diff --git a/includes/class-slider-shortcode.php b/includes/class-slider-shortcode.php
index 9bf8bd7..6ae5d84 100644
--- a/includes/class-slider-shortcode.php
+++ b/includes/class-slider-shortcode.php
@@ -55,6 +55,35 @@ public function register() {
 
     public function init($atts) {
 
+        // === OPIO DEBUG (TEMP) — track per-request invocations of this shortcode
+        static $invocation_count = 0;
+        $invocation_count++;
+        $debug_call = array(
+            't_start_ms'           => round(microtime(true) * 1000, 2),
+            'invocation'           => $invocation_count,
+            'pid'                  => function_exists('getmypid') ? getmypid() : null,
+            'ob_level_at_entry'    => ob_get_level(),
+            'mem_mb'               => round(memory_get_usage(true) / 1048576, 2),
+            'mem_peak_mb'          => round(memory_get_peak_usage(true) / 1048576, 2),
+            'atts'                 => $atts,
+            // who invoked us — short backtrace identifies Yoast vs theme vs other
+            'backtrace'            => array_map(function($f){
+                return (isset($f['class']) ? $f['class'] . $f['type'] : '')
+                     . (isset($f['function']) ? $f['function'] : '')
+                     . (isset($f['file']) ? ' @ ' . basename($f['file']) . ':' . (isset($f['line']) ? $f['line'] : '') : '');
+            }, array_slice(debug_backtrace(DEBUG_BACKTRACE_IGNORE_ARGS), 0, 12)),
+            'helper_fns_already_defined' => array(
+                'getStarRating'       => function_exists('getStarRating'),
+                'getStarRatingWidget' => function_exists('getStarRatingWidget'),
+                'randomColor'         => function_exists('randomColor'),
+                'isMobileDevice'      => function_exists('isMobileDevice'),
+            ),
+            'current_filter'       => current_filter(),
+            'doing_filter_the_content' => doing_filter('the_content'),
+            'is_admin'             => is_admin(),
+        );
+        // === END OPIO DEBUG
+
         if (get_option('opio_active') === '0') {
             return '';
         }
@@ -148,15 +177,48 @@ public function init($atts) {
                 . '</style>';
         }
 
+        // include (not include_once): shortcode can be invoked multiple times
+        // per request (e.g. Yoast running the_content for meta generation +
+        // the actual page render). include_once would no-op on subsequent
+        // calls, leaving the slider markup empty. Helper functions inside
+        // each template are guarded with function_exists() so repeat-include
+        // does not fatal.
+        // === OPIO DEBUG (TEMP) — capture template execution
+        $debug_template = array(
+            'slider_type'        => (string) $slider_type,
+            'feed_id_attr'       => isset($atts['id']) ? $atts['id'] : null,
+            'feed_loaded'        => $feed != null,
+            'feed_post_status'   => $feed ? $feed->post_status : null,
+            'feed_object_keys'   => $feed_object ? array_keys((array) $feed_object) : null,
+            'ob_level_before_include' => ob_get_level(),
+            'buffer_len_before_include' => function_exists('ob_get_length') && ob_get_length() !== false ? ob_get_length() : null,
+        );
+        $marker_before_include = "\n<!-- OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_BEFORE_INCLUDE -->\n";
+        echo $marker_before_include;
+        // === END OPIO DEBUG
+
         if($slider_type == 'horizontal') {
-            include_once 'reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php';
+            include 'reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php';
         } else if($slider_type == 'horizontal-carousel') {
-            include_once 'reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php';
+            include 'reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php';
         } else if($slider_type == 'vertical') {
-            include_once 'reviews-slider-vertical-template.php';
+            include 'reviews-slider-vertical-template.php';
         }
         ob_get_contents();
 
+        // === OPIO DEBUG (TEMP) — capture state after template ran
+        $marker_after_include = "\n<!-- OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_AFTER_INCLUDE -->\n";
+        echo $marker_after_include;
+        $debug_template['ob_level_after_include']  = ob_get_level();
+        $debug_template['buffer_len_after_include'] = function_exists('ob_get_length') && ob_get_length() !== false ? ob_get_length() : null;
+        $debug_template['helper_fns_defined_after_include'] = array(
+            'getStarRating'       => function_exists('getStarRating'),
+            'getStarRatingWidget' => function_exists('getStarRatingWidget'),
+            'randomColor'         => function_exists('randomColor'),
+            'isMobileDevice'      => function_exists('isMobileDevice'),
+        );
+        // === END OPIO DEBUG
+
         // Post-render stats — counters were populated during template execution above.
         if ($opio_translator) {
             $stats = $opio_translator->get_stats();
@@ -213,7 +275,20 @@ public function init($atts) {
             return $counts;
         };
 
+        // Was the marker actually rendered by the buffer? Detects whether
+        // template output ended up in our parent buffer or somewhere else.
+        $debug_template['contains_marker_before'] = strpos($raw_output, 'OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_BEFORE_INCLUDE') !== false;
+        $debug_template['contains_marker_after']  = strpos($raw_output, 'OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_AFTER_INCLUDE') !== false;
+        $debug_template['chars_between_markers']  = $debug_template['contains_marker_before'] && $debug_template['contains_marker_after']
+            ? strpos($raw_output, 'OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_AFTER_INCLUDE') - strpos($raw_output, 'OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_BEFORE_INCLUDE') - strlen('<!-- OPIO_DEBUG_MARKER_BEFORE_INCLUDE -->')
+            : null;
+        $debug_call['t_end_ms']     = round(microtime(true) * 1000, 2);
+        $debug_call['elapsed_ms']   = round($debug_call['t_end_ms'] - $debug_call['t_start_ms'], 2);
+        $debug_call['ob_level_at_exit'] = ob_get_level();
+
         $debug = array(
+            'call'            => $debug_call,
+            'template'        => $debug_template,
             'raw_length'      => strlen($raw_output),
             'prepared_length' => strlen($prepared_output),
             'kses_length'     => strlen($kses_output),
@@ -225,22 +300,46 @@ public function init($atts) {
             'kses_b64'        => base64_encode($kses_output),
         );
 
-        $debug_script = '<script type="text/javascript" id="opio-kses-debug">'
-            . 'window.opioDebug = ' . wp_json_encode($debug) . ';'
-            . 'console.group("[OPIO kses debug]");'
-            . 'console.log("lengths", {raw: window.opioDebug.raw_length, prepared: window.opioDebug.prepared_length, kses: window.opioDebug.kses_length});'
-            . 'console.log("tag counts RAW", window.opioDebug.raw_tags);'
-            . 'console.log("tag counts PREPARED", window.opioDebug.prepared_tags);'
-            . 'console.log("tag counts POST-KSES", window.opioDebug.kses_tags);'
-            . 'console.log("--- RAW HTML ---");'
-            . 'console.log(atob(window.opioDebug.raw_b64));'
-            . 'console.log("--- PREPARED HTML (after prepareString) ---");'
-            . 'console.log(atob(window.opioDebug.prepared_b64));'
-            . 'console.log("--- POST-KSES HTML ---");'
-            . 'console.log(atob(window.opioDebug.kses_b64));'
-            . 'console.groupEnd();'
+        // Use a unique window var per invocation so a 2nd shortcode call
+        // doesn't clobber the 1st in the browser.
+        $invo_suffix = '_' . $invocation_count;
+        $debug_script = '<script type="text/javascript" id="opio-kses-debug' . esc_attr($invo_suffix) . '">'
+            . 'window.opioDebug' . esc_attr($invo_suffix) . ' = ' . wp_json_encode($debug) . ';'
+            . '(function(d){'
+            .     'console.group("[OPIO debug] invocation #" + d.call.invocation + " (" + d.call.current_filter + ")");'
+            .     'console.log("call context", d.call);'
+            .     'console.log("template context", d.template);'
+            .     'console.log("lengths", {raw: d.raw_length, prepared: d.prepared_length, kses: d.kses_length});'
+            .     'console.log("tag counts RAW", d.raw_tags);'
+            .     'console.log("tag counts PREPARED", d.prepared_tags);'
+            .     'console.log("tag counts POST-KSES", d.kses_tags);'
+            .     'console.log("backtrace", d.call.backtrace);'
+            .     'console.log("--- RAW HTML ---");'
+            .     'console.log(atob(d.raw_b64));'
+            .     'console.log("--- PREPARED HTML ---");'
+            .     'console.log(atob(d.prepared_b64));'
+            .     'console.log("--- POST-KSES HTML ---");'
+            .     'console.log(atob(d.kses_b64));'
+            .     'console.groupEnd();'
+            . '})(window.opioDebug' . esc_attr($invo_suffix) . ');'
             . '</script>';
 
+        // Also emit to PHP error log so the call sequence is visible
+        // server-side (useful when JS is mid-page and console output gets
+        // tangled with cache layers).
+        error_log(sprintf(
+            '[OPIO debug] invocation=%d current_filter=%s raw_len=%d kses_len=%d marker_before=%s marker_after=%s feed_loaded=%s slider_type=%s elapsed_ms=%s',
+            $debug_call['invocation'],
+            $debug_call['current_filter'] ?: '(none)',
+            strlen($raw_output),
+            strlen($kses_output),
+            $debug_template['contains_marker_before'] ? 'yes' : 'NO',
+            $debug_template['contains_marker_after']  ? 'yes' : 'NO',
+            $debug_template['feed_loaded'] ? 'yes' : 'no',
+            $debug_template['slider_type'],
+            $debug_call['elapsed_ms']
+        ));
+
         return $debug_script . $kses_output;
         // === END OPIO DEBUG ===
 
diff --git a/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php b/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php
index 21c0138..1e6d5c1 100644
--- a/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php
+++ b/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-carousel-template.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 ?>
 
 <?php
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRating')) {
     function getStarRating($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -34,7 +35,9 @@ function getStarRating($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRatingWidget')) {
     function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -53,7 +56,9 @@ function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('randomColor')) {
     function randomColor() {
         $colors = [
             '#2c3e50', // Dark Blue
@@ -70,12 +75,15 @@ function randomColor() {
         $randomIndex = mt_rand(0, count($colors) - 1);
         return $colors[$randomIndex];
     }
+    }
 
     // Function to check if the user is on a mobile device
+    if (!function_exists('isMobileDevice')) {
     function isMobileDevice() {
         return (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']) && 
                 preg_match('/(android|avantgo|blackberry|bolt|boost|cricket|docomo|fone|hiptop|mini|mobi|palm|phone|pie|tablet|up\.browser|up\.link|webos|wos)/i', $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']));
     }
+    }
     // Check if it's a mobile device
     $isMobile = isMobileDevice();
 
diff --git a/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php b/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php
index 026a40f..1154720 100644
--- a/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php
+++ b/includes/reviews-slider-horizontal-template.php
@@ -20,13 +20,16 @@
 
 <?php
     // Function to check if the user is on a mobile device
+    if (!function_exists('isMobileDevice')) {
     function isMobileDevice() {
         return (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']) && 
                 preg_match('/(android|avantgo|blackberry|bolt|boost|cricket|docomo|fone|hiptop|mini|mobi|palm|phone|pie|tablet|up\.browser|up\.link|webos|wos)/i', $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']));
     }
+    }
     // Check if it's a mobile device
     $isMobile = isMobileDevice();
 
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRating')) {
     function getStarRating($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -45,7 +48,9 @@ function getStarRating($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRatingWidget')) {
     function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -64,7 +69,9 @@ function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('randomColor')) {
     function randomColor() {
         $colors = [
             '#2c3e50', // Dark Blue
@@ -81,6 +88,7 @@ function randomColor() {
         $randomIndex = mt_rand(0, count($colors) - 1);
         return $colors[$randomIndex];
     }
+    }
     // Define the function to include the template with parameters
 
     // Make API call to get reviews
diff --git a/includes/reviews-slider-vertical-template.php b/includes/reviews-slider-vertical-template.php
index ae71d1b..f708e9a 100644
--- a/includes/reviews-slider-vertical-template.php
+++ b/includes/reviews-slider-vertical-template.php
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 ?>
 
 <?php
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRating')) {
     function getStarRating($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -35,7 +36,9 @@ function getStarRating($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('getStarRatingWidget')) {
     function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         $starColor = ($average > 0.5) ? '#ffc600' : '#E6E8EB';
         $starGrey = '#E6E8EB';
@@ -54,7 +57,9 @@ function getStarRatingWidget($average) {
         }
         return $stars;
     }
+    }
 
+    if (!function_exists('randomColor')) {
     function randomColor() {
         $colors = [
             '#2c3e50', // Dark Blue
@@ -71,6 +76,7 @@ function randomColor() {
         $randomIndex = mt_rand(0, count($colors) - 1);
         return $colors[$randomIndex];
     }
+    }
     // Define the function to include the template with parameters
 
     // Make API call to get reviews
diff --git a/opio.php b/opio.php
index c46bd7a..ac8f057 100644
--- a/opio.php
+++ b/opio.php
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 Plugin Name: Widget for OPIO Reviews
 Plugin URI: 
 Description: Instantly add OPIO Reviews on your website to increase user confidence and SEO.
-Version: 1.1.28
+Version: 1.1.29
 Author: Dhiraj Timalsina <dhiraj@n49.com>
 Text Domain: widget-for-opio-reviews
 Domain Path: /languages
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
 require(ABSPATH . 'wp-includes/version.php');
 
-define('OPIO_PLUGIN_VERSION'   , '1.1.28');
+define('OPIO_PLUGIN_VERSION'   , '1.1.29');
 define('OPIO_PLUGIN_FILE'      , __FILE__);
 define('OPIO_PLUGIN_URL'       , plugins_url(basename(plugin_dir_path(__FILE__ )), basename(__FILE__)));
 define('OPIO_ASSETS_URL'       , OPIO_PLUGIN_URL . '/assets/');
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
index b456c6f..66a652d 100644
--- a/readme.txt
+++ b/readme.txt
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Author: Dhiraj Timalsina
 Tags: Widget for OPIO Reviews, opio, reviews, rating, widget, google business, testimonials
 Tested up to: 6.4
-Stable tag: 1.1.28
+Stable tag: 1.1.29
 License: GPLv2 or later
 License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html