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🛠️ WordPress Plugin: API Key Verification Fails When Your Home URL Uses www

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Camilo Aponte

Camilo Aponte

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

If the Search Atlas WordPress plugin reports connected: false even though your API key is valid, and your WordPress Home URL starts with www. (or your server redirects non-www traffic to www), a now-fixed bug triggered a false verification failure. Update the plugin to resolve this immediately.

⚠️ Confirm This Is Your Issue

This article applies when all of the following are true:

  • The Search Atlas plugin displays connected: false or an API key verification error.
  • Your API key is valid — it appears correctly in your Search Atlas dashboard.
  • Either your WordPress Home URL (Settings → General → Site Address) starts with www. — for example, www.yoursite.com — or your server automatically redirects non-www URLs to the www version.

Before you continue — confirm you are using the correct credential: Ensure you are using the Search Atlas API Key found under Settings → API Keys (a 32-character code) — not the OTTO UUID (the data-uuid attribute shown in the Installation Guide). These are different values, and using the OTTO UUID in place of the API Key will also cause verification to fail.

🔍 Why the www Prefix Causes Verification to Fail

There are two related scenarios that trigger this failure, both resolved by the latest plugin version:

  • Scenario 1 — Home URL mismatch: The plugin's connection check reads your WordPress Home URL and extracts the hostname to send to the Search Atlas verification endpoint. When the Home URL includes www. but the domain associated with your Search Atlas workspace (visible in Settings → General or your OTTO project settings) is registered without it, the hostnames do not match and the endpoint returns a failed status — even though your API key is correct.
  • Scenario 2 — Server-level non-www → www redirect: If your server automatically redirects non-www URLs to www (for example, via .htaccess, nginx config, or a CDN rule), the redirect can intercept the SSO connect callback and heartbeat POST requests, causing them to fail before the plugin completes verification.

Both scenarios are resolved in the latest version of the Search Atlas WordPress plugin.

🛠️ Fix: Update the Search Atlas WordPress Plugin

Updating to the latest plugin version applies the fix automatically. No changes to your API key or WordPress URL settings are required.

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
  2. Locate Search Atlas in the plugin list and note the installed version number.
  3. If an update is available, click Update Now. The fix is included in the most recent release. If you are unsure which version contains the fix, contact Search Atlas support to confirm.
  4. After the update completes, open the Search Atlas plugin settings, re-enter your API key if prompted, and confirm the plugin now shows connected: true.

The plugin will now correctly verify your API key whether or not your Home URL includes www., and regardless of server-level non-www → www redirects.

⚙️ Temporary Workaround (If You Cannot Update Immediately)

If you need to connect the plugin before updating, temporarily remove the www. prefix from your WordPress Site Address:

  1. In WordPress admin, go to Settings → General.
  2. In both the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields, remove www. so the value reads yoursite.com.
  3. Click Save Changes.
  4. Open Search Atlas plugin settings, enter your API key, and click Connect. Verification should succeed.
  5. Update the plugin as soon as possible, then restore your www. prefix in Settings → General if needed.

Important: Changing your Site Address can affect site redirects and internal links. Apply this workaround only if you are comfortable managing WordPress URL settings.

✅ Verify the Connection Is Active

After updating (or applying the workaround), confirm the plugin is connected:

  • In WordPress admin, go to Search Atlas → Settings.
  • The status should display connected: true or show a green confirmation indicator.
  • If the error persists after updating, confirm the API key matches exactly what appears in your Search Atlas dashboard under Settings → API Keys.

🧰 If the Error Persists After Updating

In some cases, updating alone may not immediately resolve the problem. If you still see connected: false after updating, work through these steps in order:

  1. Deactivate and reactivate the Search Atlas plugin from Plugins → Installed Plugins.
  2. Clear your browser cache (or try an incognito/private window) and reload the plugin settings page.
  3. Re-copy the API key directly from Settings → API Keys in your Search Atlas dashboard and re-enter it in the plugin — making sure you are not pasting the OTTO UUID by mistake.
  4. Contact Search Atlas support with your site URL, the installed plugin version, and a screenshot of the error.

🌀 Updating the Search Atlas WordPress plugin resolves the false API key verification error triggered by a www Home URL or a server-level non-www → www redirect. If connection errors continue after updating, contact Search Atlas support for further assistance.