Slideshow is black
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Several people have reported that the slideshow in my latest post is just a black screen. But others can see the pictures changing.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there,
The slideshow works for me on the home page, but it takes quite a long time to load – and it looks black while it loads.
The slow load time is caused by the number of photos being shown on the hone page, and the file size of those photos.
According to Pingdom it takes 34 seconds to load 367.13 MB worth of images. It will take even longer on slower internet connections.
I’d strongly recommend using excerpts on the home page to reduce the number of images being loaded. This can be done by using the “more” tag.
I’d also recommend reducing the file size of images before they are uploaded to WordPress by using using an image editor:
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Hey @garysixtyeight,
This is a very helpful and detailed response. Thank you so much.
It’s unusual for me to upload so many photos at once so it’s unlikely to happen again soon, but I will certainly take your advice into account.
Cheers! -
Just adding to what @garysixtyeight has already mentioned about optimizing images, the Gallery slideshow will only start once all the images have resized to be loaded. (It took over a minute on my home connection before the first image appeared.)
For the theme you are using, Lingonberry, you don’t really need images larger than 800 pixels wide at the most. If you still want a larger image to display in the Photo Carousel in your Galleries, 1280 or 1600 pixels wide is a good size to aim for. Take a look at your theme’s showcase page to find the best sizes for your site’s images.
The other thing to consider is that such large images (7MB +/-) will quickly eat up your storage space. Resizing and optimizing will also save on storage space and preserve image clarity. And the best of all, it will increase your site speed, and that is a very big plus with search engines and site visitors.
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Hi @justjrnnifer,
Thanks for your response. Even though I’m far from technical, it all makes sense. Will try to work in it asap and also bear in mind for future posts.
Much appreciated, have a great holiday weekend! -
You’re very welcome.
Something to consider: Given the amount of time that this particular slideshow takes to load, you may want to resize those slideshow images and then recreate the slideshow. As it is, people may not hang around to see what that black rectangle is. :)
Have a good holiday.
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