Regular readers may have noticed a few problems with blog loading times over recent weeks. The good news is I finally figured the problem out: The latest version of WordPress didn’t play nicely with my dynamic blogroll feature. The bad news is that I can’t find an equivalent of the old blogroll widget that does actually work properly. I really liked the fact it showed the latest posts of and update times of blogs, but it’s no use if doing that brings this site to a grinding halt.
While I’ll keep hunting for alternatives, I’ve switched back to a conventional static blogroll. If anyone knows of a WordPress widget that’ll work like my old one and is compatible with latest version of WordPress then please let me know via a comment. And for all my non-blogging readers, who have no clue what I’m on about in this post, here’s a nice hot image by way of apology for wasting your time.
I’m afraid I don’t have an original source for this image.
i know what you’re talking about…while i don’t blog much anymore…i have in the past on both word press and the older diary sites…i thought maybe the loading issue was just my old computer acting its age…then when you posted others were having issues i just figured i’ll use the same patience waiting for your site to load as i do with sites that have troubles loading on my computer…while i’m glad you fixed it…i’m a believer that good things are worth waiting for…and your blog is one of if not the best blog that i follow…its educational…insightfull…serious and light hearted as well…keep it up…i don’t know if you realize how many people appreciate reading this blog…thanks…tell
Glad you like it! It takes some time to manage it and post regularly, so hearing that people appreciate and enjoy it is a real plus for me. I aim for both serious and light heated so glad that comes through :). Thanks again.
-paltego
Go back to the original format. It was more pleasing to the eye and it did not break the dynamic blogroll, which was to me one of the best features.
That won’t fix it. There are 3 different things at play here: The wordpress software (which runs everything), the theme (which is the visual layout) and the plugins (which the dynamic blogroll is one of). This is a problem between the wordpress version and the plugin. Switching themes to go back to the old format will not help.
The wordpress software gets updated every few months and typically you’ll never observe any difference. Just in this particular case the latest version triggered this issue. The theme was actually changed at a later date, partly because I was trying to figure out if it would help (it didn’t) but mostly because I wanted a theme to support mobile devices.
-paltego
The loading time was shockingly fast today. I do miss the dynamic blogroll, though. Two or three posts on there always caught my attention and got a click-thru each day.
I’m personally amazed that more blogs don’t use that kind of dynamic blogroll and that there isn’t a modern/working version of the software for it. it seems such an obvious and useful thing to have. I used it myself to keep up with other blogs, so I’m definitely keen to find a replacement.
-paltego
I’ve actually been trying to find one to use on my blog, but Blogger doesn’t seem to have one, at least not that I can find. There has to be a third-party one available, somewhere, for both of us, right?
You’d think. But so far the survey say no. I’m tempted to write one myself, but I really don’t want to spend the time if I can avoid it. As I said, it amazes me that this feature isn’t both popular and widely used.
-paltego
I remain a huge fan of the site, but I also miss the dynamic blogroll. I hope you find a WordPress plug-in that brings it back. I pretty much use your blog as a way to keep up with not just your postings but others as well. Like Declan, I always click through two or three each day.
Thanks. Glad you like the site. As I said in my reply to Declan, I definitely understand the value of the dynamic blogroll. I used it myself almost every day, so I’m keen to find a replacement. So strange that it’s not a more popular thing to support.
-paltego