Very good, but the initial setup confused me

  • degrees57

    (@degrees57)


    2 months ago

    Two things about the setup were confusing to me.

    The easy part was signing up and creating a new site key. dashboard.hcaptcha.com > Sites > Add Site

    But how to get a secret key?

    dashboard.hcaptcha.com > User icon > Settings > Account-level Secret > Generate New Secret. There is an ominous warning about invalidating the current key, which would be crucial if I already had a secret key – but I don’t – I’m a brand new user. The WordPress plugin hCaptcha asks for a Secret Key, and it isn’t obvious that they are asking for the Account-level secret, under the user settings page.

    The WordPress plugin has a slightly confusing user interface. The Appearance section is the third element down, and it is the one that has Mode: Test versus Mode: Live. But without Mode: Live, the second element down, Keys, refuses to be happy at all.

    How to get the Keys element to work: after switching from test to live mode, paste in the Site Key and the Secret Key and ignore the big red warnings about Credentials changed. Then click the I am human button. You’ll be put through the hCaptcha process. Lastly, click the Check Site Config button. Now you can click the save button at the very bottom.

    I really like what this plugin does, but as a first-time user, I was all sorts of confused about what to do to get it authorized and working within my site.

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  • Plugin Contributor kaggdesign

    (@kaggdesign)

    2 months ago

    Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed review – first-time setup feedback like yours is extremely valuable.

    You’re absolutely right about both confusing points, and this is exactly why we’ve introduced a new setup wizard in the upcoming v4.20.0. It walks you through:

    • Where to find both the Site Key and the Account-level Secret (with direct video guidance to the correct place in the hCaptcha dashboard).
    • How to switch from Test to Live mode and verify the keys using “I am human”, without the warnings feeling scary or blocking.
    • The essential initial settings so everything works smoothly from the start.

    If you’re willing, I’d really appreciate your feedback on this new flow before we release it.

    You can download v4.20.0-RC1 here.

    After installing, open the wizard using the &onb parameter, for example:
    https://yoursite.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=hcaptcha&onb

    If you have a moment to try it and let us know:

    • Was it clear where to find both keys?
    • Did any step of the wizard still feel confusing or make you hesitate?

    Any notes you can share now will help us avoid unnecessary rework and improve onboarding for everyone. Thanks again for the positive review and for calling out the exact spots that needed refinement — this kind of feedback directly shapes the product.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

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