This guide covers common issues and their solutions. Can’t find your issue? Contact us at support@wpsummarize.com.

Installation & Activation Issues

Plugin Won’t Activate

Symptoms:

• Error message during activation
• White screen after activation
• WordPress crashes

Solutions:

1. Check PHP version:
   • WPSummarize requires PHP 7.0 or higher
   • Check in Tools → Site Health → Info → Server
   • Contact your host to upgrade if needed
2. Check WordPress version:
   • Requires WordPress 6.5 or higher
   • Update WordPress if needed
3. Deactivate other plugins temporarily:
   • May conflict with other plugins
   • Activate WPSummarize alone
   • Reactivate other plugins one by one to find conflict
4. Increase memory limit:
   • Add to wp-config.php: define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
   • Or contact your hosting provider

Free and Pro Versions Both Active

Symptoms:

• Warning notice in plugins page
• Unexpected behavior

Solution:

1. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins
2. Deactivate the FREE version
3. Keep only the PRO version active
4. Delete the free version completely

API Key Issues

API Key Won’t Validate

Symptoms:

• “Invalid API key” error message
• Settings won’t save
• Summaries won’t generate

Solutions:

1. Verify key is correct:
   • OpenAI keys start with “sk-“
   • Copy entire key (no spaces before/after)
   • Try generating new key
2. Check API account status:
   • Log into your AI provider dashboard
   • Verify account is active
   • Ensure billing information is added and you have credit available as they may require pre-purchase
   • Check if key is revoked or expired
3. Test key directly:
   • For OpenAI: Visit OpenAI Playground
   • Try making a test request
   • If it fails there, issue is with API account
4. Server connection issues:
   • Your server might block outgoing API calls
   • Contact hosting provider

API Key Disappeared After Saving

Symptoms:

• Entered key, clicked save
• Field is empty or shows asterisks
• Unsure if it was saved

Solution:

This is normal behavior for security:

• Keys are encrypted and masked after saving
• Display shows: sk-****1234 (first 4 and last 4 characters)
• Key is still there, just hidden
• Try generating a summary to verify it works

“Insufficient Credits” or “Quota Exceeded”

Symptoms:

• Error message about credits or quota
• Summaries suddenly stop generating
• API validation fails

Solutions:

1. For Free version:
   • Check your monthly limit (50 summaries)
   • View usage in WPSummarize → Dashboard
   • Wait until next month for reset
   • Or upgrade to Pro
2. For Pro version (OpenAI):
   • Check OpenAI billing dashboard
   • Add funds or upgrade plan
   • Verify payment method is valid
   • Check for spending limits set in OpenAI account
3. Rate limiting:
   • API providers limit requests per minute
   • Wait a few minutes and try again
   • For batch processing, it handles rate limits automatically

Summary Generation Issues

Summaries Not Generating Automatically

Symptoms:

• Published post but no summary created
• “Generate summary” checkbox seems to do nothing
• No error messages

Solutions:

1. Verify settings:
   • Go to WPSummarize → Settings
   • Check “Create summary on publish” is enabled
   • Verify your post type is selected in enabled post types
2. Check API key:
   • Ensure valid API key is configured
   • Test by trying to generate on a different post
3. Wait for background processing:
   • Summaries generate in background (takes 10-30 seconds)
   • Refresh the post after 1 minute
   • Check post meta box for status
4. Check Action Scheduler:
   • Go to Tools → Action Scheduler
   • Look for “wpsummarize_generate_summary_hook” actions
   • Check if they’re pending or failed
   • If failed, check error message
5. Post content too short:
   • AI needs at least 100-200 words to generate meaningful summary
   • Try with longer post

Summaries Are Blank or Empty

Symptoms:

• Summary box appears but is empty
• Just shows heading with no content
• Or completely blank space

Solutions:

1. Check if summary actually exists:
   • Edit the post
   • Look at WPSummarize meta box
   • If blank there, no summary was generated
2. Regenerate the summary:
   • In post editor, check “Get a new summary when you save”
   • Click Update
   • Wait 1 minute and refresh
3. CSS issue hiding content:
   • Right-click on empty area, select “Inspect”
   • Look for .wpsummarize_box class
   • Check if CSS has display: none or visibility: hidden
   • Add custom CSS to fix if needed
4. Theme conflict:
   • Temporarily switch to default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Four)
   • If summary appears, issue is theme-related
   • Contact theme developer or use custom CSS

Summary Generation Stuck in Loop

Symptoms:

• Meta box shows “generating…” indefinitely
• Multiple Action Scheduler entries for same post
• Never completes

Solutions:

1. Cancel pending actions:
   • Go to Tools → Action Scheduler
   • Search for your post ID
   • Cancel all pending WPSummarize actions for that post
2. Delete stuck post meta:
   • Go to post in editor
   • Add this to functions.php temporarily:

   delete_post_meta(POST_ID, 'wpsummarize_running_api');
   delete_post_meta(POST_ID, 'wpsummarize_action_scheduled');

   • Replace POST_ID with actual ID
   • Remove code after running
3. Try fresh generation:
   • After clearing actions and meta, check the box to generate
   • Update post

Poor Quality Summaries

Symptoms:

• Summaries are inaccurate
• Missing key points
• Too generic or vague
• Wrong tone

Solutions:

1. Improve source content:
   • Use clear headings and structure
   • Write focused, well-organized content
   • Avoid very technical jargon without context
   • Include clear main points in your article
2. Try a different AI model:
   • Pro users can switch between OpenAI, Gemini, and Anthropic
   • Different models excel at different content types
3. Adjust settings:
   • Try different item counts (more items = more detail)
   • Switch between list and narrative styles
   • Enable “Same tone” if mismatched
4. Manually edit (Pro):
   • Use AI summary as starting point
   • Edit to add brand voice or specific details
   • Save manual version
5. Regenerate:
   • Sometimes AI produces better results on second try
   • Check “Get a new summary” and update post

Display Issues

Summaries Not Appearing on Front-End

Symptoms:

• Summary exists in editor but not visible on site
• Only visible when logged in
• Missing on some pages but not others

Solutions:

1. Check “Auto-include” setting:
   • Go to WPSummarize → Settings
   • Verify “Auto-include summaries in posts” is checked
   • If unchecked, use
     Key takeaways

     • Ensure WPSummarize has the correct PHP and WordPress versions, and deactivate other plugins to check for conflicts before activation.
     • Validate your API Key from providers like OpenAI, and check your account for available credits and correct billing information.
     • If summaries don't generate, verify plugin settings, check for background processing delays, and investigate the Action Scheduler for failed tasks.
     shortcode_call shortcode manually
2. Clear cache:
   • Purge any caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, etc.)
   • Clear CDN cache if using one (Cloudflare, etc.)
   • Clear browser cache
   • Try viewing in incognito/private mode
3. Check post type:
   • Verify the post type is enabled in settings
   • Some themes use custom post types that need to be enabled
4. Page builder conflict:
   • If using Elementor, Divi, etc., auto-insertion may not work
   • Use shortcode
     Key takeaways

     • Ensure WPSummarize has the correct PHP and WordPress versions, and deactivate other plugins to check for conflicts before activation.
     • Validate your API Key from providers like OpenAI, and check your account for available credits and correct billing information.
     • If summaries don't generate, verify plugin settings, check for background processing delays, and investigate the Action Scheduler for failed tasks.
     shortcode_call in page builder instead
5. Theme filter removing content:
   • Some themes filter the_content aggressively
   • Try different insertion location
   • Or use shortcode placement

Summary Appears in Wrong Location

Symptoms:

• Appears at bottom instead of top (or vice versa)
• Not where you specified in settings
• Multiple summaries showing

Solutions:

1. Check insertion location setting:
   • Go to WPSummarize → Settings
   • Review “Insert location” dropdown
   • Change to desired location
   • Note: Doesn’t affect existing summaries, only display
2. Remove manual shortcode if using auto-insert:
   • If both auto-insert is on AND shortcode in content
   • Summary appears twice
   • Either turn off auto-insert or remove shortcode
3. Page builder override:
   • Page builder content may not respect auto-insertion
   • Use shortcode in page builder for precise placement
4. Per-post override (Pro):
   • Check if post has custom location set
   • This overrides global setting
   • Edit post to adjust

Styling Issues

Symptoms:

• Summary looks broken or unstyled
• Colors don’t match your theme
• Layout issues on mobile
• Overlapping content

Solutions:

1. Choose different theme:
   • Go to WPSummarize → Settings
   • Try different pre-built themes
   • See which works best with your site theme
2. Use custom CSS:
   • Add in Settings → Custom CSS field
   • Common fixes:

   /* Fix width issues */
   .wpsummarize_box {
       max-width: 100% !important;
       width: 100% !important;
   }
   
   /* Fix color contrast */
   .wpsummarize_box {
       background-color: #f9f9f9 !important;
       color: #333 !important;
   }
   
   /* Add spacing */
   .wpsummarize_box {
       margin: 30px 0 !important;
       padding: 20px !important;
   }

3. Theme CSS conflict:
   • Your theme’s CSS might override WPSummarize styles
   • Use !important in custom CSS to force your styles
   • Or contact theme developer for compatibility
4. Responsive issues:
   • Test on actual mobile device, not just browser resize
   • Adjust with mobile-specific CSS:

   @media (max-width: 768px) {
       .wpsummarize_box {
           font-size: 14px !important;
           padding: 15px !important;
       }
   }

Batch Processing Issues (Pro)

Batch Process Won’t Start

Symptoms:

• Click “Start Batch Process” but nothing happens
• Error message appears
• Button grayed out

Solutions:

1. Check prerequisites:
   • Valid API key configured
   • At least one post type selected
   • Have published posts that match criteria
2. Lower minimum word count:
   • If set too high, no posts qualify
   • Try setting to 0 or 100
   • Check “eligible posts” count
3. Cancel existing batch:
   • Only one batch can run at a time
   • Check if previous batch is still active
   • Cancel it before starting new one
4. Server requirements:
   • Ensure Action Scheduler is working
   • Check Tools → Action Scheduler is accessible
   • Verify cron jobs are running (hosting issue if not)

Batch Process Stopped Unexpectedly

Symptoms:

• Progress bar stopped moving
• Processed some posts but then stopped
• No error message visible

Solutions:

1. Check credit limit:
   • May have reached max credits setting
   • This is working as intended if so
   • Increase limit or run another batch
2. API quota exceeded:
   • Check your AI provider dashboard
   • Verify you have credits remaining
   • Add funds if needed
   • Restart batch once resolved
3. Rate limiting:
   • API providers limit requests per minute
   • Batch should resume automatically after rate limit resets
   • Wait 5-10 minutes and check progress
4. Server timeout:
   • Hosting provider may have timeout limits
   • Contact host to increase timeout
   • Or process in smaller batches
5. Check Action Scheduler:
   • Tools → Action Scheduler
   • Look for failed actions
   • Review error messages
   • May need to manually resume

Batch Progress Stuck or Frozen

Symptoms:

• Progress bar hasn’t moved in 5+ minutes
• Same post showing as “current” for long time
• No errors but no progress

Solutions:

1. Refresh the page:
   • Sometimes display doesn’t update but process is running
   • Hard refresh (Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R)
   • Check if progress actually advanced
2. Check Action Scheduler queue:
   • Go to Tools → Action Scheduler
   • Filter by “wpsummarize_generate_summary_batch_hook”
   • See if actions are processing or stuck
3. Cancel and restart:
   • Click “Cancel Batch Process”
   • Wait 2 minutes
   • Check “Update existing summaries” if you want to reprocess already-done posts
   • Start fresh batch

Plugin Conflicts

Common Plugin Conflicts

Caching Plugins:

Symptoms: Summaries don’t appear or are outdated

Solution:

• Purge cache after generating summaries
• Exclude WPSummarize settings pages from caching
• Add to cache exclusions: /wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpsummarize*

Security Plugins:

Symptoms: API calls blocked, features don’t work

Solution:

• Whitelist outgoing connections to:
  • wpsummarize.com
  • api.openai.com
  • generativelanguage.googleapis.com
  • api.anthropic.com
• Check security plugin logs for blocked requests

Page Builders:

Symptoms: Auto-insertion doesn’t work

Solution:

• Use
  Key takeaways

  • Ensure WPSummarize has the correct PHP and WordPress versions, and deactivate other plugins to check for conflicts before activation.
  • Validate your API Key from providers like OpenAI, and check your account for available credits and correct billing information.
  • If summaries don't generate, verify plugin settings, check for background processing delays, and investigate the Action Scheduler for failed tasks.
  shortcode_call shortcode in page builder instead
• Place in Text/HTML/Code widget
• Most page builders fully support shortcodes

Translation Plugins (WPML, Polylang):

Symptoms: Summaries in wrong language

Solution:

• WPSummarize is WPML compatible
• WPSummarize only creates summaries for the original content, WPML handles the translated articles, translating the summary for each language you set up with them
• Set original language in WPSummarize settings

Getting More Help

Before Contacting Support

Gather this information to help us help you faster:

• WordPress version: Dashboard → Updates
• PHP version: Tools → Site Health → Info → Server
• WPSummarize version: Plugins page
• Active theme and plugins: Screenshots or list
• Error messages: Copy full text if any
• Action Scheduler logs: Tools → Action Scheduler → Logs
• Steps to reproduce: What you did when issue occurred
• Screenshots: Of problem and relevant settings

Enable Debug Mode

For technical issues, enable WordPress debug mode:

1. Edit wp-config.php file
2. Add these lines before “That’s all, stop editing!”:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

3. Reproduce the issue
4. Check wp-content/debug.log for errors
5. Share relevant errors with support
6. Disable debug mode when done

Contact Support

Free Version:

• WordPress.org support forum: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wpsummarize/
• Community support (response within 2-5 days)

Pro Version:

• Email: support@wpsummarize.com
• Priority support

Website:

• https://wpsummarize.com/contact-us/

Frequently Asked Questions

Will WPSummarize slow down my site?

No. Summaries are generated in the background and stored in your database. They load as fast as regular post content.

Can I edit the AI-generated summaries?

Yes, in Pro version. Free version shows the AI-generated summary but doesn’t allow editing.

What happens if I run out of API credits?

New summaries won’t be generated until you add more credits. Existing summaries continue to display normally.

Can I use WPSummarize with Gutenberg?

Yes! Fully compatible. There’s even a dedicated WPSummarize block for the block editor.

Does it work with multilingual sites?

Yes. Fully compatible with WPML. Each language translation can have its own summary.

Can I change the summary style after generating?

Yes. Change settings and regenerate the summary. Or manually edit in Pro version.

Is my API key secure?

Yes. Keys are encrypted using AES-256-CBC encryption and stored securely in your database.

Can I use custom CSS?

Yes. There’s a custom CSS field in settings for complete style control.

Still Having Issues?

If your problem isn’t covered here:

1. Check if there’s a plugin update available
2. Review the Getting Started guide
3. Search the WordPress.org support forum
4. Contact our support team with details above

We’re here to help! 🚀