New StoryMaps Slow to Load

[DebsGray]

When editing the new StoryMap, I have found that it's quite slow to load, particularly the express maps. Have others come across this or is it just slow on my end?

I'm still in draft mode and haven't tested the loading speed when the StoryMap is published. Could it just be slow in the draft mode?

[OwenGeo]

Hello -- Yes, there are several things we do to boost performance of published stories compared to when you are working in builder or looking at an unpublished draft. Can you test your internet connection at a site like fast.com or speedtest.net? You could also try publishing a test story or perhaps viewing some stories published by others to see if you see the same thing.

You can find some stories to test here: Explore the World of Storytelling | ArcGIS StoryMaps Gallery 

Can you also provide a little more information about the slowness you are seeing so we can look into this? How many seconds do the express maps take to load? Is it the entire map that is slow or just certain basemap tiles? Is it all the maps or just the first one in the story?

[DebsGray]

Hey Owen

Thanks for responding. I have tested my internet connection and my download speed is 46.37Mbps.

Since I posted, I have published the story and I can see that the story is quicker to load once it's been published. I have compared the two and found the below:

Draft/editing mode:

• It takes 20-30 seconds for maps to load, this is the entire map, sometimes the features show first and then the map or vice versa. It's like this for express maps and ArcGIS maps.
• It also takes a long time to scroll through the StoryMaps, which makes creating and editing the story a little frustrating.

Published mode:

• The maps are quicker to load and take about 10-15 seconds.

[OwenGeo]

Thanks for the additional information. That certainly isn't expected or typical.

Is this the case just for your own stories or are the map slow to load in other publicly available stories like the ones on this page?

Map rendering for web maps depends heavily on the data in the map, but you've also reported that express maps are slow, and those only rely on basemaps from ArcGIS. Are your maps slow if you view them in the ArcGIS map viewer (outside of a story map)? Can you try accessing your stories from another network, like your home network, to see if there is any difference in performance? Are any of your stories or web maps public and if so can you share the links here so we can take a look? If not, I'd suggest that you contact Esri Support for additional assistance troubleshoot your private content.

[DebsGray]

I've opened another public StoryMap as you suggested and the first maps are taking about 10 seconds to load, but then the rest of the maps are quick to load.

I've just tested mine again and the first map (express map) takes around 10 seconds to load but then rest of the maps, which are ArcGIS maps, are taking around 5 seconds, so it is quicker. This is my newly published StoryMap.

I'm finding the loading time more of an issue when the StoryMap is in draft mode as it's frustrating to edit the story when it's slow to load/scroll. Are there plans to make the draft StoryMap faster to load or is it just focused on the published StoryMaps?

[OwenGeo]

I'm glad to hear things are loading better for you now. I'm not sure why you are experiencing slowness with maps loading at the level you described in draft mode. While there may be a few things that are slower in draft mode, it is not expected for map loading to be as slow as you described under normal conditions. We have done extensive testing on different browsers and in different environments and what you have described is not expected.

As mentioned above, you might want to consider contacting Esri Support for additional assistance troubleshoot your specific situation. They may be able to help isolate some network condition or machine configuration that is impacting performance.

[KrisButterworth]

Hi @OwenGeo ,

I have recently found that I have the same issue as Debs described. When viewing the published version of my Storymap there are no issues in speed, however when I edit the Storymap the speed drops completely and makes it nearly un-editable. I have tried opening on various networks however internet speed doesn't seem to be the issue.

I suspect it may be the share volume of images and maps in my Storymap that may be causing this issue. Another smaller Storymap I have created also shows signs of slowing down but are not quite as bad.

@MelissaBrooks 

Regards,

Kris Butterworth

[OwenGeo]

@KrisButterworth -- I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing this issue. We haven't been able to reproduce the problem as described.

Since this seems to be limited to a very few stories/cases, the issue may be tied to particular content (or combination of content) in your story or possibly network conditions/settings. I would suggest that you please contact Esri Technical Support and they can work with you to isolate the issue and understand the problem better so we can take a look.

[KrisButterworth]

Hi @OwenGeo,

Thank you for getting back to me. No problem, I will message them today.

Kind Regards,
Kris Butterworth