When you click on a category tab (in a Gallery ), the page freezes, keeps spinning, or shows no images.

Below are the 3 main reasons why this happens and simple steps to fix it.

Common reasons why it happens

1. Old security token (WordPress Nonce Expiry)

WordPress uses a secret security code called a Nonce to make sure tab clicks are safe.

• This security code automatically expires after 12 to 24 hours.
• If a Caching plugin saves an old copy of your page, the old security code stays on the page.
• When a visitor clicks a tab after 12–24 hours, WordPress rejects the old security code, causing the tab to freeze or stop working.

2. JavaScript delay or optimization plugins

Speed optimization plugins (like WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, SG Optimizer) try to speed up your website by delaying or combining JavaScript files.

• Sometimes, these plugins delay the script that runs the filter tabs.
• Because the script doesn’t run at the right time, clicking the tabs does nothing.

3. Hosting server or CDN caching

High-speed hosting (like Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround) or CDNs (like Cloudflare) save static snapshots of your website pages to load them faster.

• Sometimes they save an old snapshot of the category tabs.
• This prevents the gallery from fetching new photos when you click a category.

How to fix it

Step 1: Clear all website caches

1. Clear Plugin Cache: Click “Clear Cache” in your caching plugin (WP Rocket / LiteSpeed).
2. Clear Hosting Cache: Clear cache from your hosting dashboard (SiteGround / Kinsta / WP Engine).
3. Clear Browser Cache: Press Ctrl + F5 (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) on your keyboard.

Step 2: Fix the security token (Nonce) expiry

To prevent tabs from breaking after 12–24 hours:

• Reduce Cache Lifespan: Open your caching plugin settings (e.g., WP Rocket) and change Cache Lifespan to 10 hours or 12 hours.
• This automatically refreshes the page cache before the security token expires!

Step 3: Exclude gallery scripts from JS delay

If your speed plugin is delaying scripts:

1. Go to your caching plugin’s File Optimization settings.
2. Turn off Delay JavaScript Execution OR add our gallery plugin to the Exclude List.

Step 4: Check for plugin conflicts

1. Temporarily turn off other plugins one by one.
2. Check if the filter tabs start working again. This will help you find if another plugin is causing a conflict.

Need help?

If you’ve tried these steps and still face issues, please share temporary WordPress Admin access with us, and our support team will happily check and fix it for you!