There are days as a blogger that I wanna rap my blog up against the wall and wrap up whatever falls out and toss the whole dang thing in the garbage.
I’m in awe of all the things that can go wrong when you buy a theme, get a hosting site, and then attempt to integrate it all together to share your blog with the world.
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it. And survive.
This morning, I decided the loud looking red error exclamation point message on my Dashboard just had to go.
I figured to myself, “WTH, it’s Saturday, I’ve got some time on my hands to watch things unfold or unravel or maybe survive. So, I’m going for an updated PHP. Whatever the hell that is?!”
Where will clicking on these kinds of messages take me???
Apparently, I’m not alone as a blogger being scared to address PHP error messages. 
So I grabbed my tech guy (aka, Mr.) to help me read the instructions and play along with me while the guessing game of what to click or not – worked or not. Mr.’s not a WordPress blogger/user, he learns by hit or miss just like me (the Pro-blogger of the fam). Except he actually does do website work, in a different platform, and understands the stuff terms I can’t wrap my brain around. Thank goodness for him. If not, I’d be desperately trying to bribe a Happiness Engineer or some guy from some foreign country help me.
So we followed instructions and downloaded the compatibility checker plugin first.
That’s free, by the way. But if you want to run a test drive on the results before running the update to PHP, there’s a fee. Bingo – there’s always a catch. And if I didn’t have a techy in the room, I’d be broke buying help.tools.extras…
We ran the checker and got a report on my 21 plugins that I apparently have.
Almost all checked out as compatible.
The big plugins (which shouldn’t have any compatibility issues anyhow, they are on most WP sites, weren’t checked, results Unknown…hmm…).
We decided to forge ahead.
Why not!? It’ll be okay. I can always just focus on my other hobby if this all breaks.
PHP had to be updated on the hosting site (my blog is hosted on Bluehost), so I had to log into there.
Mr. drove the mouse…he was able to determine which icon to click and run the PHP update. It didn’t indicate what PHP was currently set at, but after clicking it, we got the message it was updated.
3 seconds later.
It took way longer to run the compatibility checker.
But whatever we did, it worked. Like magic. PHP is all updated and the error message is gone.
Whew…I’m exhausted.
I don’t have to rap anything on the wall, I’m amazed at those folks who are gifted and able to wrap their brains around all of the nuances of blog maintenance.
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Wrap/Rap
PS – Who do you admire when it comes to computer stuff? If you’re a blogger have you updated your PHP? Now I have to get brave and update my theme license. So if I do end up MIA, you know what happened to me. Send for rescue help!
Job well done, Shelley. Kudos to the Mister. One of the reasons I have stuck with a WordPress-hosted site is because I do the self-hosted updates-required bit in my day job. We have been burned several times with plugin failure and once, big-time, by a theme failure. That required us to revisit every page and rebuild about 75% of them.
If you go dark for a while, I’ll send out the St Bernard with the barrel under is neck 😉
Thank you, Dan! I was sweating bullets. You’re fortunate to have the right experience to get you through all this stuff on your own. Yikes – that rebuild must’ve been a nightmare. It would’ve been for me!
Thank you for the rescue plan!! 😉
You are one brave blogger. I would have been put off by the …”this tool will lint your theme”…I noticed in your last screen shot. If they can’t do a simple proofread….
Anyway, glad it worked. I want to update my theme, but stories like this make me hesitate. I’d hate to lose it all. Congratulations on a successful venture!
LOL – that’s so funny you noticed the ‘lint’ too. It is actually correct, and is a thing – lint. Imagine that, it’s real. Mr. knew it, that’s why he’s my hero and interpreter!! I’m hoping my update to the theme license works and I don’t lose a bunch of stuff. We’ll see. Thank you for your encouragement and confirmation that things did work and you were still able to find me here!
Lint is a computer term too? I had no idea!
Yeah, it’s some kind of command in programming, so I’m told. 😉
What a wonderful kitty photograph, Ms Shelley. That one is priceless. g
Thanks, g. She/He actually looks like a faded Pumpkin when we’ve seen her in the day light. 🙂
I had no idea that these things existed. I use a free theme and have no problems.
You’re lucky – stay with what works for you!! 😉
Usually No Carbs 😁 I would have the ingredients in a salad while the hubs prefers wrap – strangely the wrap is always cheaper and the salad more delicious 😀
🙂
Sorry wrong comment 😂
No worries, I still smiled! 🙂
Wow. I don’t understand any of this and I would be scared to update anything too. Wonder when I’ll get a similar message. Glad yours went well. I too have a husband who is better at tech stuff than me, but I don’t think I’d ask him for help because that always goes south. Sigh.
I’m glad it went well, too. Oh, and, I have to time my requests (pleas) to Mr. for assistance at the right time, right amount of coffee, etc., otherwise South isn’t far away here either! 😉 I hope you don’t have to go through this stuff either!
Nicely done!
Thank you, John!
I read thru your instruct-(‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves) ions and it made perfect (did gyre and gimble in the wabe) sense (all mimsy) because I can understand (were the borogroves) the most obscure (and the mome
raths) concepts that others can only wrestle with (outgrabe!).
NOT!!!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Your comment made me smile and laugh outloud, Ellen!
I’m glad your PHP is up to date! Isn’t it fun being totally responsible for the Back End of your blog/website? We WordPress.com folk don’t have to do that as WP handles that yet you being self-hosted can do anything you want with your site! I do miss that. Upgrading to the WP.com Business plan at $300.00 per year allows you to use plugins and use any theme you want. An alternative to using Blue Host or similar I guess.
Thanks, John. I remember you understand the nuances of this stuff very well. Thank you for that tip to consider.
Great job, Shelley, both the post and the update. I am not tech savvy either so I stick with the easy stuff!
Thank you, Janet. You were able to figure out how to link your Blogger website with WordPress – that’s amazing to me!
You are brave. Glad everything worked out for you and your copilot. Years would pass and I’d still have that big red exclamation point screaming at me.
Thank you, Jill! I’m glad it all worked out too. Now I just need to update my theme license. Last year it took me a couple days to recover from that. From the other comments, it appears that you’re lucky you don’t have to worry about this stuff being hosted at WordPress. 🙂
I’ve worked in educational technology for almost 30 years now, and if there is one thing I know to be sure about technology is that it will fail.
No idea what any of your problems are about, but I’m sorry. I use WP.com, pay them some money every year, and it’s mostly good. When it comes to blogging, if it isn’t easy I’m not there. 😊
Hope theme license stuff is going well…. and I do appreciate those who host and maintain sites and you are blessed to have techy Mr.!
Love the cat photo and the one of you with jeans and camera in hobby mode!!
Thank you, Yvette. I still have to do the theme update. I like to wait until the last minute to give them more $!
Your feedback about the photos is appreciated. I’m thankful my camera doesn’t care what I wear when I carry it around ;-)!
hahha – that its funny about the camera not caring – I’d imagine it is too preoccupied with all the love of being held
ha
LOL – yes, indeed!!
Yikes – I worry enough they’ll discontinue my theme … I hope you did not finish off a bag of Tostitos when the message read in part “the server killed the process.” I know I would have.
How did you know…yes, I ate plenty of Tostitos this weekend!! 😉
I was picturing if it happened to me! Must. Have. Crunch. !!
LOL!!!
Reason number bazillion I’ve never gone self-hosted and never update my blog–so worried that I’ll “break” something!
LOL – you’re wise, Rebecca, very wise! The lessons I’m learning in resilience is a nice side effect of all of this, but I’m glad it is only a yearly thing for the most part!