Table of Contents
Problem Description #
Users sometimes expect the Back Button to behave like a consistent “return to previous site page” but find that it doesn’t work as expected, either nothing happens, or the site returns to homepage or menu expands unexpectedly.
Common symptoms:
- Clicking Back doesn’t change page (because there is no previous history).
- Navigation returns to homepage instead of last internal page.
- Dropdown menu on previous page reopens automatically after back navigation. (Reported for dropdown-based navigation on previous page.) WPFactory+1
Typical causes:
- Browser history is empty or does not contain a usable “previous page” (e.g., user landed from external site, or opened page in new tab).
- Using JS-based “go back” (history.back()) relies on browser history; if there is none, the button cannot navigate.
- Some themes or menus use JS to rebuild/expand menus on load; navigating back triggers those scripts, causing the menu to auto-expand again.
Solution-step-by-step + recommendations
- Understand limitations of browser history-based navigation
- Realize that “Back Button” replicates the browser’s back function. If there is no previous page in history (user opened directly or from external site), clicking back may do nothing or return to homepage (depending on browser).
- It is not a “go to specific page” link, for that, use a custom link.
- If you need a fixed “go to page X” behavior instead of history-based back, use a custom link
For example:
<a href=”/products/”>Back to products</a>
- Or, in plugin terms (if plugin supports), use custom URL instead of history-based JS.
3. For dropdown menu issues (menu auto-expand on back)
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- This is a theme/menu behavior, after back navigation, page load triggers JS that reopens dropdowns.
- Workaround: use custom CSS or JS to collapse menu by default (on page load), or disable auto-expand feature in theme if possible.
4. Inform users about behavior limitations
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- In your documentation/help page, explain that the Back Button behaves like the browser’s back button, so if the user arrived directly or via external referrer, “Back” may not do anything.
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Prerequisites
- None special, this is more about user expectations than plugin setup.
Additional Notes / Prevention
- For critical navigation flows (e.g. checkout flows, step-by-step content), consider adding explicit “Back to previous section” links/anchors rather than relying solely on browser history (especially for users opening in new tabs).
