The “Meandering Passage” website underwent a drastic format change a few days ago. There was almost no site at all. I’ll give the short version here, but I’ll state upfront that much of it, if not all, was my fault through carelessness and inattention. It began when I noticed the site had gotten slower and that there were a number of updates awaiting to be applied. Here’s a recap.
I started the updates, but when I updated the current Avada WP theme, there was an error, and the site wouldn’t display.
I restored the site from a recent backup and tried the updates again with the same results…I redid this process several times.
Signing on to my host account, I finally saw that the maximum number of files had been well exceeded—not storage but the number of files. I didn’t even realize my account had a file number limit. On to the cause.
I’ve been using a plugin that compresses the images I upload to save space and load faster while saving the original image. I had set it this way.
At some point in the past, I had installed a media library plugin to solve some unremembered issue, not realizing it had defined 25 image sizes in addition to the 3-4 default WP ones. Each image/photo I uploaded resulted in 28 backup images of different sizes and 28 compressed images, for a total of at least 56 image files. Only a few of these images were actually being utilized.
The only way I could think of to fix this was to use another plugin that checked the image links on Meandering Passage against the images in the media library and would allow me to cleanup/delete the unused images. This plugin ran for hours and flagged over 40k files for possible deletion, which I, in frustration, finally allowed. The final results have been less than perfect, with images that were actually used being deleted. I think part of the plugin’s problem finding the used links stems from the Avada use of extensive shortcodes for all its formatting.
The bottom line is that I’ve abandoned the more capable and complicated Avada theme in the quest for simplicity. My solution for all the posts made under Avada is a plugin that blocks the display of unused/dead shortcodes. I’ll manually fix missing images when needed; if needed, but I doubt many will be missed.
I almost deleted the whole blog but hated to let it go after 18 years.
I understand your situation completely. I also had the same issues with plugins and a paid theme doing things that I was not aware of. The primary reason I decided to use a simple free theme and minimal plugins. So far I’m pleased with what I have now. My blog is not for business purposes but a creative outlet for me and a connection to other bloggers. It’s all about the fun. At one time I looked into using Squarespace but I would have lost a lot of blog archives in the process. One of the reasons I have a simple looking, functioning theme is because I liked how Squarespace looked. I’m also aware there ain’t nothing perfect out there. I’ll plunk around and see what I find with this for you.
I used to enjoy the technical part of setting up and maintaining the website, but not so much anymore. I think I’ll stick with what I have now. It satisfies all my needs and most of my wants. 😁
Yikes. Sounds like you’ve had more than your fair share of technostress lately. I saw the one post about having problems and crossed my fingers you’d figure it out in short order. Some of this stuff can be quite the burden to manage and dig into whatever is causing the issues.
Yeah, technostress is a good description, Mark. I’m back below my max file number now, but the count still seems higher than it should be. After a few days away, I’ll look with fresh eyes to see what else I can find. Maybe my subconscious will work on it for me in my sleep. 🤔
Earl, I know parts of this only too well – but at least for me, the pride of having succeeded offsets a lot of the stress. And I love the new theme – clear and simple, no frills. Who could ask for more?
Thanks, Markus. I’ve grown to like this site theme as well. There are just a few minor layout issues I’ve yet to figure out.
Take care!