! 😀
What a nice thing to say — thank you! I know I’d miss blogging — and the connection we all share — so I’m glad, too.
It’s wonderful that the ‘fix’ still is holding for you. And I laughed at your comment about the block editor. I’ve said a time or two that it was designed by blockheads for blockheads, but that’s just curmudgeonly me. Actually, I rarely make a change — in hardware or software — until there’s a clear reason to do so, and I’m perfectly happy with the classic editor. I’m sure one of these days we’ll be forced over to the block editor, but when that happens — we’ll figure that out, too!
Grrr, that block editor! I’m happy I insisted on bypassing that beast. I suspect, like you, that we’ll one day be forced to learn it, but until then, I’m happy to be a dinosaur, ha!
Wow! I’m glad you finally found the solution to your problems there, with a lot of help from your friend. It can be so frustrating dealing with technical problems and I’m glad my husband and son are up to the task whenever I get into trouble. And you’re passing on the helpfulness by sharing what you learned here. Well done!
Of course I’m eager to pass on the information, Barbara — what are friends for?!? This situation was so maddening. I just couldn’t figure it all out … and that made me miffed because I’m supposed to “know” these technical things. Meh. It’s a good thing I’m a big proponent of lifelong learning!
I had the exact same problem, and finally after tons of emails with the “happiness engineers” one of them suggested the cross tracking might be the issue. Since I’d rather not be tracked every time I go on the internet, I simply turned it off in Safari, and blog in that browser and then use Firefox, with it’s increased privacy for everything else. It usually works! I’m so glad you figured out your issues and got the help you needed, and it was really nice of you to pass that along to other bloggers. I’m sure we weren’t the only two…I’ve noticed a definite dip in my stats in the past few months, and I think it’s because of this issue.
I’m glad you got your issues resolved, too, Ann. How I hate the thought of people quitting blogging just because of problems like this! Not that I don’t understand or empathize with that decision. It was certainly frustrating, wasn’t it? Thanks for sharing your solution!
Debbie, Your post is so timely. I am about ready to throw in the towel with writing because I am having so much trouble with my website, which apparently is causing problems with readers. Thank you for all the tips, although I am not having the same problems as yours at this time. Wish I had a dog like yours to drag me out the door and away from this madness. At least I am reassured that I am not alone! If a tech wizard like yourself has problems, it is no wonder someone as tech-dysfunctional as myself has so much difficulty.
Pat, I’m so sorry! Yes, it’s just very frustrating to have these technical issues and not be able to solve them ourselves … or find competent help to solve them for us. I noticed yesterday that I was unable to make a comment on your blog — hope you get that resolved soon!