Sidebars not displaying correctly on site that previously used Genesis Simple Si

  • Resolved waytogo

    (@waytogo)


    6 years, 10 months ago

    Versions: Using WP 4.9.2 and Content Aware Sidebars 3.7.3. PHP Version 7.0. Theme is GeneratePress.

    I have routinely used this plugin before on other sites with no problems, and am familar with settings/options. Now, on a different site, I cannot get the correct sidebar to diplay on some pages. The problem persists when all plugins except CAS are deactivated, so it’s not a plugin conflict.

    WHAT I DID
    The problem site was formerly a Genesis site. I used Genesis Simple Sidebars (NOT CAS) to make about 15 custom sidebars. Then I exported the site to a new server, did NOT install Genesis, and used CAS to recreate the sidebars. The correct sidebars often do not display on the correct pieces of content, though it works better on some pages/sidebars than others. To be clear, it has never worked properly on the new site.

    POSSIBLE CAUSE
    My theory is that the database is confused, especially since I recreated the sidebars (using CAS) with the same names, and associated the new sidebars with pages that previously were associated with the old sidebars.

    Question 1: Does this sound like a possible cause to you? Do you suggest any other cause?

    PLANNED ACTION
    Assuming the above sounds like a likely cause, I plan to re-edit the old site to delete the custom sidebars, then re-export the database to the new server and use CAS to recreate the sidebars. (I do not plan to take the time to break the association between each regular page and the old sidebars, though could if you recommended that.)

    Question 2: Does this sound like a good plan to try? Or do you recommend trying something else?

    Thank you.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Author Joachim Jensen

    (@intoxstudio)

    Thank you for reporting this and for all the details.

    1.
    Do you have any other sidebar plugins activated on your site now?
    Was it a completely new WordPress site you exported to, or did it already have some data on it?

    2.
    If you suspect that something went wrong during your first export, then I do recommend trying again. Otherwise, try deactivating all the sidebars you have created with Content Aware Sidebars, and then create 1 new to replace the Main/Primary sidebar on All Pages.

    Let me know how it goes!

    Thread Starter waytogo

    (@waytogo)

    Joachim, thanks for the response. Here’s my follow-up report for what worked for me, in case it might help others. YMMV.

    OBJECTIVE
    Migrate a site from Genesis Simple Sidebars to Content Aware Sidebars. I also moved to a different hosting company at the same time. This was a simple move/retheme. There was no pre-existing site on the new server.

    OLD SITE/SERVER
    Theme: Genesis Framwork from StudioPress
    Sidebar plugins: Genesis Simple Sidebars (and Widgetize Pages Light)
    Number of sidebars: 22
    Site: Has 3 custom content types and thousands of pieces of content. Most sidebars were created with Genesis Simple Sidebars. I also used a separate plugin called Widgetize Pages Light to create 3 other widget areas used on pages.

    NEW SITE/SERVER
    Theme: GeneratePress (with GP Premium plugin)
    Sidebar plugins: Content Aware Sidebars
    Number of sidebars: 22
    Site: Same content.

    FIRST ATTEMPT PROBLEMS
    I exporting the MQSQL database and imported into the new site. Import was clean. I recreated the sidebars with CAS. But the correct sidebars often did not display on the correct pieces of content, though it worked better on some pages/sidebars than others. I know the CAS plugin pretty well and don’t think it was my error. To be clear, it never worked properly on the new site. The problem persisted when all plugins except CAS were deactivated, so it was not a plugin conflict.

    My theory was that the database was confused, especially since I recreated the sidebars (using CAS) with the same names, and associated the new sidebars with pages that previously were associated with the old sidebars. I’m no expert, but it seemed like a possible cause, and something to try to eliminate anyway.

    SECOND ATTEMPT WORKED
    I started over with the database export from old site. But before the export, I re-edited the old site to delete all custom sidebars (I didn’t do this for the first attempt), and also the plugins for good measure. I did not edit each piece of content to remove the association with the sidebar, which would have been impractical. After importing the database, I then used CAS plugin to recreate all sidebars. Everything worked fine.

    TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS
    I still don’t know for sure but it seems like deleting the old sidebars before exporting made the difference.

    ***
    In researching this, I read that sidebars/widget areas should NOT be deleted using phpmyadmin in the database, which I briefly considered and rejected.

    Genesis Simple Sidebars always worked well for me, and I have no criticisms. I’m just no longer running Genesis theme. So far, Content Aware Sidebars has worked well for me.

    Thread Starter waytogo

    (@waytogo)

    Closed. Thank you.

    Plugin Author Joachim Jensen

    (@intoxstudio)

    I am glad that the problem was solved, and thank you for sharing the solution.

    I am looking into making it easier to migrate from other sidebar plugins such as that one, as it is a common feature request.

    Please do not hesitate to open a new support thread if you have other questions!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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