Why Can't I Edit My Website?

Most of us aren’t that tech savvy, but we may be asked to start a website or perhaps we paid someone to design our business website and all we need to do is update it periodically.  Perhaps we listened to the instruction or watched the video and even successfully updated a few times.  Weeks or months pass and we try to update again, and it doesn’t work. We watch the video again or read the instructions for editing… we’re doing everything right, but the browser freezes or crashes when you try to edit your pages or you can’t see the editing buttons or nothing happens when you press them.  What’s up?    

Here are some reasons you may be having these problems:

• A new security download on your computer or browser might mistake the editing tools as a security threat and block them from working properly. 
• A cookie may have become corrupted or may have been disabled. 
• Custom HTML or widgets from third party sites could have an error in the code.

Solving  Browser Issues.  Most of the time, editing issues can be specific to a browser. The most popular browser is Internet Explorer (41% usage worldwide). The next most popular is FireFox (27%) with Google Chrome (18%), Safari (7%) and Opera (3%) next in line. All of them are available for free.  Try downloading a different browser and attempt to update your website while using that browser.

Most browsers have built in security settings designed to protect you from threats on the internet while you are browsing. Unfortunately in some cases these security settings can mistake the editing tools for a threat. Make sure your website host address is in your trusted sites list and you have your browser security settings set to medium for the internet. You can verify your browser's security settings through the Internet Options menu under Tools.

Resolving Cookie Issues.  What are cookies? A cookie is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. Sometimes cookies can become corrupt and need to be cleared out in order to restore your ability to edit. Additionally, if you have disabled cookies for any reason you will need to make sure they are enabled when you edit your website. If you are not sure how to delete your cookies or enable them, select your browser from this list to get step by step instructions:    Microsoft Internet Explorer all versions          Mozilla Firefox

Turn off Third Party Toolbars.  Sometimes a toolbar can cause conflicts with the editing tools.  You can temporarily disable these toolbars to test that they are not causing problems when you edit.  On your browser page go to View then Toolbars then uncheck the toolbar.  When you have completed your web editing, go back in and reactivate the toolbar.

Make sure Flash and JavaScript are up to date.  Flash and JavaScript are tools embedded in your browser that allow your browser to be interactive, and function more like a program installed on your computer. Both are free to install and use. To upgrade your version of Flash go to http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/. To upgrade your version of JavaScript go to http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp.

If you still have trouble updating your website – contact your website provider or web designer for more help.