Description
CauseTrail helps website owners and developers understand what is happening on their WordPress website. The free plugin securely connects WordPress to the hosted CauseTrail website intelligence service. The dashboard and analysis live at CauseTrail.io.
Same website. Same data. Two trails.
- Human Trail explains issues in plain language: what happened, how serious it appears, and what may need attention.
- Developer Trail presents the recorded technical evidence, such as error messages, files, lines, timestamps, request paths, and related activity.
The two views are part of the CauseTrail.io service. This plugin does not add a second monitoring dashboard inside WordPress.
What it monitors
Once an administrator connects the website, the plugin can report WordPress and PHP environment details, installed plugin and theme information, site health heartbeats, PHP and browser errors, WordPress changes and account activity, HTTP errors, homepage response measurements, and WooCommerce order summaries when WooCommerce is active. CauseTrail.io stores and interprets this information, groups issues, and presents it in Human Trail and Developer Trail.
CauseTrail is a monitoring tool, not a security firewall or backup service. It cannot observe failures that prevent WordPress from loading unless another connected monitoring source detects them.
How it works
- Install and activate CauseTrail.
- Create a CauseTrail.io account and add your website.
- Generate a connection key in CauseTrail.io, then enter it under Settings > CauseTrail in WordPress.
- Review your website’s intelligence at CauseTrail.io and switch between Human Trail and Developer Trail as needed.
Activation alone does not start monitoring. The administrator must intentionally connect the website. Disconnecting removes the local connection credential and stops plugin telemetry; it does not delete the CauseTrail account or stored service history. Uninstalling does not delete remote data.
Pricing
The WordPress plugin is free and contains no paid code unlocks or license gates. CauseTrail.io is a separate paid monitoring service. An account’s first connected website receives a 30-day service trial; additional websites require paid activation. Continued monitoring after the trial requires a subscription. All service features are included. See current service pricing before connecting.
External Service and Privacy
CauseTrail connects to the external CauseTrail.io service. After an administrator enters a connection key, the plugin sends the website URL and key to CauseTrail.io to establish a connection. It then sends authenticated monitoring data to CauseTrail.io. No monitoring data is sent before connection. The plugin does not send visitor cookies, form submissions, request bodies, payment card data, or WordPress passwords as intended inputs.
Depending on site activity and installed software, transmitted data can include WordPress/PHP/server versions, installed themes and plugins, site configuration, WooCommerce order identifiers and totals, WordPress account names/emails/roles for people able to manage or edit the site, account and content change events, request paths without query strings, error text and file/stack information, visitor IP addresses for selected account events, browser errors, and homepage performance measurements. Error text and URLs may contain information supplied by other plugins or visitors; site administrators should review whether this monitoring is appropriate for their site and privacy obligations.
The plugin stores the site connection credential and limited scheduling/status information in the WordPress database. CauseTrail.io stores and processes the transmitted data to provide monitoring and intelligence. See the CauseTrail Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Installation
- Install CauseTrail through WordPress and activate it.
- Open Settings > CauseTrail.
- Read the data disclosure and follow the link to CauseTrail.io to create an account or sign in.
- Add this website and generate a connection key in CauseTrail.io.
- Paste the key into WordPress and select “Connect Website to CauseTrail.”
FAQ
-
Does installing the plugin immediately send monitoring data?
-
No. Monitoring begins after a WordPress administrator intentionally connects the site with a CauseTrail connection key.
-
Is the plugin free?
-
Yes. The plugin is free. The external CauseTrail.io service has a trial for the first connected website and requires paid activation or a subscription for continued monitoring. See the current pricing page for details.
-
What happens when I disconnect or uninstall?
-
The plugin stops sending monitoring data and removes its local connection credential. Disconnecting or uninstalling does not delete the remote CauseTrail account or history. Manage remote data through CauseTrail.io.
-
Where do I see my monitoring information?
-
Sign in to CauseTrail.io. WordPress Settings > CauseTrail provides connection controls and a dashboard link.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“CauseTrail” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “CauseTrail” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
0.14.2
- Remove dependency on PHP’s error-reporting configuration for diagnostic capture.
- Remove the unused self-hosted updater library from the plugin source.
0.14.1
- Use CauseTrail identifiers throughout the WordPress.org plugin code and package.
- Existing pre-release installations need a new connection key when manually moved to this package.
0.14.0
- Prepare the free connector for WordPress.org distribution.
- Remove the custom hosted update checker and require explicit connection before CauseTrail network requests.
- Protect the background performance action from unauthenticated triggering.
- Limit WordPress account sync to people with site management or editing capabilities.
- Stop sending submitted usernames from failed-login attempts.
- Redact common credentials and personal values from PHP diagnostics before transmission.
- Require valid HTTPS certificates for performance checks and validate asset-check destinations.
- Add clearer external-service and data disclosures.