Homepage settings ignored and cannot be reset

  • StickyPixels

    (@stickypixels)


    1 year, 1 month ago

    Completely stunned by what’s happening on my site.

    I cloned my existing site (working fine for years) to a new host using the Duplicator plugin, into a new, empty database. Done this many many times before on all kinds of sites.

    But on the new host my homepage doesn’t display (it’s set to a fixed page). Instead I’m shown the WP default ‘Hello World!’ post. Which doesn’t exist, as I have deleted that many years ago (and emptied trash many times since).
    Also my custom menu does not appear, but shows only ‘Sample page’. Which also does not exist anymore.

    The layout however is displayed in my home-made theme, and here comes the really weird thing: when I change to another, default theme, nothing happens. I still get the same non-existing post for homepage and in my custom design (which isn’t active).
    Selected theme and homepage settings are completely ignored, but only on the homepage. All other pages display as intended.

    I tried to reset all options (static page vs latest posts), permalinks and what have you). I even searched phpMyAdmin for the ghost post (not found).

    I can view all existing pages through direct links, they are all shown with the active theme. But the homepage is competely frozen, set to a non-existing post in my custom theme design.

    Hope anybody can shed some light before I lose my mind over this.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Lakshyajeet Singh Goyal

    (@lakshyajeet)

    1 year ago

    Hey @stickypixels,

    Your homepage is stuck showing ghost content and homepage/theme settings are being ignored only for the homepage. Pages work fine via direct links. I am suspecting it to be a caching issue, nonetheless you can try the following.

    1. Check Homepage Settings
    I am guessing you have already tried this but you can try this again.
    Go to: Settings -> Reading

    Make sure these are set correctly:

    • Your homepage displays = A static page
    • Homepage: = your actual homepage (check that it exists under Pages)
    • Posts page: = blank or a valid blog page

    2. Clear ALL Caches
    Caching is the #1 culprit for weird behavior after migrations.
    Try this:

    • Clear any plugin caches (WP Super Cache, W3TC, etc.)
    • Browser cache (open site in private/incognito mode)

    There might also be Server-side caching or CDN cache (Cloudflare or others) do check those out too.

    3. Then double-check in the database via phpMyAdmin:

    Since you mentioned you have access to running SQL queries you can try:

    SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name IN ('show_on_front', 'page_on_front', 'page_for_posts');

    You want:

    • show_on_front = page
    • page_on_front = ID of the real homepage (verify that the ID exists in wp_posts)

    Also, a link to the site will be helpful.

    Thread Starter StickyPixels

    (@stickypixels)

    1 year ago

    Thank you very much voor your insightful answer. It turns out my webhost had some kind of caching active, displaying my old homepage content. I never activated this, so that’s very annoying.

    Sorry to have bothered you, many thanks (and I’ve learned a lot from your answer).

    Lakshyajeet Singh Goyal

    (@lakshyajeet)

    1 year ago

    You’re very welcome and absolutely no need to apologize. 🙂

    I’m really glad you figured it out, server-side caching can be incredibly sneaky, especially when it’s active without your knowledge. It trips up a lot of developers, you’re definitely not alone there.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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