Strange page loading issues when Genesis framework is active

[Jay Hoque]

Hi guys,

Wondering if anyone can help with a weird issue I'm having with me site. I've tried various troubleshooting processes but can't seem to diagnose the cause.

Basically the pages load up, but then freeze for a long time. Links are not clickable, can't scroll down the page or select anything with the cursor.

The problem is a little strange in that I only see the problem on my laptop and all my mobile devices (2 iPads and 3 iPhones). My desktop iMacs are fine.

But what's stranger and has me totally baffled, is that I have two other sites, on the same server, both with the latest Genesis framework and child themes (same files copied over), but those sites work fine. Even more confusing is that the issue is not consistent across all devices. e.g. my housemate has the latest OSX (El Capitan) on her Macbook and it works fine for her, but a friend of mine has almost the exact same specs, yet he experiences the issue.

I tried various diagnostic procedures and discovered that there is something wrong with the Genesis core theme but not sure how to work out what the issue is.

Here are the troubleshooting steps I've tried so far:

- Disabled all plugins
- Disabled all plugins and Child theme (Bijou)
- Disabled and deleted all plugin data from database
- Installed fresh updated copy of Genesis (v 2.2.6) and WordPress (v 4.4.1)
- Tested with Genesis Framework only (no child theme)
- Disabled Cloudflare cdn and all caching
- Removed .htaccess file
- Tried different PHP versions (currently on 5.6)
- Tried loading on Chrome, Firefox and Safari on various machines (iMac, Macbook Pro, iPad, iPhone)

When I activate the default Twenty Sixteen theme and other non Genesis themes, everything works fine. So it's clear that it's a Genesis only issue.

I'm kind of lost for ideas now. Not sure what else to try to diagnose the problem. I was hoping you can point me in the right direction. I'm obviously missing something.

Thanks.

Jay.

p.s. I've contacted support and awaiting a solution from them. But been trying to sort this out for over 2 weeks now with no joy, so hoping you guys can help.

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Photographer | Deep Thinker | Cake Connoisseur | http://www.jhoque.com

http://www.jhoque.com

[emasai]

Have you tried running a Studiopress theme and disabling Bijou? If it works, you should open a support ticket with the theme author, they might be able to help you figure out what is wrong.

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Need Website Customization or a Responsive CSS fix? Contact Me
Lynne emasai.com

[Jay Hoque]

Forgot to add that on my list but yes, I've tried that Lynne. I bought 2 Studiopress themes (Modern Portfolio Pro and Beautiful Pro) and still had the same problem.

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Photographer | Deep Thinker | Cake Connoisseur | http://www.jhoque.com

[Victor Font]

It's hanging up for me and the message in the status bar is that it is transferring data from facebook. Hope this help.

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Regards,

Victor
https://victorfont.com/
Call us toll free: 844-VIC-FONT (842-3668)
Have you requested your free website audit yet?

[Jay Hoque]

Thank you Victor. Could you tell me where and how you're seeing that message?

I've tried disabling and deleting all plugin data and still getting the same problem. Just tried again after reading your reply. Still no joy.

Support are saying there's nothing wrong with themes code, but it's the only theme that's causing this issue.

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Photographer | Deep Thinker | Cake Connoisseur | http://www.jhoque.com

[Victor Font]

I use Firefox on a Mac. When a site loads, a small status window appears in the lower left of the screen. Today when I tried your site, it hung momentarily on loading Google fonts. When a site depends on loading key elements from a 3rd party, such as Google, your site's load time depends on the traffic and performance of that 3rd party site. Even though Google has optimized their infrastructure, there have been times when I've clicked off of sites because Google fonts take too long to load. For that reason, one of the first steps I take when I setup a new Genesis site for a customer is to load the Google fonts locally so the theme isn't depending on Google. If it helps, this article will show you how to do this: http://victorfont.com/use-google-fonts-locally/

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Regards,

Victor
https://victorfont.com/
Call us toll free: 844-VIC-FONT (842-3668)
Have you requested your free website audit yet?

[detroitwidget]

Have you tried a page speed analysis?

http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/

By the way, your photography is superb.

[Jay Hoque]

@vfontjr - Victor, thank you so much for the the article. My coding knowledge isn't as good yet, but have always wondered how to do exactly what you suggested. Will be implementing this asap.

But, although it's a great tip, the main cause of my page load issue wasn't the fonts. Yesterday I managed figure out the issue using Chromes Javascript Console. Turns out it was my own fault. The issue was due to a script that was entered in the Genesis Footer scripts settings. It was to do with loading retina images. But I entered the script and then totally forgot about it and obviously didn't complete the remainder of the process, which was to upload the relevant images to my server. As a result, pages with images on them kept hanging on retina devices when trying to load images. That explains why there was no issues on some devices and not all.

This is the script: <script type="text/javascript" src="//cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/retina.js/1.0.1/retina.min.js">

Thank you so much to everyone who responded with suggestions. Really appreciate your help.

@detroitwidget, thank you for the compliment about my photography. Would love your feedback on the blog. Leave a comment or two on posts you like. 🙂

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Photographer | Deep Thinker | Cake Connoisseur | http://www.jhoque.com

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