Recently I encountered an issue with the Essential grid plugin not working, the preview will just now show anything.
Because of that, I was not able to manage my videos from the website.
After a bit of research, it seems that if you are using an older version of this WordPress plugin and you update to at least WordPress 5.6, the preview tool from wp-admin will not work anymore, basically it will not display anything.
Because of that, you will not be able to manage your existing video grids or add a new one. I’ve also noticed that the “save” option will not work anymore. So if you plan to re-arrange your videos, you will not be able to.
First solution to fix the issue with the Essential grid plugin not working, adding manually widget.min.js
This happens because the Essential grid plugin is using widgets.min.js.
What you need to do if the Eseential grid plugin is not working:
1. Check /wp-includes/js/jquery/ui folder for a file named widget.min.js
If you don’t find it, search in an older version of WordPress for it.
2.After you copy the widget.min.js file to your WordPress path /wp-includes/js/jquery/ui, add the following code:
wp_enqueue_script( ‘jquery-ui-widget’ );
wp_enqueue_script( ‘jquery-ui-slider’ );
Where to insert this code? I’ll suggest inside functions.php file located here ./wp-content/themes/theme_name/functions.php
If that doesn’t work
Backup your WordPress website (the files and the sql database).
Install the plugin called “WP Downgrade“.
Downgrade to WordPress 5.5.
Check the Essential grid plugin, this time you should see the preview images and it should work perfect.
Now you just need to remember to not upgrade your WordPress version.
Version 5.5 could hold up great for at least 2-3 years, so you will have time to either buy the Essential Grid plugin so you will have a more recent version that most likely will work.
Either you can look for another plugin or even build your own video gallery, maybe using Bootstrap.