Black box over SEO title & description text boxes, some text blocks
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Various text boxes are blacked out when I try to enter or edit text:
In settings: SEO title, SEO description, Excerpt.
In the editing window, Verse block but not Text block.
If I highlight the text I can see it.
Safari 23.6 on a 2024 MacBook Pro running Tahoe (26.3)
Clearing caches etc had no effect.
https://stoneheadcroft.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-03-at-14.12.06.png
https://stoneheadcroft.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-03-at-14.12.24.png
https://stoneheadcroft.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-03-at-14.12.35.pngThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there @stonehead!
I can see the background color is being applied only when focusing the field. I tested this on my end and I couldn’t replicate the issue; however, I believe this is caused by a plugin conflict. For now, I encourage you to create a staging site and run a conflict test by following this guide:
Plugins add extra features to your website that aren’t available by default on WordPress. Sometimes, plugins or third-party themes may cause conflicts. This guide shows you how to resolve most plugin and theme issues. In this guideVideo tutorialErrors you may encounterTake preventive measuresReview error logsDeactivate plugins and themes manuallyStep 1: Switch to a default WordTurning all the plugins on and enabling them one by one would be my recommended approach; however, if you need help doing it, we’ll be available here or via live chat.
Best,
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Active plugins are:
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
Big Sky
CoBlocks
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more
Crowdsignal Forms
Gravatar Enhanced
Gutenberg
Jetpacl
Layout Grid
Page Optimize
Simple Yearly Archive (deactivated, no effect, reactivated)
WordPress Backup & Security Plugin – BlogVault
Black is stil applied.
Do I deactivate the WordPress managed plug ins? -
You can deactivate only those that allow it in the Plugins section. The ones that are managed for you can’t be turned off.
Looking forward to your findings!
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That black box issue sounds like a real headache, especially if it’s happening across different browsers. Since you’ve already cleared your cache and checked your active plugins, check if there’s a specific browser extension like a dark mode toggle or a password manager that might be interfering with the editor’s CSS. I’ve seen cases where a ‘Dark Reader’ type extension tries to force a background color on input fields and ends up making them unreadable. Try opening the editor in a private/incognito window with all extensions disabled just to rule that out.
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Hi stonehead,
Thanks for taking the time to rule out plugin conflicts — that’s very helpful.
To investigate this more thoroughly, we’ve sent you an email with instructions on how to create a staging site so we can safely take a closer look without affecting your live site. You can follow the steps outlined in this guide:
https://wordpress.com/support/how-to-create-a-staging-site/
Feel free to reply directly to that email if you have any questions. -
The black box has gone from the Verse block. It was there last night, gone this morning. The black box remains over SEO title, SEO description, excerpt.
There’s a new problem. Categories now has white boxes overlaid most of the text, only eight lines visible in the middle – scrollable.
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Hi there,
Thanks for letting us know you didn’t receive our email. We sent it to the address associated with your WordPress.com account. The email should have the same title as this Forum thread, if you’d like to check again, but I’m happy to continue here. (As a reminder, please do not share any personal or site information here.)
Also, thank you for setting up the staging site.
While testing, I switched the staging site to the Twenty Twenty-Two theme, and the issue with the text areas and category section no longer occurred. This suggests that the behavior is likely related to the current theme rather than plugins or the editor itself.I’ve also reported both issues, including where the Categories section appears partially blank in the editor, to our developers, and they’re currently investigating it.
As a temporary workaround, you may want to try switching to another theme to see if that resolves the issue on your end while we continue looking into it.
Please feel free to let me know if the issue recurs after switching to another theme or if you notice anything else we should check.
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Thanks the support so far, much appreciated.
The size of my blog has major implications if I change themes. More than 3000 published posts going back decades. Last time I changed there were many small glitches.
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The link button on the editing bar just failed. I clicked to insert a link and it went black, while the box to add the link details did not appear. If it’s the theme, it’s clearly become unstable and I’ll have to change to another.
As I said though, the last time I changed it introduced a lot of small glitches (eg missing images) and with 3000 published posts I still haven’t correct all of them.
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Hi there,
Thank you for your patience!
Regarding the link button going black when you click to insert a link, I tested this on your staging site after switching to the Twenty Sixteen theme and wasn’t able to replicate it, so this does seem to be tied to the Colinear theme as well.
We’re still actively investigating the exact cause behind these issues. In the meantime, I’ve sent you an email with some guidance on next steps, let’s continue the conversation there so we can go into more detail and assist you more thoroughly.
The email was sent to the address associated with your WordPress.com account. You can confirm which one that is by visiting: https://wordpress.com/me/account
If you’re not seeing it (be sure to check your spam/junk folder too), you can also reach us via live chat by clicking the question mark icon on your WordPress.com toolbar, or by following this guide: https://wordpress.com/support/help-support-options/#how-to-contact-us
Looking forward to connecting with you!
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There’s now a grey overlay. It’s very unstable.
https://stoneheadcroft.com/screenshot-2026-03-09-at-16-07-09/
Any ideas as to a theme that would remain most, if not all, of my current site? I don’t want to be tidying up little glitches for years. -
Sorry, posted wrong link.
https://stoneheadcroft.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-09-at-16.07.09.png -
Thank you for the screenshot!
So far, we haven’t been able to replicate that gray overlay in the right sidebar. I tested drafting a new post on the site, and the sidebar looks as expected thus far:
Does the same overlay show for you in other browsers as well?
Any ideas as to a theme that would remain most, if not all, of my current site? I don’t want to be tidying up little glitches for years.
All themes will carry over your content, such as pages, posts, and media, but you may need to make some customizations after switching themes. Your theme is an older “classic” theme, whereas most newer block themes do work a bit differently. We have a great guide here on how to make the switch: https://wordpress.com/support/migrate-from-a-classic-theme-to-a-block-theme/
That being said, I do suggest testing new themes on your staging site so you can see what may work best for your goals without affecting the live site.Just let us know if you have any other questions!
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Thanks. It was grey in Chrome, too. Resolved in both now.
I prefer classic to old. I’ve been with WordPress since 2008. Blogging even longer. Definitely classic. 😁
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Thanks. It was grey in Chrome, too. Resolved in both now.
It’s good to hear that the issue is now resolved in both browsers!
Could you tell us if you changed anything on your site, such as theme or the editor to resolve this?I prefer classic to old. I’ve been with WordPress since 2008. Blogging even longer. Definitely classic.
I can definitely understand! Classic editor has its own fanbase! :)
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