Installing the WordPress plugin – QA Proof Help Center Skip to main content

Installing the WordPress plugin

3 min read Last updated: March 2026

The QA Proof WordPress plugin adds a QAProof menu inside your WP admin where you can run tests, schedule monitors, and view PDF reports — all without writing any API code.

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.0+ (older versions may work but aren't tested).
  • PHP 7.4 or newer.
  • A QA Proof account and API key — see Quick Start if you haven't created one yet.
  • Outbound HTTPS access from your WP server to api.qaproof.io.

1. Install the plugin

  1. Download the plugin .zip from your QA Proof account.
  2. In WP admin go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Choose the .zip, click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.

A new QAProof entry appears in the WP admin sidebar.

2. Connect your API key

  1. Open QAProof → Settings → General.
  2. Paste your API key (from qaproof.io/app/api-keys) into the API Configuration field.
  3. Click Save Changes.
  4. The card below the field should now show your account email, current plan badge, AI generations used / limit, monitor limit, and history retention period.

3. Verify the connection

Click Test Connection in the same Settings page. You should see "Connected! API status: ok". If you get an error, check:

  • The key starts with qap_live_sk_ and has no leading/trailing whitespace.
  • Your hosting allows outbound HTTPS to api.qaproof.io (some firewalled environments block third-party API calls).
  • The account is on a paid plan if your API key was just regenerated — old keys stop working immediately when you regenerate.

What you get inside WP admin

  • Dashboard — at-a-glance: total tests, average score, monitors, AI generations used / limit.
  • Tests — run a test on demand (Design Fidelity, Responsive, Visual Regression, Accessibility, or Design Audit) and browse history with PDF download.
  • Monitors — schedule recurring regression checks (daily / weekly / monthly) with email notifications when scores drop.
  • Settings — API key, monitoring defaults (notification email, alert threshold), data cleanup options.

Updating the plugin

When a new plugin version is released, you'll see an update notice in Plugins. Click Update Now. Your monitors, baselines, and test history are preserved across updates.

Uninstalling

Deactivate the plugin from Plugins, then click Delete. By default this leaves your monitors and test history in the database. To wipe everything, enable Settings → Data Cleanup → Remove all plugin data on uninstall before deleting.

Your QA Proof account, API key, and any baselines stored on our server are unaffected — they live on qaproof.io.

Troubleshooting

"Could not reach the API"

Server-level firewall or DNS issue. Try:

  • Open a terminal on your WP server: curl -I https://api.qaproof.io/api/health — should return 200 OK.
  • If your host blocks outbound calls, ask them to whitelist api.qaproof.io.

"Invalid API key"

The key was either typed incorrectly, regenerated on qaproof.io (old key invalidated), or belongs to a different account. Open qaproof.io/app/api-keys, copy the current key, paste again, save.

Monitor doesn't fire on schedule

Monitors rely on WP-Cron. If your site has very low traffic, WP-Cron might not run consistently. The plugin pings WP-Cron from the browser when you open the Monitors page; for production, set up a real cron job that hits wp-cron.php every 5–10 minutes.