How do I fix a JavaScript or jQuery error in UpdraftPlus?

UpdraftPlus’s admin page is highly interactive. This interactivity is achieved in the usual way using the JavaScript programming language and the jQuery JavaScript library. You normally don’t need to know anything about what that means to fix your problem. Read on.

Sometimes, other plugins or your WordPress theme may have JavaScript and/or jQuery errors which cause the UpdraftPlus settings page to fail to display properly. This causes the message:

“If you can read this after the page finishes loading, then there is a JavaScript or jQuery problem in your web browser.”

The other main cause is that JavaScript has been turned off in your web browser, although we presume you’d know if you’d done this.

When this happens, it is always the fault of the other plugin or theme, because they should not be loading JavaScript at all on UpdraftPlus’s settings page. The fact that their JavaScript causes a conflict just makes it worse. They should only load it on their own settings page.

If this happens to you, follow these steps to identify the culprit:

1. Reload the UpdraftPlus page and wait for it to finish loading, just to make sure you really do have this problem. (The message linking to this page does not disappear until the page has finished loading, so if a temporary network issue prevents the page from loading completely, simply reloading it may solve the problem.)
2. Disable all your plugins except UpdraftPlus.
3. Switch your theme back to a default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twelve, Twenty Thirteen or whichever default theme matches your version of WordPress).
4. Reload the UpdraftPlus page.
   • If it still doesn’t display correctly, please report it to us.
   • If it now displays correctly, one of your plugins or your theme is causing the problem. Re-enable them one at a time, reloading the UpdraftPlus page after each one. The plugin or theme that causes the issue to return is the culprit. Report the bug to its developer or replace it with an alternative.

If you have a large number of plugins, you can speed up the process by enabling half of them at a time to narrow down the culprit more quickly. Your own experience may also help if you already suspect a particular plugin or theme.

If none of the above makes a difference (plugins and themes are not the only things that can modify WordPress’s behaviour), here are three more things to try:

1. View the source of the UpdraftPlus settings page using your browser’s View Source feature. Scroll to the bottom of the source and check for any error messages. If nothing appears, edit your wp-config.php file and set WP_DEBUG to true. Reload the UpdraftPlus settings page and see if an error is now displayed.
2. Open your browser’s developer console (usually Ctrl + Shift + J or F12). There may be an error message there which confirms the problem or points you towards the cause.
3. If your hosting company is Network Solutions, you may instead be experiencing this problem.