Before diving into debugging, it helps to understand that four things must be correctly configured for Candu content to appear:
1. Publishing State → Content must be published
Click the "Publish" button in the Candu editor and select your target segments. Until you do this, content remains in draft mode and won't appear to anyone.
2. Placement → Defines where content shows on your page
For tours, hotspots, and embedded inline content, Candu needs to know exactly where on your page to insert content. This is done by selecting an HTML element, usually by taking a snapshot or defining a selector manually.
3. Segments → Controls who sees your content
Define your audience based on attributes like plan type, role, or user journey stage. By default, you can publish to "Everyone," but in that case, content will only show on pages that match your URL rules or trigger rules.
4. URL Rules → Controls which pages content shows on
Even if your selector exists on multiple pages, URL rules determine which specific pages display your content. Your current page URL must match these rules.
All four must be set correctly. Otherwise, your content won't appear.
💡 New to publishing? Read our complete Publishing Candu Content guide first.
Quick summary of common causes
Problem | What to Check | Fix |
Selector doesn't exist | Run | |
Targeting wrong URL | Compare browser URL to placement URL rules | Update URL rules or navigate to correct page |
User not in segment | Segment > User Feed | Verify user traits match segment criteria |
Looking in the wrong workspace | Check Chrome Extension to confirm workspace | Switch environments or republish to correct workspace |
Content was dismissed | Check "Until dismissed" setting | Change to "On every page load" for overlays, hotspots, and tours when testing |
Content not published or updates not confirmed | Check button says "Published" | Click green "Publish" or Update button |
Browser extension blocking Candu | Open incognito mode | Disable extensions temporarily |
Z-index issue | Inspect element's z-index value | Increase or decrease Z-Index value on overlays, tours, or hotspots from the toolbox |
Quick checks before you continue
Try these first, they solve many issues:
Hard refresh: Hit Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac) to clear your cache
Check publish status
Wait 5 minutes: Content can take up to 5 minutes to appear after publishing
Check browser extensions: Ad blockers or privacy extensions may block Candu content. You can try disabling extensions temporarily or open an incognito/private window.
Check for console errors: Open your browser console (F12, or Ctrl+Shift+J on Windows, Cmd+Option+J on Mac). If you see any errors, take a screenshot and contact support.
If content still isn't showing after these checks, use the diagnostic guide below.
Most Common Issues
The three most common reasons content doesn't show:
Selector issues: The HTML element your content is attached to doesn't exist on this page.
URL doesn't match: You're on a different page than where content is configured to show.
Segment issue: You're not in the target audience for this content.
Check selectors
Go to Settings > Placements in the Candu editor
Copy the HTML selector
Open the Console (F12 or right-click > Inspect > Console tab)
Type:
document.querySelector("div.my-selector")(paste your actual selector)If pasting doesn't work, type
allowand press Enter first
Press Enter
If the console returns null, your selector doesn't exist on this page.
💡 New to these concepts? Check out our full guide on troubleshooting selector issues.
Check URL targeting
Look at the URL in your browser address bar
Go to Settings > Placements in the Candu editor
Look for "Test a URL"
Paste the full URL of the page where you want content to appear
Candu will show whether that URL matches your current rules
URLs often contain dynamic values like user, account, or workspace IDs that need to be replaced with wildcards. Double check that your rules are correctly configured.
💡 New to URL targeting? Check out our full guide on setting up URL rules.
Check segment targeting
Always check that you match the segment criteria.
Go to Analytics > Users
Search for your user ID
Go to Segment Membership
If a segment doesn't appear for the user ID, it means it does not meet the segment conditions. Review your segment conditions, then:
Go to User Feed
Search for your user ID
When your user meets the conditions, the Match Status will update to "Matched"
💡 New to segmentation? Learn more about creating your first segment.
Installation Issues
Candu not installed on the right page or workspace
Always ensure the workspace matches where you created content. Also, sometimes Candu might not be installed on a specific page in your product. To check both the workspace and installation status, open the Candu Chrome Extension:
Navigate to a page where Candu is installed
Click Page Status
From the dropdown, select the workspace
Under "Current page status" section to confirm:
"SDK installed" shows a green checkmark
"Is SDK up to date" shows a green checkmark
CORS errors
If you see CORS errors in the console, there are two potential causes:
Domain not whitelisted in Candu: Go to Settings > Whitelisted Domains and add all domains where your content will be embedded.
Your site is blocking Candu: Your site's security settings may be preventing Candu from loading. Work with your IT team to whitelist Candu domains in your security settings:
https://api.candu.ai/https://cdn.candu.ai/https://media.candulabs.com/
Not sure if Candu installed? If this is your first time setting up Candu, check out our Installation Guide.
Other Issues
Content showed before but now it's gone
You might have dismissed it: Candu remembers when you dismiss modals, banners, product tours, or hotspots so they don't show again.
My tour/hotspot/modal trigger isn't working
Check your trigger configuration:
Go to Settings > Placements in the editor (or press P in the toolbox)
Review the "Define when content should appear" section
Common trigger issues:
Selector doesn't exist on the page
If your selector doesn't exist on the page, your content won't display. Verify the click selector exists using:
document.querySelector("your-click-selector")
On page load
Should appear automatically, if not, check other settings (selector, URL, segment)
Trigger via code
Content is set to be triggered programmatically
Check that the trigger code is implemented correctly (See developer docs)
Multiple placements are conflicting
If your content has multiple placement definitions, and they're interfering with each other, Candu will try to match the first available placement.
How to fix:
Go to the Placements tab in the editor
Remove any duplicate or extra placements (click the trash bin icon)
Keep only one placement per piece of content
Still not working?
If you've tried all these steps and your content still isn't showing, reach out to Candu Support via chat or email at [email protected] and include the following:
• A link to the content in the Candu editor
• A short description of the issue and the steps you’ve already taken
• Screenshots or a short recording that shows the behavior
• Testing credentials if your site requires login (this helps us reproduce the issue)