Fallback if script doesn't load

Ask the Community General Questions
1

It would be great to have the option of a fallback in case the Elfsight script doesn’t load, e.g. when the browser blocks JavaScript (or any other case, such as slow internet connection etc.).

For other Elfisight widgets this might be great, too, but for a pricing table it’s crucial because lost visitors mean lost money in this case. It has a direct impact on sales.

So it should be a purely inline-HTML & -CSS based table that will be shown if the script-based table does not load fast enough or at all. It doesn’t have to be fancy or look exactly the same, but should have the same content and be responsive, too.

I’ve implemented this myself for now, but I’m not a developer so I don’t know if I have all fallback cases covered. And making changes to that fallback table is really time-consuming.

Incomplete list of fallback cases that I can think of:

  • JavaScript blocked/disabled
  • Script takes too long to load (e.g. >5 seconds)
  • Script does not finish loading
  • Elfsigh servers are down
3 Likes
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Hi there, @Sinan_Saglam :wave:

Interesting idea, thanks for sharing! Let’s see if other users would like to see this feature too.

By the way, if you’re currently experiencing issues with the widget display/loading, please send me a link to the page where it’s installed. I’ll be happy to check it for you :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
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I don’t have any issues, thanks!:slight_smile:
I just realized that the script always needs a short time for loading, and then I thought “what if it doesn’t load for some users?”. So I’ve added 3 fallback options, but in the squarespace code embed editor it’s difficult to maintain such long HTML, it’s just not made for that.

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4

This slight delay is caused by the data-elfsight-app-lazy attribute in the widget’s installation code.

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This attribute significantly improves the speed score of the page, where the widget is installed and loads the widget only when a visitor interacts with the page’s content or scrolls down to the place where the widget is installed.

If you’d like the widget to appear immediately, you can remove the data-elfsight-app-lazy attribute from the widget’s installation code.

Feel free to try it out and let me know if it helped :slightly_smiling_face:

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6

Sinan, wholeheartedly agree. I went to this forum to report the problem which is directly stemmed from the lack of fall back: namely, on Safari, when the ad blocker is on, none of Elfsight widgets are visible.

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Hi @Alexandra_Tayts :wave:

I’m very sorry about this issue. Sometimes ad blockers can interfere with a widget’s performance due to one of these reasons:

  1. The widget’s placement and the general structure of the page.

You can check if this is the cause by using your widget’s Share Link from your Elfsight dashboard:

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You can find instructions on how to get your link here: How to Share Your Widget.

If the widget works via the Share Link but not on your website, try adjusting its placement within your site’s structure, as this may resolve the issue.


  1. The ad blocker may mistake the widget for an ad.

Unfortunately, this is beyond our control, and we cannot resolve it on our end. We will reach out to the ad blocker providers to request an exception for our widgets, but it would be helpful if you could report the issue to them as well.