Troubleshooting
Stories Not Displaying
Section titled “Stories Not Displaying”Check the shortcode. Make sure you have added one of the WP Stories shortcodes to your page (e.g., [wb-story-activities]). Verify there are no typos in the shortcode name.
Check user login status. If Hide Stories from Logged-Out Users is enabled in General Settings, visitors who are not logged in will not see any stories. Log in to test, or disable this setting temporarily.
Check story expiry. If story expiry is enabled in Displaying Options, stories older than the configured visibility duration will not appear. Verify the duration is set to a reasonable value.
Check publication status. If the Default Publication Status is set to Draft or Pending Review on the User Publishing tab, newly submitted stories will not be visible until an admin publishes them.
Image Editor Not Loading
Section titled “Image Editor Not Loading”Clear your browser cache. The photo editor relies on several JavaScript libraries. A stale cache can prevent them from loading correctly. Do a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R).
Check for JavaScript conflicts. Open your browser’s developer console (F12) and look for JavaScript errors. Conflicts with other plugins that load Vue.js or Fabric.js on the same page can cause issues. Try deactivating other plugins one at a time to identify the conflict.
Check that CDN files can load. The photo editor loads Vue, Fabric.js and its colour picker from public CDNs (cdn.jsdelivr.net, cdnjs.cloudflare.com and uicdn.toast.com). A strict Content Security Policy, an ad blocker, or a network that blocks those hosts stops the editor from opening; members then see “The photo editor couldn’t open. Refresh the page and try again.”
Upload Failing
Section titled “Upload Failing”Check PHP upload limits. WordPress respects the server’s PHP configuration. Verify these values in your php.ini or hosting panel:
upload_max_filesize- must be at least as large as your Maximum File Size setting.post_max_size- should be larger thanupload_max_filesize.max_execution_time- increase if large uploads are timing out.
Check the Maximum File Size setting. Open WP Stories (WB Plugins menu), select the User Publishing tab, and verify the file size limit. A member picking a larger file sees “This file is too big - Choose one under 10 MB” with your limit. Set it to 0 to turn the plugin’s limit off and test whether the server limits are the cause.
Check file types. Members can only add the photo and video formats ticked under Allowed File Types. Anything else, including SVG, shows “Can’t use this file - Choose a photo or video”.
Stories Not Expiring
Section titled “Stories Not Expiring”Check Display Options. Expired stories are hidden as soon as the page loads, with no scheduled task involved. If they still show, confirm that Enable Story Expiry is on and that Set Visibility Duration is greater than 0, then clear any page cache.
Expired Stories Not Being Deleted
Section titled “Expired Stories Not Being Deleted”Check cron. Permanent deletion (Schedule Automatic Deletion) runs on WordPress cron (wp-cron.php). If your host has disabled WP-Cron, deletion will not run. Check whether DISABLE_WP_CRON is true in wp-config.php; if it is, set up a real server cron job that calls wp-cron.php regularly.
Integration Not Working
Section titled “Integration Not Working”Verify the plugin is active. BuddyPress, PeepSo, or BuddyBoss Platform must be active for the respective integration tab to appear. Check Plugins to confirm the social plugin is activated.
Enable the integration. Open WP Stories (WB Plugins menu), select the Integrations tab, and make sure the toggle for your platform (BuddyPress or PeepSo) is turned on. Save changes after toggling.
Check component requirements. For BuddyPress, the Activity component must be enabled. Go to Settings > BuddyPress > Components and confirm Activity is checked.
Mobile Layout Issues
Section titled “Mobile Layout Issues”Check theme compatibility. WP Stories includes responsive CSS, but some themes may apply conflicting styles. Inspect the story elements on mobile using browser developer tools to identify any theme CSS overrides.
Test with a default theme. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) to determine if the issue is theme-specific.
Clear caching. If you use a caching plugin or CDN, clear all caches after updating WP Stories. Stale CSS files can cause layout problems on mobile devices.
Story Names Hard to Read in Dark Mode
Section titled “Story Names Hard to Read in Dark Mode”Circle names use your theme’s text colour. If they are hard to read, check Styling Options > Title Style > Title Color: a colour set there applies in both light and dark mode. Clear the field to follow the theme.
A Story Shows a Black Screen or Is Skipped
Section titled “A Story Shows a Black Screen or Is Skipped”A photo or video whose file was deleted from the Media Library is left out of the story, and a video that cannot be played is skipped. If a story looks shorter than expected, check that its media still exists in Media > Library.
The Viewer Looks Wrong After an Update
Section titled “The Viewer Looks Wrong After an Update”Browsers and caching plugins can keep the previous version’s CSS and JavaScript. Clear your caching plugin or CDN cache, then hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R).