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Troubleshooting Sydney Theme: Fixing Call to Action Button and Anchor Link Issues

17 threads Sep 9, 2025 Theme → Sydney

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Common Problems with Sydney's Call to Action Buttons and Anchor Links

Many users of the Sydney WordPress theme report issues with call-to-action (CTA) buttons and anchor links not functioning as expected. These problems can range from buttons not working at all to links scrolling to the wrong position on the page. Based on community reports and solutions, here are the most common issues and how to resolve them.

1. CTA Buttons Not Working or Leading to 404 Errors

Problem: The most frequent complaint is that CTA buttons in the hero slider stop working, sometimes showing a "page not found" error even though the page exists and is accessible through menus.

Why it happens: This is typically caused by a script conflict with another active plugin or third-party code added to the site.

Solution: To identify the conflict:

  1. Install and activate the Health Check plugin
  2. Enable troubleshooting mode to temporarily disable all plugins
  3. Check if the CTA button works normally
  4. Re-enable plugins one by one to identify which one causes the conflict
  5. Clear your browser cache after each change

2. Mailto and Tel Links Not Functioning

Problem: Buttons or links with mailto: (email) or tel: (phone) prefixes don't trigger any action when clicked.

Why it happens: Some functionality may not work while previewing in the WordPress customizer, as you're viewing an iframe rather than the live site. Browser settings can also prevent these protocols from launching external applications.

Solution:

  1. First, check if the links work on the live site (not in customization preview)
  2. If they still don't work, test with different browsers
  3. For phone links specifically, you can add custom JavaScript using a plugin like TC Custom JavaScript:
(function($){
  if( $('.sydney-hero-area .subtitle .button-slider').length ) {
    $('.sydney-hero-area .subtitle .button-slider').attr('href', 'tel:+YOUR-PHONE-NUMBER');
  }
})(jQuery);

3. Anchor Links Scrolling to Wrong Position

Problem: When clicking anchor links (e.g., #section-name), the page scrolls to the correct element but the content appears behind the header, requiring additional scrolling to view properly.

Why it happens: The theme's sticky header isn't accounted for in the default anchor scrolling behavior, causing the target content to be partially obscured.

Solution: This typically requires custom CSS to add padding to anchor targets or JavaScript to offset the scroll position. The exact solution depends on your specific header height and structure.

4. Anchor Links Not Working Between Pages

Problem: Links from external pages to anchor points on the homepage don't scroll to the correct section.

Why it happens: The Sydney theme's one-page scrolling functionality may interfere with cross-page anchor linking.

Solution: Ensure you're using absolute paths with the correct format: https://yourdomain.com/#anchor-name (not https://yourdomain.com/page/#anchor-name when linking to the homepage).

5. "Bouncing" or Jumpy Scrolling Behavior

Problem: Instead of smooth scrolling, the page appears to "bounce" or jump to anchor points.

Why it happens: This can occur after theme updates or due to conflicts with other smooth scrolling scripts.

Solution: Check for multiple smooth scrolling implementations (either in the theme or plugins) and ensure only one is active.

General Troubleshooting Tips

  • Browser testing: Always check if issues appear in multiple browsers. Some problems (like fixed background attachments) may be browser-specific.
  • Theme conflict check: Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One) to confirm whether the issue is theme-related.
  • JavaScript errors: Check your browser's console for JavaScript errors that might indicate conflicts.
  • Cache clearing: Clear both your WordPress cache (if using a caching plugin) and your browser cache during testing.

Most CTA button and anchor link issues in the Sydney theme stem from plugin conflicts, incorrect URL formatting, or browser-specific behaviors. Following these troubleshooting steps should help resolve the majority of problems reported by users.

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