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Luc_C
Luc_C

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jQuery Migrate brakes WordPress version 5.5

A few days ago I bumped into a problem on one of my client’s WordPress website. the problem was that some function like “submit” form was not responding.

The solution was at hand, but I found out something more serious was happening.

Hi, I am Luc, a web developer and programmer in his early 40’s that started his journey of coding in February 2019.

WordPress released the 5.5 version called “Eckstine” and it is outstanding regarding speed, search, and security as they state on their main website. If you’d like to read more about this update, you can do it here

The Problem

But with this update they brought a very big issue: jQuery seized to be 100% responsive. The problem is that the JavaScript library called jQuery Migrate doesn’t install itself on the majority of the website when update causing everything that is JavaScript related to work improperly. We can think at JavaScript as small engines behind the scene that turns user’s action in reality. These little engines work behind the scenes to make forms, search bars, and drop-down menus to function.

Having an older theme installed on your website that is outdated, compatibility will show and will cause issues.

So, the problem appears when a WordPress theme is old or a plugin is outdated. If the issue is with an older plugin, you can check the last time was updated, if it’s more than a year I recommend you to search a newer plugin with the same function, as that may cause the problem.

The Solution

As the main WordPress website states: “With the update to WordPress 5.5, a migration tool known as jQuery-migrate will no longer be enabled by default. This may lead to unexpected behaviors in some themes or plugins who run older code” the handy solution is to install a plugin called: “Enable jQuery Migrate Helper” which you can download it from here or if you feel like this too easy, you can go deeper and downgrade from version 5.5 to version 5.4.2 as a user said: “The best solution is to downgrade to 5.4.2 Using the WP Downgrade Plugin by Version 1.2.1 | By Reisetiger.”

Conclusion

As of all updates nowadays, this one brings solutions, speed, and reliability but as well while this happens, bugs are presents as well. The best, for now, is to use whatever you see fit, and with whatever CMS you feel comfortable.

I hope this brings a solution to your struggle and until next week I wish you a productive week ahead.

You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn

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