WordPress dashboard icons not showing fix

Troubleshooting WordPress Dashboard Icons Not Showing

Experiencing missing icons on your WordPress dashboard can be a frustrating issue, affecting your ability to navigate efficiently. This guide dives into several methods to resolve this peculiar problem, ensuring your site management activities are seamless and uninterrupted.

1. Check Browser Cache

Before diving into complex solutions, start with a simple browser cache check. Outdated cache files can prevent the latest versions of web assets, including icons, from loading correctly.

Steps to Clear Browser Cache:

• On Google Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data.
• For Firefox users, access Options > Privacy & Security > Clear Data under Cookies and Site Data.
• Safari users can navigate to Safari menu > Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All.

After clearing the cache, refresh your WordPress dashboard to see if this resolves the issue.

2. Verify Plugin Conflicts

Plugins enhance site functionality but can sometimes conflict with WordPress core or other plugins, leading to issues like missing icons.

Plugin Troubleshooting Steps:

• Deactivate all plugins from the WordPress dashboard or rename the plugins directory via FTP.
• Reactivate each plugin one by one, checking the dashboard after each activation to pinpoint the problematic plugin.
• Once identified, check for an updated version of the plugin or contact the plugin developer for support.

3. Ensure Asset Loading from Google Fonts

WordPress uses Google Fonts for dashboard icons. If your server or local machine blocks Google Fonts, icons may not display correctly.

Solution:

• Verify your server’s firewall settings to ensure there are no restrictions on Google Fonts.
• Ensure your local network or internet provider doesn’t block Google Fonts.

4. Update WordPress and Themes

Running outdated versions of WordPress or your active theme can cause compatibility issues like missing icons.

Updating Steps:

• Navigate to Dashboard > Updates in WordPress.
• Install any available updates for WordPress, themes, and plugins.

Keep your system components updated to avoid security vulnerabilities and functionality issues.

5. Check Configuration Issues with SSL/HTTPS

Misconfiguration in SSL/HTTPS settings can also cause resources to load improperly, affecting icons.

What to Check:

• Ensure that your site URL and WordPress URL are consistent in using HTTPS by going to Settings > General.
• If your site uses an SSL certificate, ensure it is correctly installed and that your server configuration supports HTTPS.

6. Utilize Developer Console

The browser’s developer console can provide clues to why icons are not loading. JavaScript errors or resource load failures are commonly displayed here.

How to Use Developer Console:

• Right-click on the page and select Inspect.
• Go to the Console tab to look for errors.
• Address the specific errors indicated which could involve script conflicts or missing files.

7. Refresh User Roles and Capabilities

Corruption in user roles and capabilities could potentially affect how items, including icons, are displayed on the dashboard.

Refreshing User Roles:

• Use a plugin like User Role Editor to reset roles to their defaults.
• Alternatively, use WP-CLI command line tool: wp role reset --all.

8. File Permission Issues

Incorrect file permissions might restrict the web server from accessing font files necessary for displaying icons.

File Permission Correction:

• Connect to your server with an FTP client.
• Navigate to the wp-includes directory.
• Make sure the directory and files within have proper permissions set (typically 755 for directories and 644 for files).

9. Consult with Hosting Provider

If all else fails, your web hosting provider may offer insights or solutions based on their specific server configurations and known issues.

• Contact your hosting support detailing the issue for personalized troubleshooting.

By methodically working through these troubleshooting steps, users can effectively resolve the issue of missing WordPress dashboard icons, ensuring a functional and aesthetically pleasing administrative experience. By addressing browser caches, checking plugins, updating system software, ensuring proper SSL configurations, leveraging developer tools, managing user roles, correcting file permissions, and seeking host support, most icon display issues can be resolved, enhancing both usability and productivity.