AVOID!!

  • Alleged “update” of August 2022 has utterly broken our sites because we made the mistake of using the previous version (UAG) as the basis for our design. We are not alone. Builders seem not to have a clue what they did wrong. Unclear how many thousands of sites are affected with no fix in sight (builders still saying issues people raise are “not on their list of known issues”). Rollbacks don’t help. Alleged “fixes” offered do not work. Update failed to fix the problem. All they seem to be doing is asking us all to keep listing for them everything that now doesn’t work (um, thanks, but we’ve got websites to rebuild and no time to help tell you how to do your job…). Even if they do manage to sort this out, the fact that they sacrificed all these sites to launch a snazzy new logo for themselves when NOTHING was wrong previously means they are simply untrustworthy going forward. How long before they pull something like this again? Save yourself the heartache and find another way. It’s a real shame because until yesterday we would have wholeheartedly recommended. What a difference a day makes.

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Plugin Support sujaypawar

    (@sujaypawar)

    We’re sad that this update has caused you issues. Version 2.0 is a major release.

    Our team worked hard, tried its best to make it a smooth transition from prior versions to 2.0, and ran an extensive public beta testing program for several weeks.

    However, it seems we could not test all these possibilities. We’re so sorry for the trouble.

    If you get in touch with our support team (or if you already have) — rest assured we will work with you and fix the issues you are facing.

    I am also facing the same problem. I think I’ve made a great mistake using their plugin. Now, I have to do everything from the beginning.

    I am also one of those experiencing the same. There are many of us in the same boat. I am working with Spectra support but they are not getting that it’s not specific to my website but many of us are experiencing this. “Clear your cache”??? Are you kidding me? The advanced columns has been depreciated and it caused a design disaster on every page on my website and it’s even worse on mobile. Days and days of work destroyed! Unbelievable.

    Plugin Support sujaypawar

    (@sujaypawar)

    @amybabyreview + @tamfit:

    Have you guys tried rolling back to the previous version until we identify issues and release fixes for them?

    Spectra offers a one-click, roll-back functionality as explained here: https://wpspectra.com/docs/rollback-spectra-version/

    Roll back will not fix the broken blocks. All Post Grid/Carousels are gone now off my site, errors showing. Even after I rolled back. Designs lost… HOURS lost.

    Hello @dialcm @jehnlemole @tamfit @amybabyreview ,

    It’s been a while since we heard from you.

    I request you let us know whether you are still experiencing issues with the Spectra plugin.

    We would like you to know that we have worked on improving the plugin and fixing any bugs users reported and we can say at the moment we haven’t received any alarming issues except those that are site-specific.

    Please let us know, we’ll be happy to look at them.

    Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Thread Starter johnlem

    (@jehnlemole)

    This was a perfectly good way to build a page before. It is now overly complicated. Unnecessarily complicated. And it gets worse all the time. I do not want to have to relearn how to use the plugin every time I want to update a page.

    We now have to hunt around for whatever the new function is called, because so much has been changed in the plugin, but clearly we need style and such to match with existing pages. When we guess wrong, the undo button doesn’t work. Today I tried choosing an option that purported to enable text with an image at left. I got a bright green section with a pear in it. Why? Why won’t it undo? Why when I try again to I get an error saying “no results found”? Why when I try to take it out I get “remove query loop”?

    Overall it is a fancy, frustrating mess that soaks up time we do not have and do not want to spend. Perhaps you are gaining ground among web pros who have time to spend (and bill to someone else), but you will certainly lose at least this small business who needs a smart-looking site that doesn’t take days to update. If you wanted to build a pro version, that’s what you should have done and left the rest of us in peace.

    When we rebuild the site we absolutely will find something better. Really should have left well enough alone. I wasn’t going to respond to your note, but today’s experience trying to make a five minute update that has already taken half an hour just made me angry and frustrated that I am shackled to this plugin unless I want to rebuild two sites for this business.

    Thread Starter johnlem

    (@jehnlemole)

    Oh. And I’ve just now discovered that the last update stripped formatting off some of my pages randomly. So instead of spending my day on sales, I’m searching for problems on my websites and trying to figure out how to fix them. Thanks.

    Plugin Support mohsinbsf

    (@mohsinbsf)

    Hi @jehnlemole,

    I apologize for the negative experience you had with our plugin. I want to assure you that we have thoroughly tested the undo feature with the latest version, and it is working properly. Our team is constantly working on improving the plugin’s performance and minimizing bugs with every update.

    We understand that the recent transition from UAG to Spectra was a significant change, and we received multiple queries from users during that period. However, our development team made it a priority to address all reported issues promptly.

    To assist you further, please submit a support ticket with detailed information about the problems you are encountering at https://wpspectra.com/support/. We are committed to providing the best possible customer service and ensuring that our users have a seamless experience with our product. Thank you, and have a great day!

    Thread Starter johnlem

    (@jehnlemole)

    Just in case anyone is still tempted to use Astra, 9 months after the catastrophic mess created by bad updates (see our multiple comments above):

    I went in today to simply add a file for our customers to download. The file function produces a huge grey square in the middle of the page with a tiny pdf image in the middle of it. Nasty and certainly not the image of the pdf in question that used to be produced by this action.

    So I tried the media and text option. That produces a block with text on one side an absolutely nothing on the other side when I upload the file.

    Forty-five minutes later I need to decide if I want to ignore our customer feedback asking for this download or rebuild my entire e-commerce site. Fantastic. Thanks for that.

    Sure I get emails from Astra people telling me how sorry they are, but what I want is a website that works. It is simply not credible that after 9 months and truly countless self-congratulatory “fixes” from Astra we still can’t put a file download on a page.

    Can’t tell you how much we still regret choosing UAG and being forced to use Astra as a result. Save yourself a massive headache and find something else.

    HI @jehnlemole,

    Thanks for your feedback and we are sorry you are not having a great experience.

    I would still request as my colleague mentioned earlier that you please submit a support ticket with detailed information about the problems you are encountering at?https://wpspectra.com/support/.?

    Our aim is to ensure, you’re having a great experience with our products, and in case you have any issues we take responsibility to assist in these issues so that you have the experience that you would want to have.

    Please give us a chance to assist you.

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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