Help please, PHP7 upgrade has broken my website

[Goz]

I'm nervous about posting this but you are clearly struggling to resolve this and haven't reached out to any of the developers who understand hosting.

Firstly, can you confirm in Settings>Business Settings>Payment and Security.....if you have "Use SSL/TLS" ticked and whether it is applied to just Checkout etc or to the whole website.


If you are using SSL/TLS on the whole website then here is what I would do in your position.

1. Take a snapshot or two
2. Go to Web>Network Setup
2.a Export the settings
2.b Check the fields that are "Path from x to y" or similar. You may need to go through the Wizard to check them. If it shows an error then report it back here if you can't fix it.
2.c Run a network Test. If it passes then carry on with 3. below. If it fails report that back here.
3. Take a backup of the current .htaccess file.
4. Replace the contents of the .htaccess file with :

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.domain\.co.uk$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.domain.co.uk/$1 [R=301,L]

(replacing "domain" with your domain name and ".co.uk" with ".com" if necessary)

5. Perform a full refresh using Web>Refresh Website. There is no need to upload images etc.
6. Test your website on various browsers (you may need to clear cache).

NOTES:

About 2. The error message in your original post indicates that the host has changed something else as part of the PHP upgrade and I can't see that being fixed in any of your posts - they've probably changed the location of the cgi-bin or changed some permissions. I've seen this before - mostly with Heart Internet shared hosting.
About 4. This code forces www and forces https. It is what I use on my own SD websites.

If there is no difference - or things are worse - you can restore the .htaccess file and the Sellerdeck snapshot and run another Refresh Website.

Remember - you can never have too many file backups and snapshots especially when making changes like this.

I'm nervous about posting this because I understand my hosting and its configuration and the steps I've outlined will work there. But I don't understand Easyspace and, where I've undertaken work for clients who host with Easyspace, I find them to cause almost as many problems for Sellerdeck as Heart Internet do.

Our hosting allows you to set the PHP version at the domain level.... not that it matters for SD sites unless you are running Wordpress or similar along side it.

[PA.com]

Hi Goz, thanks very much for taking the time to post, especially on a Sunday!!

My website does use SSL/TLS across the whole website, this has been the case since 2018.
With regard to the network test, the peculiarity of what's happening can perhaps be illustrated by some of my weekend's events:

i) I boot up SD yesterday, network test is fine and I can download orders. I can access my website on most but not all of my browser/device combos, on some I see similar to what Jason has posted above.

ii) This afternoon the network test fails, and I can’t access my site properly on any device. I reset/reboot my broadband hub three times, still nothing. I can however access my site using 4G on phone.

iii) I pop down the road to my brother's. My website works on three of his devices but fails on two others (including his brand new iPad). I can however use his broadband to open SD on my laptop and perform the network test which works, so I download orders and make another snapshot. I get back home and once again can't view my site using my own broadband hub or 4G. But after deleting then reinstalling Chrome on my phone and then clearing all browsing data, I can eventually get it to work using 4G data.

iv) for even more confusion - with regard to using 4G, on Friday an Easyspace technician could view the site on her PC but not using mobile data on her phone. Too weird.


So with regard to your own point 2) - I was able to successfully run the network test today, which suggests the cgi-paths etc are actually correct, but I could only do this in one physical location today (my brother's house). Maybe I'll be able to view it at mine again tomorrow, maybe not. You’re right that them changing the PHP has precipitated these problems, but I can't understand why connecting now seems to be taking a pot luck approach.

So to cut a long story short, when I am able to I shall try creating that new htaccess file (having backed up), and seeing if that helps. I was also wondering if first I should simply comment out every line of htaccess and see if it runs better for people to whom I give a secure verified web address. I can't quite understand why searching the web for htaccess redirect code returns dozens of subtly different results, so confusing, but if that code works for you that’s encouraging.

I appreciate you being nervous about relaying your instructions, but be assured I shall take care with whatever I do, probably under the supervision of Easyspace technicians.

Thanks again,
Paul

[Mike Hughes]

The biggest problem I see with your site is that it runs fine on https :// piano-accompaniments . com (ie without the www.) but doesn't run on https : // www. piano-accompaniments . com (ie with www.) I've used spaces to try and make it clear what I mean as forums and browsers like to simplify any typed urls.

(not strictly true as it mostly runs fine without the www. in the url but the add to cart doesn't work as that is set up for www. so the cookies are invisible)

A URL with www. and the same one without www. are different subdomains and cannot be used interchangeably. It leads to problems with cookies, images, CSS and redirects. You need to pick one and stick with it.

There can be a number of things that cause this but the usual suspects are:

a) Not having the right one in your networks settings
b) Using manual links on your web pages that go to the wrong one
c) Messing up the htaccess file so it isn't redirecting to the right one

The multiple redirects and problems accessing from different devices (because people aren't entering the full url) points to this being at the very least a major part of your problem.

Mike

[PA.com]

Hi again

Thanks for testing that Mike, and that's really useful info. Historically I had always used www. for my website, including linking from other sites. Then a few months ago I realised viewing the non-www version, ie just https: // piano-accompaniments . com was returning security warning errors, so I contacted Easyspace about this. I'm now wondering if this is where the problems started. Just by the way, I think there is a small typo where you have put accompaniements above, the first of those e's shouldn’t be there, my fault for having such a clumsy url!

I have always had a htaccess file for my site, but the only line I had ever personally added was AddDefaultCharset ISO-8859-1, to solve a problem I was having with the site not displaying pound signs back in 2005. I was a bit surprised to see the extra lines added when I checked recently, but they must have been put there in response to my query about non-www pages being suspect.

Today my website seems to be running fine, fingers firmly crossed. I viewed my htaccess and it now seems Easyspace have indeed commented everything out except my Charset line and the line RewriteEngine On. Every other line now has a # in front so in effect it does nothing. At the same time they have told me they have switched all the redirect options on in my Control Panel instead, which I guess goes further up the chain of instructions. Previously one of these options had been switched on but not the other, so I'm now wondering if many of my problems have been caused by conflict between my control panel settings, my htaccess file, and a modified server environment.

While it looks okay now, I am fully expecting it to fall over again for some other reason, so I might be back with another pitiable whinge-fest. In the meantime, thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and expertise, all useful information I can take forward for if (when) things go wrong again.

Paul

[Mike Hughes]

Hi Paul,

I'm glad it's all going again. I suspect you're right and it was the htaccess file messing things up.

Sorry for the typo. The forum software was remembering the full URL even if I cut it down into bits so I had to delete it all and retype. Hence the typo. I've removed the extra 'e' in my post and it didn't have any impact on the testing. Just me with fat finger syndrome and bad spelling.

all the best

Mike

[tobyharris]

Hi,
Just incase anyone is looking for a hosting company, I have been using Host-IT.co.uk for a few years. Great value, specific sellerdeck packages with support staff that answer the phone and are experience with sellerdeck hosting (they were offering specific packages when it was called Actinic), and on the rare occasion I have become aware of a problem with the server my site is on, they are already fixing it by the time i call.
I have now connection with them, i'm just happy to pass on the great service they have given me for years and so much better than Fasthost who i used before.

[PA.com]

Hi Toby

Yes, I’ve heard many good things from users on this forum at Host-it, particularly the fact that they have specific Sellerdeck hosting and expertise which I’m sure is reassuring to many people here. My only issue is that their server web space limitation for SD hosting appears to end at 3GB, while it is many times more for regular business hosting. My site is 10Gb and still expanding, so if I was to migrate I don’t think I’d be able to take advantage of their Sellerdeck hosting packages unfortunately.

[tobyharris]

Hi PA.Com

I would give them a call and have a chat, it wouldn't suprise me if they tailored a solution specificaly for you.