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Why Your Interactive JavaScript Tools Break on Blog Platforms (And How to Fix Them)

Have you ever created a beautiful HTML/JavaScript tool that works perfectly on your local machine, but falls apart when you embed it in your blog? You're not alone. This is one of the most frustrating issues developers face when trying to share interactive tools online.

The Problem: When Code Becomes Plain Text

Recently, while working on a Google Apps Script Dialog Generator, I encountered this exact issue. The tool worked flawlessly as a standalone HTML file, but when embedded in a blog post, the JavaScript code would display as plain text instead of executing properly.

Here's what was happening:

// This BREAKS in blog posts:
const code = `// Clickable items dialog
function showDialog() {
  const html = HtmlService.createHtmlOutput(`
    <script>
      // This </script> tag ends everything prematurely!
    </script>
  `);
};

The result? Instead of a functioning tool, visitors saw a broken interface with JavaScript code scattered across the page as plain text.

Why This Happens: The Technical Culprits

1. Template Literal Conflicts

const myString = `Hello ${variable}`;

2. Script Tag Termination

// This breaks everything:
const html = `<script>alert('hello');</script>`;

3. Security Filtering

Many blog platforms strip or escape JavaScript for security reasons, turning your executable code into harmless text.

4. Quote Escaping Issues

// Problematic:
onclick="myFunction('value with \"quotes\"')"

The Solution: Blog-Safe JavaScript Patterns

❌ Wrong Way (Breaks in blogs):

function generateCode() {
  const stockSheet = document.getElementById('stockSheet').value;
  const code = `// Generated code
function showDialog() {
  const html = HtmlService.createHtmlOutput(\`
    <script>
      function loadItems() {
        // This ${stockSheet} breaks everything
      }
    </script>
  \`);
}`;
  document.getElementById('output').value = code;
}

✅ Right Way (Blog-safe):

function generateCode() {
  var stockSheet = document.getElementById('stockSheet').value;
  var code = '// Generated code\n' +
    'function showDialog() {\n' +
    '  var html = HtmlService.createHtmlOutput(\'\\n' +
    '    <scr\' + \'ipt>\\n' +
    '      function loadItems() {\\n' +
    '        // Safe variable insertion: ' + stockSheet + '\\n' +
    '      }\\n' +
    '    </scr\' + \'ipt>\\n' +
    '  \');\n' +
    '}';
  document.getElementById('output').value = code;
}

Key Techniques for Blog Compatibility

Essential Replacements:

Instead of: `Hello ${name}`
Use: 'Hello ' + name
Instead of: '</script>'
Use: '</scr' + 'ipt>'
Instead of: const myVar = 'value';
Use: var myVar = 'value';
Instead of: "onclick='func(\"param\")'"
Use: "onclick='func(\\\"param\\\")'"
Instead of: array.includes(item)
Use: array.indexOf(item) !== -1
Instead of: () => {}
Use: function() {}

Testing Your Tools

Important: Before publishing, test your embedded tools on different browsers, devices, and with/without ad blockers.

Real-World Example: The Fix in Action

❌ Breaks:

// Uses template literals, modern syntax
const code = `function show() { /* breaks */ }`;

✅ Works:

// Uses concatenation, compatible syntax
var code = 'function show() { /* works! */ }';

Interactive Demo: Broken vs. Fixed

Below is a practical example demonstrating both the broken and fixed versions of a Simple Code Generator tool. The broken version uses problematic patterns like template literals and unescaped script tags, causing issues on blog platforms. The fixed version is embedded interactively to show how the blog-safe techniques work in practice.

❌ Broken Version (Displays as Plain Text):

Broken Tool Demo - The Problem

⚠️ This is a BROKEN version that demonstrates the problem!
Notice how the JavaScript code appears as plain text below the tool instead of executing properly.

Simple Code Generator (Broken Version)

Your Name:

Greeting:

tag breaks everything! alert('${greeting} ${userName}!'); \`; console.log(message); } // Call the function sayHello();`; // Display the code document.getElementById('output').textContent = code; document.getElementById('output').style.display = 'block'; } // Auto-generate on page load window.addEventListener('load', generateBrokenCode);

✅ Fixed Version (Blog-Compatible):

Below is the interactive fixed version of the Simple Code Generator, hosted externally to ensure it works in blog platforms.

Note: The source code for this tool uses string concatenation and split script tags to ensure compatibility, as shown in the examples above.

Conclusion

Creating blog-embeddable tools requires thinking differently about JavaScript. While modern ES6+ features make development easier, they can break when embedded in blog platforms.

Key Takeaways:

Use string concatenation instead of template literals
Split script tags to prevent premature closure
Escape quotes properly
Use compatible JavaScript syntax

By following these patterns, you can create tools that work reliably across different blog platforms and provide real value to your readers.

Tools Referenced in This Article

Broken Version: Google Apps Script Dialog Generator (original)
Fixed Version: Google Apps Script Dialog Generator (blog-compatible)
Advanced Example: Google Apps Script Floating Dialog Generator

This post was optimized for blog platform compatibility using the same techniques described within it.

Webtoolhelp

Wednesday, August 20, 2025