Justfindit.se Magazine

WordPress plugins stopped working - what happened?

WordPress plugins stopped working - what happened? The first tests were done in Safari browser in iPhone X. The StopSpamAPI plugin returned just error from its own API.

In this magazine we have written some articles about WordPress plugins developed by Swedish company Begacom IT Business. Nowadays when we can experience some technical changes with web browsers we have decided to check if those plugins are affected and how. We noticed some problems. Some plugins stopped working.

We decided to investigate why three of six active WordPress plugins developed by Begacom IT Business suddenly stopped working. In the period of two last weeks of October we reacted on some unpredictable spam comments on a website created with WordPress.

We decided to look into it. The first tests were done in Safari browser in iPhone X. What happened? The StopSpamAPI plugin returned just error from its own API. So something was very wrong. The question is: What?

On the other side plugin worked as it should in a computer with Firefox browser but not with Chrome browser. So the bug must somehow be connected to browsers.

The Contact Me Plugin and Give A Tip Plugin stopped working in both mobile and desktop versions. This created a huge confusion.

Reporting and solving the problem

The most important thing is that problems were discovered and reported. The owner of Begacom IT Business was not happy about the problems because it was not easy to recognize their source. What caused the problems?

Unfortunately, the Contact Me Plugin and Give A Tip Plugin are not available for downloads anymore. They must be looked into and some refreshments must be done before it is possible to use them again. Their problems are probably not connected to browser issues so working with updates should make them work again.

What about StopSpamAPI plugin and its problem in Safari and Chrome? As we have been investigating this we have actually understood that this plugin had problem because of its connection to its API. There was one detail in the background code that was not working anymore and it is because of some properties in Chrome and Safari. However, the company owner took care of this issue and the problem was fixed after some tests. The StopSpamAPI plugin is now working again both in Safari and Chrome as it does in Firefox.