Troubleshoot missing sites, connection errors, or other Automattic for Agencies related issues

Having trouble connecting the Automattic for Agencies plugin to a site, or experiencing issues with a plugin feature? This guide walks you through common causes and solutions.

In this guide, you will learn how to diagnose connection issues, resolve common errors, and identify conflicts that may prevent the plugin from working correctly.

Confirm the following before troubleshooting:

• The site is publicly accessible. The Automattic for Agencies plugin cannot connect to sites that are not publicly available.
• The plugin is installed and activated on the site.
• The plugin is connected to the WordPress.com account you use with Automattic for Agencies.

Automattic for Agencies relies on Jetpack for its site connection. The Jetpack Debug Tool can identify many common connection issues.

To check your connection:

1. Copy the URL of your site from your browser’s address bar.
2. Paste the URL into the Debug Tool.
3. Review the results. If your connection is working, you will see the message “Everything looks great!”

If the Debug Tool returns an error, try reconnecting Jetpack:

1. Log in to the wp-admin of your site.
2. Navigate to Jetpack → Dashboard.
3. Go to Connections → Manage Site Connection.
4. Click Disconnect.
5. Click “Connect Jetpack” and follow the on-screen steps.
6. Run the Debug Tool again to verify the connection.

If the error persists, continue with the troubleshooting steps below.

If you see an error message when connecting Jetpack or running the Debug Tool, common examples include:

• Operation timed out
• Connection error
• cURL error 60
• XML‑RPC is not responding correctly

Visit the Error Messages page to see the most common errors, their causes, and how to resolve them.

Check the Known Issues list for any conflicts. If you are using a plugin or theme listed there, and cannot use an alternative, then Automattic for Agencies may not work for you. Please reach out to support so we can explore this together.

The Automattic for Agencies site connection is powered by Jetpack, and Jetpack requires the xmlrpc.php file to communicate with your site.

To verify the file is accessible:

1. Open your browser and navigate to yourgroovydomain.com/xmlrpc.php (replace with your actual domain).
2. Confirm the page displays the following message: XML-RPC server accepts POST requests only as on this test site.

The message should appear exactly as written, on a single line, with no extra spaces, line breaks, or additional text.

If the message appears but is not on a line by itself, a theme or plugin may be outputting extra characters. Check for plugin or theme conflicts (see below).

If you see a 404 or “Not Found” error, contact your web host. They may have security rules blocking the XML-RPC file, which can prevent Jetpack from connecting.

If the xmlrpc.php file is missing from the root folder of your WordPress installation, Jetpack cannot connect. Reinstalling WordPress core replaces this file. Contact your web host if you need assistance.

Other plugins can sometimes conflict with the Automattic for Agencies plugin and block its connection.

To rule out a plugin conflict:

1. Log in to the wp-admin of your site.
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
3. Deactivate all plugins except Automattic for Agencies and Jetpack.
4. Attempt to connect the Automattic for Agencies plugin again.
5. If the connection succeeds, reactivate your plugins one at a time to identify the conflict.

If you identify a conflict, contact that plugin’s developer to report the issue and ask about compatibility with Automattic for Agencies.

If you experience display issues, or plugin troubleshooting does not resolve the problem, test with a default WordPress theme:

1. Log in to the wp-admin of your site.
2. Navigate to Appearance → Themes.
3. Activate a default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twenty-Two).
4. Test the Automattic for Agencies plugin again.

If the plugin works with the default theme, your previous theme is likely incompatible. Contact the theme’s developer and share the troubleshooting steps you have already completed.

WordPress includes a built-in diagnostic tool that can surface configuration issues.

1. Log in to the wp-admin of your site.
2. Navigate to Tools → Site Health.
3. Review the results for any critical issues or recommendations.

For help with issues identified in the Site Health report, contact the developer of the plugin or theme cited in the report.

If you or a plugin added code to the .htaccess or wp-config.php files, a misconfiguration may be causing issues. Review these guides for typical default settings:

• wp-config.php reference
• .htaccess reference

Jetpack requires the PHP-XML extension to parse XML and communicate with your site. Contact your web host to confirm the PHP-XML extension is installed and active on your server.

Jetpack uses XML-RPC and the JSON API (REST API) to communicate with your site. Ensure the JSON API is enabled and that authentication is not blocking Jetpack requests.

If you prefer not to disable authentication entirely, allowlist the following namespaces:

• /jetpack/v4/
• /wpcom/v2/

Contact your web host if you need help configuring this.

If you are using Cloudflare on your site, check this guide to make sure Jetpack and Cloudflare are working together properly.

Your site must respond within 5 seconds for the Jetpack connection to succeed. Test your site’s speed and performance using tools such as GTmetrix or WebPageTest. Share the results with your web host if response times are too slow — they may be able to optimize your server configuration.

An expired or misconfigured SSL certificate prevents Jetpack from connecting to your site. Check your certificate using an SSL Checker and test its health with an SSL Server Test. A healthy certificate should receive a grade of A or A+.

Common SSL errors your web host must resolve:

• Expired: SSL certificates require annual renewal. Automatic renewal systems at your web host may occasionally fail.
• Self-signed: The certificate was not issued using standard security practices and is considered unsafe.
• Missing chain/intermediate certificate: Part of the certificate chain is missing, which breaks the secure connection.

Confirm that both the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields under Settings → General in wp-admin use https rather than http. Sites using only http do not load the SSL certificate and cannot connect to Jetpack.

Also verify that all traffic redirects to https. For example, requests to http://yourgroovydomain.com should automatically redirect to https://yourgroovydomain.com. Contact your web host to confirm this is configured correctly.

For more detailed information on troubleshooting SSL issues, please refer to this guide.

If you were using Development Mode, check your wp-config.php file and make sure that define('JETPACK_DEV_DEBUG', true); is no longer present.

If you have issues adding your credentials to Jetpack Backup, we recommend contacting your webhost and asking them to provide you with this information so you can then enter it successfully into your Jetpack settings:

• Credential type (FTP, SFTP, SSH)
• Server address
• Port number
• Server username
• Server password
• WordPress full installation path (this is where WordPress is installed on your server)

Sometimes you need to completely reset your connection between your site and our services. You can follow these instructions to accomplish that.

These issues must be addressed by your hosting provider rather than Jetpack support; they are server-related:

• SSL certificates
• Changes in IP addresses or domains/URLs
• Migration from one server to another
• Site is down or not responding
• Errors (500 / 502 / 504 / 403)
• Server resource or memory usage
• DNS problems
• Outdated server software (PHP, MySQL, etc.)
• File and folder permissions
• Problems that are still occurring even after Jetpack is uninstalled

Please contact support.