WordPress Plugin Setup

Track bot and AI crawler visits on your WordPress site with our lightweight plugin. Zero impact on page load speed.

Time to set up: ~2 minutes

Prerequisites

  • A WordPress site (version 5.0+, PHP 7.4+)
  • A BotSights account with a project created for your domain
  • Your API Key (found in BotSights → Account → Projects → API Key)

Step 1: Install the Plugin

  1. Download the plugin from your BotSights account or the WordPress plugin directory
  2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
  3. Upload the botsights.zip file and click Install Now
  4. Click Activate

Step 2: Configure

  1. Go to Settings → BotSights
  2. Enter your API Key
  3. Check Enable LLM & Social Analytics
  4. Click Save Changes

Step 3: Test Connection

  1. Click the Test Connection button on the settings page
  2. You should see a green "Connected" status
  3. Visit your website and check the Realtime page in your BotSights dashboard

How It Works

The plugin hooks into every page load and sends the visitor's User-Agent, page URL, and IP headers to the BotSights API. Bot detection happens server-side — the plugin doesn't need to know what's a bot and what isn't.

Key characteristics:

  • Non-blocking — analytics are sent with a 0.01s timeout, so your page loads instantly
  • No frontend assets — zero JavaScript or CSS loaded on your pages
  • No cookies — nothing stored in the visitor's browser
  • No database queries — only reads 2 WordPress options (cached)
  • Plugin size: ~15 KB

Cloudflare Users

If your WordPress site is behind Cloudflare, we recommend using the Cloudflare Worker integration instead. The Worker captures bot visits that Cloudflare handles before they reach WordPress, giving you more complete data.

Troubleshooting

Connection test fails?

  • Check that your API key is correct (copy it again from your account)
  • Verify your server can make outbound HTTPS requests
  • Check if a firewall or security plugin is blocking outbound connections

No data appearing?

  • Make sure "Enable LLM & Social Analytics" is checked
  • Visit your site in a browser — your visit should appear as "Human" in Realtime
  • Check the debug endpoint: add ?botsights_debug=1 to any page URL

Double counting with Cloudflare Worker? Use one integration per site, not both. If you have the Worker active, deactivate the WordPress plugin.