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Hey - Dr Tim here. With your online tech diagnostics.

Let's talk about tech problems.

Not the catastrophic, server-on-fire, call-your-developer-at-3am problems.

I'm talking about the everyday tech hiccups that make content marketers lose their minds - and waste hours they could spend creating.

You know, the digital equivalent of WebMD telling you that headache is definitely a rare tropical disease.

Tech Hypochondria: When You Think Your Stack Is Dying But It Just Needs Aspirin

You know that moment.

Your website loads a millisecond slower than usual.

Your email open rates drop 2%.

Your CMS throws a weird error message with lots of red text.

And suddenly you're convinced your entire tech stack is terminal. You're Googling "how much does a website redesign cost" and considering a career change to alpaca farming.

dramatic music intensifies

You're one YouTube tutorial away from setting your laptop on fire and starting a newsletter via carrier pigeon.

Relax. It's probably not cancer. It's probably just a cold.

Or as we say in tech: have you tried turning it off and on again?

5 Common Tech "Emergencies" With Dead Simple Fixes

1. "My WordPress site is suddenly slow!"

You're ready to migrate to Webflow or rebuild from scratch.

"Time for a complete rebrand," you whisper to yourself at 2am, eyes bloodshot from staring at loading icons.

But 9 times out of 10, it's just:

• That bloated image gallery plugin you installed because it had a cool hover effect

• Your 56 tabs of draft posts you never published (but might one day... maybe... probably not)

• Caching issues that need clearing (the digital equivalent of unclogging a sink)

The fix: Install WP Rocket. Delete unused plugins. Optimize your images. Done. Like 15 minutes of work instead of the 40-hour website overhaul you were planning.

The WordPress Plugin Graveyard

Let's get specific. These plugins are the digital equivalent of wearing a heavy backpack while trying to sprint:

• Contact Form 7: Loads assets on EVERY page (even ones without forms). Why? Nobody knows.

• Jetpack: The Swiss Army knife nobody asked for. Like buying a Ferrari just to use the cup holder.

• Revolution Slider: So much code to... slide an image? It's like hiring a symphony orchestra to play the triangle.

• Visual Composer: The name should be "Visual Bloater." It's what happens when code gets paid by the line.

• WPML: Turns your sleek site into a linguistic sumo wrestler. Absolutely massive.

2. "My email deliverability is tanking!"

Before you switch ESPs and spend weeks rebuilding your automations:

• Check if you're still sending to people who haven't opened in 180+ days

• Look at your link-to-text ratio (too many links = spam folder)

• See if your IP has been blacklisted (MXToolbox.com will tell you)

The fix: Clean your list. Reduce links. Focus on engagement, not just list size.

If you’re interested, I’d be happy to go over the stats for this newsletter so far. It’s kinda baffling to me tbh.

3. "My analytics shows zero traffic but I know people are visiting!"

Don't immediately blame Google or rebuild your tracking setup.

Check if:

• Your ad blocker is on (yes, really)

• Your GA4 configuration tag actually fired

• Your consent management is blocking tracking

The fix: Use Tag Assistant to verify. Exclude your IP. Test in incognito.

4. "My lead magnet isn't converting anymore!"

Before rebuilding your entire funnel:

• Test the download link (is it actually broken?)

• Check if the file is too big (mobile users bail after 5MB)

• See if your form validation has gone rogue (rejecting valid emails)

The fix: Simple QA testing. From a fresh browser. On multiple devices.

5. "My CMS keeps crashing when I publish!"

Before migrating to a new platform:

• Look at when you last updated your theme

• Check your database size (bloated = slow)

• Consider your hosting (that $3/month plan isn't cutting it anymore)

The fix: Update everything. Purge old revisions. Maybe spend $10 more on hosting.

The Tech Triage Checklist

I've been building content systems for too long.

My keyboard has more coffee stains than a Starbucks floor.

Here's my universal tech troubleshooting process:

1. Clear cache and cookies (the digital equivalent of "turn it off and on again")

2. Try incognito mode (removes all your weird Chrome extensions that might be interfering)

3. Check for recent plugin updates (yes, that WordPress security update DOES matter)

4. Look at server load (is your $5/month hosting plan having a midlife crisis?)

5. Test on mobile (because that's where 70% of your traffic comes from anyway)

6. Try a different browser (Safari and Chrome are basically different planets)

7. THEN freak out (but only a little, preferably with ice cream)

You'd be shocked how often steps 1-3 solve "major crises." Like 90% of the time. The other 10%? Steps 4-6.

Real talk: I've never actually reached step 7 in five years.
If you wanna know what happened 6 years ago, when I did freak out reply with
WHAT HAPPENED TIM, ARE YOU OK?

The Real Lesson Here

When tech problems arise, remember:

Simple explanations > Complex ones.
Obvious fixes > Rebuilding from scratch.
Quick diagnostics > Immediate overhauls.
Boring solutions > Shiny new tools.

Your content stack probably doesn't need intensive care. It needs a nap, some vitamins, and maybe to lay off the sugary plugins for a while.

I once watched a client spend $15,000 on a website rebuild when their problem was a $19.99 plugin conflict.

Don't be that client.

✌️ Tim "Percussive Maintenance Specialist" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

P.S. What's the tech issue that's been driving you mad lately? Hit reply and I'll try to diagnose it next week. Sometimes the fix is 30 seconds away. Or as my dad would say: "Have you checked if it's plugged in?"