Zenfolio: I'm losing patience... and SALES! -> NO cookies = NO IMAGES LOADING

LongLensPhotography

LongLensPhotography

Th..th..that's all folks!
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LongLensPhotography
Edit My Images
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Whatever is happening with Zenfolio it just quietly breaks my site in many new ways. I think I have just fixed the another glitch that would lose me every single visitor.

Other than that it feels painfully slow, particularly anything to do with Shopping cart or some images taking hours and even days to load up. So much so I fear people just give up.

Could I ask your favour please to give it a good test and pretend to be buying something and let me know if the experience was in any way acceptable.

I'll then try getting back at support with the list but I fear I already need a plan B. Suggestion for alternative service would be appreciated. Thanks.
http://www.longlensphotography.co.uk
 
I have just tried to order a landscape print for £39.50 delivered to my home address in the UK.
I got through to the checkout but I had one difficulty in that it would not find my address, and when I entered it manually it kept asking me to enter a valid address, if I had been a genuine customer at that point I would have packed up
I ignored this and used my Zenfolio log in at which point I was able to proceed to checkout, I then stopped, subsequent attempts at ordering are fine as I am logged in with my Zen account
But as far as loading images etc was concerned it was fine.
FYI I am using a 100mb Virgin connection.
Hope this helps
 
i had a quick look. so far all images loaded quickly. on the shopping part it took a few seconds for the options to load and about 3 seconds for adding something to the shopping cart. but it was still fast enough that i would have bought something. can you give a sample of some images that take a long time to load on your computer?

when checking out as a guest i entered my adress details and it only asked my to verify my address. the checkout worked fine till the screen where i have to enter creditcard details (which i didnt test)
 
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I've use Zen for a few years now and there are definitely a few frustrations but image loading isn't one of them. I do self-fulfill all my orders though so don't upload full resolution images which I'm sure makes a difference

Simon
 
ingouk said:
i had a quick look. so far all images loaded quickly. on the shopping part it took a few seconds for the options to load and about 3 seconds for adding something to the shopping cart. but it was still fast enough that i would have bought something. can you give a sample of some images that take a long time to load on your computer?

when checking out as a guest i entered my adress details and it only asked my to verify my address. the checkout worked fine till the screen where i have to enter creditcard details (which i didnt test)
Click to expand...

There were quite a few in Italy gallery that literally took a couple of hours last night. And some others in the blog
 
had a look though the italy photos and they all loaded quickly for me and scrolling down the blog i couldnt notice any long load-times.
 
Thanks to everyone testing the site for me.

ingouk said:
had a look though the italy photos and they all loaded quickly for me and scrolling down the blog i couldnt notice any long load-times.
Click to expand...

It appears to be OK now. For whatever reason last night images took hours to appear. All other sites I browsed loaded perfectly both yesterday and today.

Add to cart function still takes around 10s which worries me a little.

ingouk said:
you could try https://www.webpagetest.org or https://tools.pingdom.com to check load times, etc
it will also tell you if any images are too big, etc
Click to expand...

"F" for "First byte time" whatever that means.

Images previews could do with optimising, but obviously only Zenfolio can do that.
 
Call me an old cynic if you like but aren't pleas like this merely underhand advertising techniques designed to draw people to the OP's shop?
Particularly when one considers that none of the respondents suffered issues with load times as complained of by the OP.
 
Twigman said:
Call me an old cynic if you like but aren't pleas like this merely underhand advertising techniques designed to draw people to the OP's shop?
Particularly when one considers that none of the respondents suffered issues with load times as complained of by the OP.
Click to expand...

You are a cynic. Thanks ever so much for your help and good luck trolling other help requests.
 
Could it just be that when you were testing it your own internet connection was on a bit of a go slow?
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Could it just be that when you were testing it your own internet connection was on a bit of a go slow?
Click to expand...

Unlikely. 75% of the images loaded very quickly the rest just stayed blank for literally two hours even on the editing interface... Other sites including TP seemed very fast as usual.
 
Although this is some time after the original post, I have just linked to your site and cannot get the images to load, I just get the waiting 'circle'. I am however using Ad Block Plus, Ghostery and No Script in Firefox. With a little fiddling I can normally get sites to load and indeed my own Zenfolio site loads fine and I have not had problems loading other peoples zen sites previously.
 
MidnightUK said:
Although this is some time after the original post, I have just linked to your site and cannot get the images to load, I just get the waiting 'circle'. I am however using Ad Block Plus, Ghostery and No Script in Firefox. With a little fiddling I can normally get sites to load and indeed my own Zenfolio site loads fine and I have not had problems loading other peoples zen sites previously.
Click to expand...

What browser and is it logged in to any browser sync service?
 
Firefox Quantum 61.0.1
I do not know what a browser sync service is, but as far as I am aware I am not synced on my laptop with anything, I tend to avoid/turn off auto sync with cloud/phones etc.

I tried turning off No Script for your page but I still got the loading 'circles' after 2 or 3 minutes I gave up and put No Script back on. Zenfolio however is on my permanent whitelist as I use my own account there. I dont see anything obvious in Ghostery or Add Block Plus that would impact on your site, as they do not impact on my own.
 
Hope info helped. I have to log off now. Will check back later but feel free to PM me if that helps, though you may have enough info now. Would be interested to know if you find a fault / resolve it.
 
MidnightUK said:
Hope info helped. I have to log off now. Will check back later but feel free to PM me if that helps, though you may have enough info now. Would be interested to know if you find a fault / resolve it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Do you also have Zenfolio based site and does it work for you?

Personally things are looking very bad now. My android doesn't load any images, nor does Chrome on my Mac's. If I go through guest account - all fine. And Firefox worked a few days ago.
My dad could not replicate it on his android or computer (Ubuntu)

I've sent a very firm email to Zenfolio and frankly 100% will not be renewing in noveNove if everything is not fixed asap.
I really don't want to lose all balloon festival sales in addition to the damage done so far so I may need to act quickly.
 
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Right, after first round of emails I have confirmed the issue is well known in support circles.

I have isolated everything down to third party cookies set to off.

I made them very clear that site is not for me but my customers and that therefore doesn't resolve the issue. There is no need for external cookies to load my images and the ball is in their court to fix it

Ladybird12345 said:
I tried it it was fine..why would you have to register with you for purchasing?
Click to expand...

You don't have to apparently. There is a less visible guest option.

At the end of the day I have zero control what happens with the cart process. Every Zenfolio hosted site would behave the same.
 
Well Zenfolio has kindly informed they have NO ETA nor any plans to fix it.

They suggested I email all my prospective customers none of whom I know to enable cookies or use a different browser!!!! Imagine that.

In a light of this I strongly urge everyone with Zenfolio to reconsider their subscription and anyone else to carefully investigate all available options.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
Thanks for the info. Do you also have Zenfolio based site and does it work for you?

Personally things are looking very bad now. My android doesn't load any images, nor does Chrome on my Mac's. If I go through guest account - all fine. And Firefox worked a few days ago.
My dad could not replicate it on his android or computer (Ubuntu)

I've sent a very firm email to Zenfolio and frankly 100% will not be renewing in noveNove if everything is not fixed asap.
I really don't want to lose all balloon festival sales in addition to the damage done so far so I may need to act quickly.
Click to expand...

My Zenfolio, as far as I am aware, loads OK on Android, I have seen it on other peoples phones (I don't run a posh mobile). It also loads all images with no issues on my own laptop/Windows. If it loads mine, I do not understand why it does not load yours as I see no reason the settings of my laptop should affect our accounts differently. Zenfolio is whitelisted generically as a site, not as my personal account in NoScript.

I can understand your frustration about the balloon sales. It gets washed out or blown out so many years, I can see this should be a great year for you and your sales.
I tend to not have problems with Zenfolio, but I use it as a display site rather than for sales at this point in time. Its a good financial value option for me. I sympathise with your own issues though.


LongLensPhotography said:
Right, after first round of emails I have confirmed the issue is well known in support circles.

I have isolated everything down to third party cookies set to off.

I made them very clear that site is not for me but my customers and that therefore doesn't resolve the issue. There is no need for external cookies to load my images and the ball is in their court to fix it
Click to expand...

In Firefox my cookie settings are 'accept 3rd party site cookies and data from visited'
I turned NoScript to temporarily accept your site in addition to Zenfolio being whitelisted generically for my own use.
Where are the 3rd party cookies set other than these locations?

This situation seems very odd. If there are issues with this, it would be helpful if they had forewarned people.
 
Thanks for writing back to us.

Please feel free to share this Support Center article with them, which should resolve their issue. Images Not Displayed Due to Browser Cookie Settings

Since all that is required is default browser settings, the number of users and visitors experiencing issues has been kept to a minimum thanks to our committed Development team overseeing our migration of Zenfolio sites to HTTPS security protocols. While we are investigating ways around this, we do not have an established ETA nor definitive decision to change any settings on our side.

For your clients, the most accessible workaround may be to access your site in a different browser.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Click to expand...
 
MidnightUK said:
My Zenfolio, as far as I am aware, loads OK on Android, I have seen it on other peoples phones (I don't run a posh mobile). It also loads all images with no issues on my own laptop/Windows. If it loads mine, I do not understand why it does not load yours as I see no reason the settings of my laptop should affect our accounts differently. Zenfolio is whitelisted generically as a site, not as my personal account in NoScript.

I can understand your frustration about the balloon sales. It gets washed out or blown out so many years, I can see this should be a great year for you and your sales.
I tend to not have problems with Zenfolio, but I use it as a display site rather than for sales at this point in time. Its a good financial value option for me. I sympathise with your own issues though.




In Firefox my cookie settings are 'accept 3rd party site cookies and data from visited'
I turned NoScript to temporarily accept your site in addition to Zenfolio being whitelisted generically for my own use.
Where are the 3rd party cookies set other than these locations?

This situation seems very odd. If there are issues with this, it would be helpful if they had forewarned people.
Click to expand...

You have to set it to "Always" on FF.

On Chrome it is simply either ON or OFF.

What is you Zenfolio address please? I'd like to check it.

This particular problem manifested in the current form for me only last week so it is possible you haven't had time to experience it yet / maybe still loading from cache, etc.

I am personally very much tempted to fire up Wordpress and build something myself since I already have a basic hosting plan. I can't be any worse, and get only better over time?

P.S. Please write to support a firmly worded letter if you find there are issues. They need to be absolutely bombarded and probably cancelled en masse.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
You have to set it to "Always" on FF.

On Chrome it is simply either ON or OFF.

What is you Zenfolio address please? I'd like to check it.

This particular problem manifested in the current form for me only last week so it is possible you haven't had time to experience it yet / maybe still loading from cache, etc.
Click to expand...

I remain puzzled, as I do not understand why FF is letting me view my own site given my cookie settings and not your site (it may just be my ignorance of IT).
... I just checked it again, mine is still loading for me, but you are right, I have checked another persons site and like yours, it will not load for me.
I am not happy with this, as I fail to see why I need to accept every cookie thrown at my browser just to view Zenfolio, . I look at lots of web site each day and don't get this issue.

I will PM you with further info.
 
I got my site to load temporarily with "From visited" setting. It was Always before, it had it in cache so it kept going. Once I cleared cookies and went back it was then broken.

The following site link is fairly irrelevant to the conversation in terms of content. But you will notice it basically acts intrusively and forces you to accept all sorts of cookies and ads before you get to read it.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/la...tinct-birth-rate-web-clock-endangered-species
I have to question if our sites must become like this or should be fight for a simplified backend that works without all this nonsense? The middle road solution is clearly not a solution at all.
 
I have 'cleared cookies and site data' and my own site still loads.
I have PM'd you with other data.

I always use private browsing setting, so presume my caches are cleared each time on exiting FireFox.

The few sites that are very obstructive with tracking and pursuit of privite info, I just stop using. My blockers list the amount blocked on sites, its just scary how invasive this stuff is.
 
From the PM I could only suspect that sites with ???.zenfolio.com domain names will be not affected as they are technically not serving 3rd party cookies. That's a wild guess at this point but that's the closest we've come so far.

All custom name domains are likely to be affected.
 
Twigman said:
Call me an old cynic if you like but aren't pleas like this merely underhand advertising techniques designed to draw people to the OP's shop?
Particularly when one considers that none of the respondents suffered issues with load times as complained of by the OP.
Click to expand...

Do you really think we are the OPs target market?
 
I used to use Zenfolio and had to change due to poor image loading, the ghastly shop page and all sorts of other matters. Really frustrating.

Temporarily I used ShootProof but there were no SEO capabilities which is something to consider when changing as, in fairness to Zenfolio, this did work pretty well.

After much research I moved to TheImageFile as their layout suited my business (event photography) and I was able to customise the navigation graphics to EXACTLY what I wanted. SEO has proved good too. (Link to my website below - not looking for comments on it!!)

[Edit]

Just had a look at your website (lovely photos!) and they are loading but with many spinning wheels. This is primarily why I changed providers - TheImageFile is so much quicker and they don't grab commission on self fulfilled products.
 
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As a temporary fix I am thinking of designing the front page and some galleries like real estate showcase and blog myself on Wordpress then just link to Zenfolio at the default ???.zenfolio.com address to sales galleries if my understanding that these still work is correct. Then over time move those as well.
I don't fancy being held "hostage" by another provider in the future again. Anyone can be bought by careless investors, which is exactly what happened here a couple of years ago.

At the same time shall I seriously consider a different domain name? I own my first name, family name, Photoneta (currently pointed to unfinished wedding + portrait site) and a few more useless ones. The only concern is breaking google rank if there is one still left.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
From the PM I could only suspect that sites with ???.zenfolio.com domain names will be not affected as they are technically not serving 3rd party cookies. That's a wild guess at this point but that's the closest we've come so far.
Click to expand...

This could be correct, as I point to my zenfolio site from elsewhere, so my own is indeed a .zenfolio rather than a more true domain.
 
Now in addition to cookies issue Privacy badger started doing the same thing. So if you have the extension you get to disable it to see anything. I sent PB a report, hopefully they will act on it.
Imagine how many other extensions will be onto the same thing.

Not looking good at all :(
 
To be honest, a lot of these problems stem from companies thinking secretly selling tracking opportunities to others is a good thing and feeling the privacy relationship between them and their customers is just a money gaining opportunity. Each time you make a direct purchase, other companies you usually dont know are there at all on the site (sometimes a dozen or significantly more!) track everything you look at or buy. I never used to block stuff via my browser but as commercial 'hidden spying' has increased more and more, I have installed more and more software to retain my privacy as much as possible. The downside is that non-exploitve companies/business suffer as a result.

There really needs to be more regulation of invisible internet spying and tracking by 3rd parties, at the very least a visible list of all those who you are really dealing with should be required on sites. Users of internet sites should have an open choice. Lots of people must be being tracked simply because they have no awareness or have no skills to install privacy measures. If a more open approach is not taken long term I can only see this blocking / no longer being able to see stuff escalating as more companies spy and more people are forced to defend against it. Its becoming almost like the virus warfare.
 
These may be all the reasons for blocking trackers and other nasty content, but trouble is our *.zenfolio.com data (on custom domain sites) is being blanket blacklisted.

Trackers come from different domain names. I can see secure.quantserve.com and I bet there are google, fb, twitter and others too.

So it appears the only workaround is removing custom domain name or switching host altogether. I am not too optimistic about Zenfolio technical response.
 
Ran really quickly for me and then all of a sudden it just decided to not work and to hang.

This isn’t something I experience on other sites. The hanging would be enough for me as a customer to not continue.
 
Trackers etc I can see listed if I load my own .zenfolio site (listed in my blocking software)


Quantserve
New Relic
Appcues.com
2 more (unspecified)


The Independent Newspaper is quite a bad one - 17 trackers etc being blocked on their front page.
I have removed links to Facebook etc from within my zenfolio site as I do not require them.

I would add again, that generally I am happy with Zenfolio and have been for several years, thought the issue of this thread appears to be a problem they need to sort.
 
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