Text too small to read & Clickable elements too close together

Hi there,

if i check the More Info on tab on a Mobile Friendly test for the URL provided theres a bunch of Other Errors related to many of the resources the page requires to load correctly. Basically it means Google Bot couldn't access those files for some reason... which can be many.

As the site seems well optimized i don't see it being an issue with exceeding Google Bots resource limit which can lead to random mobile friendly failures.

One issue maybe the server connection is timing out. Ask your host to increase the connection/request time out to at least 60 seconds.

Thanks so much David! Off to do that right away!! Will let you know how I get on :)

You're welcome

Hi there — just a quick message to say that I spoke to my host about the mobile friendly issue. He said the connection/request time out is actually set at 60 seconds on Apache by default.

Its so weird — the first post I mentioned is now getting a green light — but most of the other new posts are showing the same fault — these two for example —

https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/the-blenheim-palace-christmas-lights-trail-2021/

https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/spiced-pumpkin-soup-recipe/

I've checked them on a phone — they all look absolutely fine.

I've turned off the sidebar, turned off Rocket, made the font size bigger. Removed the sticky sidebar CSS code... it's none of those things.

I'm really stuck to know what to do next. Am I missing something really simple?

Can you try adding this PHP Snippet to your site:

add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function() {
    remove_action( 'wp_head', 'generate_add_viewport' ); 
    add_action( 'wp_head', 'generate_add_viewport', 1 ); 
} );

Hi David — I've added it but no change. Can't figure it out — it's driving me nuts.

In search console, everything looks OK. For example:

https://www.screencast.com/t/KjemtsJaUuxi

But if I test the live URL, this is what I get:

https://www.screencast.com/t/8SkpKrGB

Not sure what else to do — I certainly dont want to change themes!!!! Am so happy with GP!!

First off the issue isn't theme related :) When you check the Tested Site and more info in the MFT you will see a list of resources that failed to load with the ambiguous Other error - see here for some info on that:

https://docs.generatepress.com/article/text-too-small-to-read-and-clickable-elements-too-close-together/#other-error

Personally if you're Search Console is passing the pots i would stop running any Mobile Friendly Tests against them.

If the GSC errors continue to occur then i would recommend looking at how the site is optimized. Anything you can do to reduce the number of requests your site makes before using optimization plugins to improve the laod would be the best place to start.

My site as a whole is really fast — I just don't understand it.

I dont know how to lessen the http requests any further —
that particular page on my site — https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/the-blenheim-palace-christmas-lights-trail-2021/ — is showing A Performance — 98% performance and 97% Structure on GTMetrix.

It says the total page size is 237KB.

The images are lazy loaded — the images are minified using shortpixel.

I have WP Rocket switched on — but the only file optimization I'm using is delay JS on the generate press menu — and google analytics.

Interestingly, I checked on the Bing mobile friendly checker — here's a side by side comparison —

https://www.screencast.com/t/qQIIH8SM

Could the Google checker be wrong?! Or is that too much to hope for!!!! ;)

Before we get into the mysteries of google failing a mobile friendly test when all things look great.
You should test the site without any Optimizations, CDNs or other Caches enabled to ensure none of them are interfering with Googles ability to test the site.

So switch Rocket off completely? And short pixel? Then test again? Is that the best plan of action? :)

Hi there,

So switch Rocket off completely? And short pixel? Then test again? Is that the best plan of action?

Ideally we test w/o any optimization plugins as a baseline for comparison as to how it behaves by default.

We then test with only WP Rocket enabled and check what changes. And test again with only Short pixel enabled. And then test again with everything enabled.

It's basically process of elimination. We're trying to identify which specific plugin is causing issues. Once identified, we then play around w/ the culprit plugin's settings and see what's the best configuration. :D

Hi team. So I switched off Rocket — the same issue persisted. I switched of Shortpixel — same issue.

The home page doesn't throw up this issue — just the blog posts.

I contacted Rocket support to see if they can throw any light on it. This is their reply:

I've run some tests and I've got the same negative results, see:

Usually, I'd say that the theme is not as responsive as needed, but I really can't tell.

I'm really stuck. Please do you have any more suggestions?

This issue has come out of nowhere — a couple of weeks ago they were all mobile friendly and getting green lights.

Can we confirm that in Google Search Console - are you getting ANY mobile usability errors ? Or is it only when you use the Mobile Friendly Test tool ?

Yes — but only for 2 urls —

https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/buying-second-hand-caravan/

https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/how-to-upcycle-an-old-desk/

A couple of weeks ago the url mobile experience was 100%. Over the last week or so it's been dropping .1 every day. It's now at 99.1%.

My worry is, if I don't manage to find out what's causing this error, eventually all of them will be flagged with errors.

I don't know what else to try. Any more suggestions?