Sistent Site: Fixing The Duplicate Footer Issue

by Sebastian Müller 48 views

Hey guys! Have you ever stumbled upon a weird bug that just makes you scratch your head? Well, that's exactly what's happening over at the Layer5 Sistent site. We've got a bit of a quirky issue where a duplicate footer appears on certain pages when you refresh them. Let's dive into this and see what's going on!

The Sistent Site Footer Glitch

So, here's the deal. On the Sistent site, some pages are showing double the footer when you hit that refresh button. It's not a massive problem, but it definitely messes with the overall look and feel of the site. What's even more interesting is that this doesn't happen when you directly open the page using its URL. It's only when you refresh an already loaded page that the duplicate footer decides to make its grand appearance.

Affected Pages

This sneaky footer duplication is only happening on a few specific pages, which makes it even weirder:

  • /about
  • /identity/* (any subpage)
  • /components/* (any subpage)

If you're browsing these sections and hit refresh, you're likely to see two footers stacked on top of each other. It's like the site is so enthusiastic about its footer that it wants to show it off twice!

How to Reproduce the Issue

Want to see this footer magic trick for yourself? Here’s how you can reproduce the issue:

  1. Go to https://layer5.io/projects/sistent/about.
  2. Refresh the page (either by pressing F5, clicking the refresh button in your browser, or using the Cmd/Ctrl + R shortcut).
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
  4. Boom! You should see two identical footers hanging out at the bottom.

It's a pretty consistent issue, so you should be able to see it every time you refresh on those specific pages.

Expected Behavior: One Footer to Rule Them All

Now, what should be happening? Well, the footer should only render once. Just a single, solitary footer doing its job at the bottom of the page. This is the behavior we see on most other pages of the site, so it's a bit strange that these specific pages are acting up.

We expect the footer to be a one-hit-wonder, not a double act. It keeps the site looking clean and professional, without any unnecessary clutter.

Visual Evidence: Screenshots

To give you a better idea of what's going on, here's a screenshot showcasing the duplicate footer in all its glory:

Duplicate Footer Screenshot

As you can see, it's pretty clear that there are two footers there. It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely something we want to fix.

Diving Deeper: Contributor Resources and Handbook

Okay, so we've identified the issue. Now, what can we do about it? Well, the Layer5 community is all about collaboration, so let's talk about how you can get involved!

The layer5.io website is built using some cool tech like Gatsby, React, and GitHub Pages. The site content lives in the master branch on GitHub. If you're interested in helping out, there are plenty of resources available to get you started.

Contributing Instructions

First off, you'll want to check out the contributing instructions. This guide will walk you through the process of contributing to the project, from setting up your environment to submitting your first pull request. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone looking to get involved.

Wireframes and Designs

If you're more of a visual person, you might be interested in the wireframes and designs for the Layer5 site in Figma. You can even get an open invite to the Figma project, which is awesome! This is a great way to see the overall vision for the site and how everything fits together.

Questions and Discussions

Got questions? We've got answers! There are a couple of great places to get help and chat with the community:

  • Discussion Forum: This is a great place to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss all things Layer5.
  • Community Slack: If you prefer real-time chat, the Slack community is super active and always ready to help out.

Join the Community

Want to officially join the Layer5 community? Awesome! You can submit your community member form to get involved. We're always looking for new contributors, and it's a great way to connect with like-minded people.

Digging into the Tech Stack: Gatsby, React, and GitHub Pages

Let's geek out for a moment and talk about the tech stack behind the layer5.io website. Knowing a bit about the tools we're using can help us understand why this duplicate footer issue might be happening and how we can fix it.

Gatsby: The Static Site Generator

Gatsby is a powerful static site generator that uses React. It's designed to build incredibly fast websites by pre-rendering content into static HTML files. This means that when a user visits a page, the browser can quickly load the content without waiting for the server to generate it on the fly.

Gatsby uses a data layer powered by GraphQL, which allows us to pull data from various sources, like Markdown files, APIs, and databases. This flexibility is fantastic for building complex sites with lots of content.

React: The User Interface Library

React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It allows us to create reusable UI components that can be composed together to build complex interfaces. React uses a virtual DOM, which makes updating the UI very efficient.

In the context of the Layer5 site, React is used to build all the interactive elements and components, including the footer. Understanding how React components are structured and rendered is crucial for debugging issues like the duplicate footer.

GitHub Pages: Hosting the Site

GitHub Pages is a static site hosting service provided by GitHub. It's a simple and convenient way to host websites directly from a GitHub repository. When we push changes to the master branch, GitHub Pages automatically deploys the updated site.

Since GitHub Pages serves static files, the rendering logic is primarily handled by Gatsby and React. This means that the duplicate footer issue is likely related to how these tools are rendering the footer component, rather than a server-side problem.

Potential Causes of the Duplicate Footer

Given the tech stack, here are a few potential causes of the duplicate footer issue:

  1. Component Rendering: There might be a bug in the React component responsible for rendering the footer. It could be accidentally rendering the footer twice under certain conditions, such as when the page is refreshed.
  2. Layout Issues: The layout structure of the affected pages might be causing the footer to be included twice. This could be due to an incorrect import or rendering of the footer component within the page's layout.
  3. Gatsby Plugin Conflicts: It's possible that a Gatsby plugin is interfering with the rendering process and causing the footer to be duplicated. Plugins can sometimes have unexpected side effects, so it's worth investigating if any recent plugin updates or changes could be the cause.
  4. Caching Issues: Although less likely, there could be a caching issue where the footer is being cached and then rendered twice on refresh.

How to Tackle the Issue

So, how can we go about fixing this duplicate footer problem? Here are a few steps we can take:

  1. Inspect the Code: The first step is to dive into the code and examine the footer component and the layout of the affected pages. We'll want to look for any obvious issues, such as duplicate imports or incorrect rendering logic.
  2. Debug with React DevTools: React DevTools is a browser extension that allows us to inspect React components and their props. This can be incredibly helpful for understanding how the footer component is being rendered and why it might be duplicated.
  3. Check Gatsby Configuration: We should also review the Gatsby configuration files to see if there are any plugins or settings that could be causing the issue.
  4. Test Thoroughly: Once we've made a potential fix, it's important to test it thoroughly. We should try refreshing the affected pages multiple times and also test on different browsers and devices to ensure the issue is resolved.

Wrapping Up: Let's Fix This Footer!

Alright guys, we've taken a good look at this duplicate footer issue on the Layer5 Sistent site. We've seen how to reproduce the bug, discussed the expected behavior, and even delved into the tech stack to understand potential causes.

Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work on fixing it! If you're interested in contributing, remember to check out the contributing instructions and join the community on the Discussion Forum or Community Slack.

Let's make sure those footers are standing solo and the Layer5 site is looking its best! Happy coding!