FIXED NOW! (thanks to the suggestions I got here, I was able to turn my attention to the HTML, which I then found the bug)
I have been using Backlight for something like 2 decades at this point. It has worked well for me… until 3 days ago.
I have a 2 column blog. The left column is 80% of the width of the page, while the right column is 20% and has things like a searcher, archive list, etc. All was well until recently.
Now, the left column is about 10% of the width of the window – PC or mobile both have the same issue. The page will display properly when it first comes up, then about one second later squishes everything to the far left edge.
After 3 days of poking and playing, I am giving up and asking for help here. Anyone else see this? Have a fix for it?
If you’re not writing the html, then it could be a problem with WordPress blocks or perhaps a plug-in?
Is your WordPress install up to date? All plugins up to date? Was there an update to a plugin that coincides with the issue?
Your site is also missing the Font Awesome icons in the navigation menu. Are you on BL4?
If so, BL5 will fix this.
See this post for why this is:
If you want to continue with BL4 (assuming that’s what you’re using) then here’s the fix:
Thanks for your detailed response! I am still a bit sleepy this morning (typing this from Tasmania after just getting up, having traveled 39 hours to reach here yesterday from Cambodia, where we did a whirlwind tour for 6 days, halfway around the world from our home in Hawaii… )
I think I might be in BL4. I remember seeing the BL5 update announcement, but had put it off while on the road (won’t be home until Jan 2024). Internet here in Tasmania is good, so maybe I will try that tonight, and see if it resolves matters.
BTW, I am not typing any HTML other than the occasional smiley I insert. Everything is added using the WP block editor. I did get a message from my ISP about WP being updated around the time everything broke.
I’m afraid we may not be of much help with that. I know I won’t. I never liked Gutenberg so I use the classic editor. Perhaps someone else in the forum knows more about using the block editor.
I am currently running BL5. I just checked, planning on updating if necessary, but find that is my current version. I probably updated when it first came out, a few months ago(?)
For the syntax errors, start with the Popular Mechanics link and correct it (http:// <p>https:// and closing </p> tag after </a> tag ). Check the quotes with the link and/or the target as they are curly quotes and not double quotes.
One of the blog posts had some bad HTML, which was causing the main column to switch from 80% of the window width to 10%.
I didn’t really track down which line was bad, but I removed posts until the blog worked again, then added back all the ones that were not problems. Finally, I just created a new version of the defective post, and all was well with the world again…
Thanks to all who helped on this! You guided me to looking at the HTML, which is how I discovered the cause of the problem
)