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Troubleshooting: site errors, slow loading, and mobile issues

Updated May 21, 2026

Fix the most common site errors, performance issues, and mobile display problems on your Fourthwall site

When supporters land on your site and see an error page, a slow-loading shop, or a layout that looks broken on their phone, they're likely to leave. Don't worry, most of these issues have simple fixes you can handle yourself.

Quick fixes to try first​

Before troubleshooting a specific issue, try these steps. They resolve most display and loading problems:

  1. Clear your browser cache and cookies, then reload the page.
  2. Open your site in an incognito or private window to rule out cached data or browser extensions causing the issue.
  3. Try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) to confirm the issue isn't browser-specific.
  4. Check the Fourthwall Status Page for any ongoing outages or maintenance.

If supporters report an issue you can't reproduce, ask them to try these same steps.

404 "Page not found" errors​

A 404 error means the URL a supporter visited doesn't match any page on your site. Here are the most common causes and fixes.

You recently connected a custom domain​

If you just set up a custom domain, your DNS records may not have fully propagated. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to go into effect worldwide.

What to do:

  1. Go to Settings > Domains in your dashboard.
  2. Confirm your DNS records match the values shown in the setup instructions.
  3. Wait up to 48 hours. If the 404 persists after that, contact Fourthwall support.
note

If your custom domain works but your default yourshop.fourthwall.com URL shows a 404, this is expected. Once a custom domain is active, traffic routes through it.

A product or page URL changed​

If you renamed a product or changed its URL slug, the old link will return a 404. Supporters who bookmarked the old URL, or links shared on social media, will hit this error.

What to do:

  • Check Products to confirm the product still exists and note its current URL.
  • Update any links you've shared on social media, your bio, or other platforms.
  • If a product was deleted, supporters visiting its old URL will always see a 404.

A page was removed or never published​

If you removed a page from your site in the site designer, or if a product is set to Hidden, the URL returns a 404.

What to do:

  1. Go to Site Designer and check your published pages.
  2. Check that the product's visibility is set to Published, not Hidden.

You get a 404 on your own admin dashboard​

The fixes above cover storefront 404s, the errors your supporters see when a public URL doesn't resolve. An admin-dashboard 404 is a different case. If you hit a 404 on a URL like my-shop.fourthwall.com/admin/... after confirming the URL is correct and clearing your browser cache, contact Fourthwall support right away. Don't spend more time on customer-side troubleshooting.

Admin access can be blocked by account-level state that only Fourthwall can inspect, like plan flags, account suspension, or permission issues. None of these are visible to you from the dashboard, and they can't be fixed from your end.

Before contacting support, run this quick checklist:

  1. Confirm the URL is correct and matches a real admin page.
  2. Take a screenshot of the 404 page, including the full URL bar.
  3. Note your browser and device (for example, Chrome on macOS, Safari on iOS).
  4. Test in an incognito or private window and note the result.
  5. List any custom code you've recently added to your shop.

Send these details to support@fourthwall.com so the team can diagnose the issue on the first reply.

Slow-loading pages and images​

A slow site frustrates supporters and can hurt your sales. These are the most common causes.

Large image files​

Oversized images are the number one cause of slow page loads. Images uploaded at full camera resolution (often 5 MB or more per file) take much longer to load, especially on mobile connections.

What to do:

  • Use WebP format for product images whenever possible. WebP files are smaller than JPEG or PNG at the same quality.
  • Resize images before uploading. For product images, 1500 x 1500 pixels is a good target. Larger files don't improve how the image looks on your shop.
  • Check your product images by going to Products and reviewing any recently uploaded photos.
tip

Free tools like Squoosh let you convert and compress images to WebP in seconds.

Too many sections on one page​

Each section on your homepage loads its own images, text, and styling. Pages with 15 or more sections can feel sluggish, especially on slower connections.

What to do:

  • Open Site Designer and review your homepage.
  • Remove or consolidate sections that are redundant or rarely seen by supporters scrolling down.
  • Move less critical content to separate pages instead of stacking everything on the homepage.

Third-party scripts and custom code​

Custom JavaScript, tracking pixels, or embedded widgets from other platforms can slow your site. Each script adds extra network requests that delay page rendering.

What to do:

  1. Go to Settings > Custom Code in your dashboard.
  2. Review any scripts you've added. Remove anything you're no longer using.
  3. If you're unsure which script is causing the slowdown, remove them one at a time and test your site speed after each removal.

Page appears blank to visitors​

Sometimes a page looks fine in your dashboard preview but shows up blank, missing sections, or partially empty for supporters. This usually points to a visibility, save state, or caching issue rather than a true error. Work through these five checks in order.

Step 1: Check section visibility​

Each section in Site Designer has an eye icon next to its name. If the eye is crossed out, the section is hidden from visitors even though it still appears in your editor.

What to do:

  1. Open Site Designer and select the page in question.
  2. Look at the section list on the left.
  3. Click the eye icon on any section that should be visible. A solid eye means the section is live for supporters.

Step 2: Check Custom HTML section content​

A Custom HTML section that renders blank usually contains one of three things: empty content, only HTML comments (<!-- ... -->), or an iframe that the visitor's browser blocks. Browsers block iframes when the embedded site sends an X-Frame-Options header or a strict cross-origin policy.

What to do:

  1. In Site Designer, open the Custom HTML section.
  2. Confirm the section has actual rendered content, not just comments or whitespace.
  3. If you embedded an iframe, open your live shop in an incognito window and check the browser console for cross-origin or X-Frame-Options errors. If the third-party site blocks embedding, swap the iframe for a direct link or an embed code the provider supports.

Step 3: Check published-but-not-saved state​

If you added or edited a section in Site Designer and clicked Publish without first clicking Save, the live site may publish without your latest changes.

What to do:

  1. Open Site Designer for the affected page.
  2. Click Save to commit any pending edits.
  3. Click Publish again to push the saved version live.

Step 4: Check theme version mismatch or preview-vs-live cache​

The Site Designer preview shows your most recent saved draft. The live shop serves the most recent published version, which your browser may also be caching from an earlier visit. If the two look different, the gap is usually a stale cache or an unpublished draft.

What to do:

  • Click Publish in Site Designer to make sure the latest saved version is live.
  • Open your live shop in an incognito window to bypass your browser cache.
  • If the live site still looks outdated, hard-refresh the page: Ctrl + Shift + R on Windows, or Cmd + Shift + R on Mac.

For supporters in the EU and UK, your shop displays a GDPR cookie banner on first paint. On smaller screens or with longer banner copy, the banner can cover content above the fold and make the page look blank until a supporter dismisses it.

What to do:

  • Open your shop in an incognito window from a desktop and a mobile device.
  • Watch for the cookie banner on first load and confirm it doesn't fully obscure your hero section.
  • If the banner covers critical content, shorten your hero text, raise the hero section's height, or move key calls to action lower on the page.

Mobile display issues​

If your site looks correct on desktop but broken on a phone or tablet, the issue is usually related to custom code or content width.

Check the mobile preview in Site Designer​

Fourthwall's built-in themes are responsive by default, meaning they automatically adjust for smaller screens. If your layout looks off on mobile, start by previewing it.

What to do:

  1. Go to Site Designer.
  2. Click the mobile preview icon in the top bar to see how your site appears on smaller screens.
  3. Check each page for overlapping text, cut-off images, or sections that extend beyond the screen width.

Custom HTML or CSS is not mobile-friendly​

If you've added custom HTML or CSS through the Custom Code settings, that code may not include responsive styles. Desktop-only code is the most common cause of broken mobile layouts.

What to do:

  • Review any custom HTML and CSS in Settings > Custom Code.
  • Make sure your custom code uses responsive techniques like percentage-based widths or CSS media queries instead of fixed pixel widths.
  • Test your changes using the mobile preview in Site Designer after every edit.
caution

Important: If you remove custom code and the mobile layout looks correct again, the issue is in your code, not in Fourthwall's theme. Re-add your custom code piece by piece to find the specific block causing the problem.

Images or embeds wider than the screen​

A single image or embedded widget that's wider than the mobile viewport will push the entire page layout off-screen, creating a horizontal scroll bar.

What to do:

  • Avoid setting fixed pixel widths on images in custom code. Use max-width: 100% so images scale down on smaller screens.
  • Check any embedded iframes (YouTube, Spotify, etc.) for hard-coded width values. Replace fixed widths with responsive embed code.

When to contact Fourthwall support​

If you've tried the steps above and the issue persists, reach out to support with the following details:

  • The URL where the issue occurs.
  • A screenshot or screen recording showing the problem.
  • The browser and device you (or your supporter) are using.
  • Whether the issue happens in incognito mode.
  • Any custom code you've added to your site.

This information helps the support team diagnose the issue faster.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at support@fourthwall.com.

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