WordPress 5.5 Issues Affecting Thousands Of Users
After publishing the WordPress 5.5 Coming On 11th August 2020 post, and then the 11th came and went, lots of members have upgraded to WordPress 5.5, including myself, with no issues whatsoever.
WordPress 5.5 is Generally a Success!
However, I started hearing of a few members who have experienced issues, so I went on the hunt to find out exactly what these were and what was causing them to happen.
Apparently, according to a lot of members, WordPress 5.5 is Breaking Websites.
After researching this, it appears that there are two main issues causing this.
- One of the reasons is because WordPress 5.5 deprecated support for jQuery Migrate, which may have caused at least 20,000 broken websites.
- Also, an issue with how themes handle pagination is causing other sites to break after updating to WordPress 5.5.
jQuery Migrate and WordPress 5.5
A large number of members are experiencing issues as WordPress 5.5 was delivered without a JavaScript library called jQuery Migrate.
jQuery Migrate is a library that acts like a bridge for older code to function on WordPress.
However, when members stick to an older theme, particularly one that is no longer being updated, compatibility issues will eventually creep in, and that’s exactly what has happened with WordPress 5.5.
Members will likely see issues with forms, search bars, and drop down menus, as JavaScript works behind the scenes to make things happen.
The main cause for some of these issues are older plugins, and for others, the cause of the issues are older WordPress themes.
One of the reported issues:
“Your last update is a pure disaster. I used the classic editor plugin because your block editor is a full mess, and now it does not work anymore since your update. I can only edit in HTML mode and not in visual!
So I tried to publish my last article in your block editor, but impossible to add a featured image, I have a white page with “Featured image” title showing on the top and that is all.”
The source of this problem was an older plugin that relied on the jQuery Migrate Library to function, and the plugin stopped working after WordPress 5.5 removed that library.
The issue wasn’t the fault of WordPress 5.5. The issue was caused by an outdated plugin.
If the issue is related to a plugin that is using older JavaScript files, then you need to check when the last time that plugin was updated. If the last time it was updated was over a year, then you might want to consider looking for another plugin that is more up to date.
Older plugins that are abandoned by their developers can become a huge security risk, so it is always better to update to a new and better maintained plugin than to continue using a plugin that might have security issues.
However, WordPress have released a plugin that restores the jQuery Migrate JavaScript library and restores the full functionality of a website.
The name of the plugin is called, Enable jQuery Migrate Helper.
You can download the Enable jQuery Migrate Helper plugin here.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/enable-jquery-migrate-helper/
This should be a last (or temporary) resort though, as the ultimate fix is to update/replace your outdated plugins/themes.
WordPress 5.5 Pagination Bug
Updating to WordPress 5.5 is also causing pagination to fail for members on some websites.
Pagination is the reference to the navigational page numbers at the bottom of a multi-page document which is usually located in the category section of a website. It allows your site visitors to find web pages deep within a website.
One of the reported issues:
“After upgrading to 5.5 the page parameter is being dropped from the URL with 301 redirect… This was breaking our site…. I would like to install 5.5 but this is breaking the site.”
Another reported issue:
“This is pretty major due to the fact that many themes/plugins are using this query param. Clients are going nuts as we speak.”
The issue is that there is a conflict in the use of the word “page.” WordPress uses it for pagination but only with a numerical value.
Some themes are apparantly using the word “page” with additional non-numerical values.
According to WordPress Core Contributor Sergey Biryukov:
“It should only have a numeric value, and is not meant to be used for any other purpose, e.g. ?page=offers&id=xxx.
So I would recommend changing this variable in any custom code to some other name to avoid conflicts.
As another possible solution, you can disable the redirect_canonical() function for these requests, that is attached to the template_redirect action by default.”
A possible workaround:
“Have downgraded for now which works and will rebuild the theme using ‘mypage=’ instead of ‘page=’ in the query string.”
Summary
If you have upgraded to WordPress 5.5 and it has broken your website, the solution is to upgrade/replace your older plugins/themes.
If you are unable to upgrade/replace your older plugins/themes straight away, then you can temporarily either install the Enable jQuery Migrate Helper or you can rollback your WordPress version to 5.4
Marion has a good Video Training here on How To Downgrade WordPress Core
This should only be used as a quick win solution, while you fix your plugins/themes, remembering to change the WordPress Version to the one you want to revert back to.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, feel free to leave them below :-)
Recent Comments
138
Chrystopher, Thank you so much for this article. I was at my wits end wondering what was happening as my Customize button was no longer working. I did not immediately realize it was due to the WP upgrade. Site Support provided me with a previous backup of the site but once again, as soon as I updated to WP 5.5, I had the same issue. I was already fed up with all sorts of offered solutions ( had used the Enable jQuery Migrate Helper - with no luck) and had finally moved to changing my theme when I stumbled on your article. What a relief to know.....
Ceci
You’re welcome and sorry to hear about your issues. Which theme were you using and which theme are you on now?
Chrystopher,
Many thanks for your detailed outline of WP 5.5 issues.
I did get a heads up and was waiting to hear from you before moving on with my update.
None of the issues will apply to me, so I will back up and update tomorrow.
As always, you are a gem!
Have a good day.
Cassi
You're welcome Cassi :-) I'm glad that you are not using any outdated plugins or themes :-)
If you are using Kraken, this might be of interest to you Has kraken image optimizer been abandoned?
I manage my plugins and keep them all updated.
GeneratePress is my preferred them for my sites.
I know that some members say that it is not as attractive as some of the other themes, but it is fast, practical and has minimal maintenance.
Thanks for the Kraken info, I will have a read.
You are my resident support, Chrystopher. 🙂🙂
So reassuring to have you with us.
Cassi
Glad to hear it Cassi ;-) Obviously, keeping our plugins updated ourselves is a major factor, but we also need to ensure that the plugins we are using are still being maintained and updated by their developers as well :-) Generate Press is an awesome theme, and yeah, it might be vanilla out of the box, but have unlimited customisations that you can apply it, especially if you have the GP Premium plugin as well :-)
Yep!
I agree fully, Chrystopher.
This weekend is a scheduled site maintenance weekend for me.
I do that one weekend every month.
Roy has encouraged me to upgrade to the GP Premium.
I am doing that in September as I am heavily into building content now (1 post a day) until mid-September.
From then, it's a marketing and social media push to end the year and hit 2021 with a bang.
Cassi
Thank you Chrystopher for your in-depth explanation. Fortunately for me, I would say. . ., I have not updated my WP. I don't have many plug-ins either. I only install a plug in if I need it or as I learn what I need to do. So I'll wait on the upgrading till things become more clear and not have to do things unnecessarily like doing and undoing. Thank you for sharing. I will bookmark your post as I am sure I will need it in the near future.
Evelyn
You’re welcome Evelyn. If you’re using plugins and themes recommended by WA and they are all updated and well maintained, you should not have an issue with upgrading to 5.5 :-)
I had heard rumours of problems with Wordpress 5.5 so had held off with updating my sites.
Your explanation was a bit of a heavy read but I think I get the gist of it. Your summary though is perfect and I will make sure my plugins are all in good order before going ahead with the update.
Thanks for taking the time to explain the issues.
You’re welcome Dave and apologies for the heavy read ;-) I always like to include the background or examples where possible, rather than just a 20 word post :-)
In fairness you managed to turn techno geek-speak into something resembling everyday language - which is a very creditable achievement!
See more comments
Hi Chrys
Thanks for the heads up. Thankfully I'm normally up to date with updating the plugins on my site but I happened to put off updating to wordpress 5.5 especially when I learned that it comes with a host of issues.
After reading your post I quickly went to check the compatibility of the plugins I use with wordpress. 5.5.
They all seem to be compatible except that I'm not sure if updraftplus backup plugin is. Do you perhaps know if updraftplus has been tested up to 5.5?
Thanks in advance
Maggie
Hi Maggie,
If you don't mind mw asking, how did you go about checking the compatibility of your plugins with wordpress 5.5 ?
Hi
Peter, I've researched via Google and the information was provided. You just use any plugin you wish to inquire about as a keyword (or you can simply ask if the plugin is compatible with Wordpress 5.5) and all the information about that plugin will be provided including whether its compatible with WordPress 5.5 or not)
I hope this helps.
Cheers