publish where your site already lives
Connect WordPress to PilotDeck
Install the PilotDeck Connector plugin, paste one Integration Key in PilotDeck, choose a publish mode and verify posts arrive in WordPress.
What connecting WordPress does#
PilotDeck researches, drafts and queues content for review. A CMS connection is the last hop: once you approve a draft, PilotDeck sends it to your CMS for you. Without a connection, every article and fix waits for you to paste it in yourself. The example below uses a PilotDeck site named pilotdeck-testwebsite and a WordPress site at https://example.com.
One key, one field
You install the PilotDeck Connector plugin and paste a single Integration Key. The key already carries your site's address, so there is no username, password or URL to enter.
SEO fields arrive intact
WordPress's own REST API silently discards Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and SEOPress fields. The plugin writes the meta title, description and focus keyword for whichever of them it finds.
Drafts first
The default publish mode is Draft only. Posts arrive in WordPress as drafts, so nothing goes live until you publish it there.
Before you start#
| You need | Details |
|---|---|
| A self-hosted WordPress site | WordPress 5.6 or newer, as PilotDeck states it. The plugin file itself declares 5.7 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer, so use 5.7 or newer to be safe. WordPress.com free plans cannot install plugins, so they do not work. |
| A WordPress administrator login | You need to install and activate a plugin, and open Settings > PilotDeck, which only users who can manage options see. |
| HTTPS on the site | The plugin's settings page shows "This site is not served over HTTPS" and warns that the key would travel in clear text. Fix this before connecting. |
| A PilotDeck login | Permission to change integrations for the site. Without it the Connect button is unavailable. |
Overview#
- 1Install the PilotDeck Connector plugin from your WordPress adminYou
- 2Activate itYou
- 3Copy the Integration Key from Settings > PilotDeckYou
- 4Open Settings > Integrations in PilotDeck and pick WordPressYou
- 5Paste the key and choose a publish modeYou
- 6Test the connection, then connect. PilotDeck reads your site's address from the keyPilotDeck
- 7Send a test draft and check it in WordPressVerify
Open https://example.com/wp-admin and sign in with an administrator account.
Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin, search for PilotDeck Connector and click Install Now. The plugin is listed in the WordPress.org plugin directory.
If you cannot find it in the directory, PilotDeck also serves the plugin as a zip file at /api/connectors/wordpress/plugin.zip on your PilotDeck address. Upload it with Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin. The download needs no login and contains no secrets, because your key is created on your own site when you activate the plugin.
Click Activate on the Plugins screen. If you skip this, PilotDeck later reports that the plugin is not responding (see Troubleshooting).
Go to Settings > PilotDeck in WordPress. Click the key box once and it copies itself. Use the click-to-copy box rather than selecting by hand, because the key is long and must be copied whole.
The key starts with pdk_. The same page shows whether it found an SEO plugin (for example "Yoast SEO detected") and a Status of Ready.
In PilotDeck, make sure the correct site is selected in the site switcher (here, pilotdeck-testwebsite). Go to Settings > Integrations and find the CMS Connection card. Click WordPress. A "How to connect WordPress" panel appears next to a Your details form.
- Paste the key into Integration Key. The field is a password field, so it shows dots. The placeholder is
pdk_.... - Category is optional. If you fill it in, it is applied to every post published through this connection. Leave it blank to publish with no category.
- Pick a Publish mode. Start with Draft only (see Publish modes).
Click Test connection first. PilotDeck contacts the plugin on your site without saving anything. You should see "Looks good, credentials work.".
Then click Connect. A "CMS connected." message appears and the connection shows an active status. A site can have only one CMS connector, so connecting WordPress when another CMS is already connected asks you to confirm which existing connection will be disabled.
On the connected card, click Send test draft. You should see "Test draft created." Then open Posts in the WordPress admin and look for the sample article with the status Draft.
Publish modes#
| Mode | What happens | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Draft only (default) | Posts are created as WordPress posts with the status draft. You publish them in WordPress when ready. | Recommended while you learn the flow, or when someone reviews on the WordPress side. |
| Publish live | Posts are created with the status publish. If the article carries a future publish date, WordPress schedules it instead. | Once you trust the output and your review step happens in PilotDeck. |
What PilotDeck creates#
| Item | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Post type | A standard WordPress post. PilotDeck always creates a new post for each approved article. |
| Content | The article body as HTML, followed by the conclusion and a visible FAQ section when the article has them. |
| Fields | Title, slug, excerpt (from the meta description), tags, categories, featured image and publish date. |
| SEO fields | Meta title, meta description and focus keyword, written for Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO or SEOPress when installed. With none installed the post still publishes, there is just nowhere to store them. |
| Structured data | FAQ schema is added to the page head by the plugin. Article schema is left to your SEO plugin. |
| Author | By default the plugin matches or creates a WordPress user with the author's display name, adds Person structured data, and the body carries a visible author box. Author handling needs plugin version 1.3.0 or newer. |
Limits#
- Each request to the plugin times out after 60 seconds, because downloading the featured image on shared hosting can be slow.
- Only the plugin path is offered in PilotDeck. The older application password path exists in the backend but the connect form does not use it, and it cannot write SEO fields or FAQ schema.
- Custom fields are not supported.
Disconnecting#
On the connected card click Disconnect and confirm. Approved content stops publishing to WordPress right away. This cannot be undone, but you can reconnect by repeating steps 4 to 6 with a key. To fully remove access, also click Regenerate key under Settings > PilotDeck in WordPress, or deactivate the plugin.
Troubleshooting#
"That doesn't look like an Integration Key"
The value must start with pdk_. Copy it again from Settings > PilotDeck in WordPress.
"That Integration Key looks truncated or altered"
The key was cut short or edited. Use the click-to-copy box so the whole key is copied. A similar message says the key is missing its site address or secret, and the fix is the same.
"The PilotDeck plugin isn't responding on that site"
The plugin is installed but not activated. Check Plugins in WordPress and click Activate.
"That Integration Key was rejected"
You clicked Regenerate key in WordPress, which invalidated the old key. Copy the new key and connect again.
The connection shows an error or needs reauthorisation
The card can show the status needs_reauth, error or disabled instead of active, with the last error under the site address. Fix the cause, then disconnect and reconnect with a fresh key.
A request fails with a 403, 429 or 5xx error
PilotDeck maps 403 to a permission problem, 429 to rate limiting and 5xx to a server error on your site.
My SEO title and description are missing
Confirm Settings > PilotDeck shows your SEO plugin as detected. Without the PilotDeck Connector plugin, WordPress drops these fields without any error.
WordPress.com will not let me install the plugin
Free WordPress.com plans cannot install plugins. You need a self-hosted WordPress site.