How to Fix Weird Characters on Your Website

Is your website displaying strange and unintelligible characters? If so, you’re not alone. Many website owners encounter this issue and wonder what caused it and how to fix it. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the process of identifying the root cause of weird characters on your website and provide you with simple steps to fix it. So, let’s dive in!

The Cause of Weird Characters on Your Website

When your website is plagued by weird characters, it is often due to a conflict between multiple compression mechanisms that aim to improve website loading speed. These compression mechanisms may include your hosting provider’s settings and caching plugins. This conflict results in confusion and ultimately the display of those odd characters on your site.

Identifying the Culprits: Bluehost and WP Super Cache

In this particular case, the double compression is caused by Bluehost, the hosting provider, and WP Super Cache, the caching plugin. However, it’s important to note that if you are using multiple caching plugins that both attempt to compress your website, you may encounter the same issue. To fix this, you need to determine which one should handle the compression.

Choosing the Compression Handler

To decide which compression mechanism to rely on, you should consider a few factors. Firstly, consult the developers of your theme or any relevant forums for specific recommendations. For instance, the developers of Newspaper 12, my theme of choice, recommend WP Super Cache. They also provide precise settings to ensure optimal performance.

Secondly, evaluate the control options offered by both your hosting provider and the caching plugin. Bluehost provides three caching options, while WP Super Cache offers a range of granular settings. If you value more control over caching settings, opting for a caching plugin like WP Super Cache would be ideal.

Fixing the Issue: Disabling Bluehost’s Compression

Now that you’ve decided to let WP Super Cache handle the compression, it’s time to disable Bluehost’s compression to prevent conflicts. Follow these steps:

Go to your Bluehost dashboard and navigate to Websites > Speed. Make sure the caching control is turned off and click Confirm.

In your WordPress dashboard, go to the Performance section in Bluehost.

Ensure that the caching level for assets and web pages is disabled.

Now, let’s move on to the WP Super Cache settings. In your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins and find the WP Super Cache plugin. Go to its settings.

At the top of the settings page, make sure that caching is turned on. This ensures that WP Super Cache handles the compression.

Clearing the Cache and Fixing the Website

With Bluehost’s compression disabled, it’s time to clear the cache and fix the weird characters on your website. Follow these steps:

Firstly, in your Bluehost dashboard and clear the cache by clicking on Clear All.

Secondly, in your WordPress dashboard clear the cache by clicking Delete Cache.

Next, to reset everything, clear your browser’s cache. In Firefox, go to History > Clear Recent History and select all options. Finally, close and reopen your browser.

Finally, test your website by entering the URL into the browser. You should now see your website without any weird characters, restored to its original state.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WEBSITE SPEED AND OPTIMIZATION FROM ANDY FELICIOTTI AND RYAN ROBINSON HERE.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully resolved the issue of weird characters on your website. By disabling Bluehost’s compression and relying on WP Super Cache, you eliminated the conflicts that caused the odd characters to appear. Remember, if you encounter this problem in the future, you now know where to start troubleshooting.

Thank you for stopping by and I’ll see you next time!

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