macbook problems loading websites

Are you running any anti - virus programs? Using a VPN?

Try setting up another admin user account in System Preferences/Users & Groups to see if the same problem continues. Please post back on whether or not this worked. Also try the Safe Mode. Please post back on whether or not this worked.

Isolating an issue by using another user account 

Safe Mode - About

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor.  Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown. If the log won’t post, try posting it in Pastebin and provide a link in a reply. After pasting the report in a PasteBin page, go to the top of the page, and copy the address in the URL bar. Paste that in a new reply.        Pastebin

Etrecheck – System Information

I've had a similar problem since Saturday. 21 September, and it also affected mail. Pages wouldn't load, emails wouldn't send for unreasonably long time, and I kept getting errors that pages couldn't connect to the internet. But my ipad was working fine as well as my husband's macbook.

I tried clearing the cache, rebooted my macbook several times a day, forced safari and mail to close. I then reinstalled the last version of Mojave (via the internet so clearly it wasn't a network problem) and but continued to have intermittent load problems - the first page in safari would load, but links wouldn't load.

In the end, I have downloaded Chrome and things are much better. If I start up Safari the problems start again.

Hope that helps,

Pamela

I too have been having this problem since the end of September, and my internet is working well, iPad, iPhone etc can access any webpages. I reloaded El Capitan and the security updates to go with it. For a day it seemed fine then started doing the same thing. I have tried creating another user and it does not seem to matter. The first web page I go to loads fine, after that, forget, I have to restart. Frustrating, Thanks for the suggestion to try chrome. I'd prefer to stick with safari, but not if nothing will happen, literally, nothing....

Any help is appreciated. I've tried the 2 suggestions listed and it didn't change things. I know my late 09 Macbook is dated, but its upgraded in RAM and hard drive and I happen to like it, and don't want forced to get another.

Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items.  Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Clear History…. The down side is it clears all cookies. Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. The following won't work in OS Mojave. Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db and move it to the trash.

Go to Safari Preferences/Extensions and turn all extensions off. Quit/reopen Safari and test. If okay, turn the extensions on one by one until you figure out what extension is causing the problem.

Last week I managed to upgrade to Catalina, and that has solved all my Safari problems.

That might not be an option for you but whatever the problem was in the Safari 13 update, the Catalina os resolves it... sorry.

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately my machine is maxed out at El Capitan. The entrecheck had a couple suggestions, so I'm trying that for the moment.