Connect WordPress

RankWriting connects to your WordPress site via a lightweight plugin that handles authentication and publishing through the WordPress REST API.

How the connection works

When you install the plugin and enter your connect token, the following happens:

1. RankWriting generates a unique API key for your site
2. The plugin stores a secure hash of that key in WordPress
3. All future publishing requests are verified against that hash
4. No passwords are ever stored on RankWriting servers

Install the plugin

Option A — Upload the official ZIP (recommended)

1. Open the RankWriting WordPress Plugin download page
2. Click Download plugin ZIP
3. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add new → Upload plugin
4. Upload the downloaded .zip file and activate

Option B — Manual install

Download the ZIP from the official plugin page, unzip it, and upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/ via FTP or file manager. Then activate it from the Plugins screen.

Enter your connect token

After installing and activating the plugin:

1. In WordPress, go to Settings → RankWriting
2. Paste your connect token (from the RankWriting dashboard)
3. Click Connect to RankWriting

You'll be redirected back to the dashboard automatically. Your site will show as Connected.

Troubleshooting

Site shows as disconnected after connecting Make sure the plugin is activated, not just installed. Check Plugins → Installed plugins.

Connect token says expired Tokens expire after 15 minutes. Go back to Sites → Add site and generate a new one.

REST API is disabled Some security plugins (Wordfence, iThemes Security) disable the REST API. Whitelist rankwriting.com in their settings.