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WordPress Installation Guide

Last researched 2026-08-26

This is the canonical Virent installation guide for WordPress sites.

Research Notes#

  • WordPress front-end scripts should be registered through wp_enqueue_scripts.
  • Custom script attributes can be added through script_loader_tag.
  • The shutdown hook runs late enough to read the final WordPress response status.
  • wp_remote_post performs server-side POST requests.

Primary references:

  • https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_enqueue_script/
  • https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/shutdown/
  • https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_remote_post/

Human Analytics#

Prefer a small plugin or mu-plugin so tracking survives theme changes.

TXT
<?php/** * Plugin Name: Virent Human Analytics */add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', function () {    wp_enqueue_script(        'virent-human-analytics',        'https://app.virent.app/js/script.js',        array(),        null,        false    );});add_filter('script_loader_tag', function ($tag, $handle) {    if ($handle !== 'virent-human-analytics') {        return $tag;    }	return str_replace(		'<script ',		'<script defer data-write-key="vha_pk_..." ',		$tag	);}, 10, 2);

Best practices:

  • Use wp_enqueue_scripts rather than editing WordPress core.
  • Prefer a plugin, mu-plugin, or child theme over direct theme edits.
  • Keep the server secret out of rendered HTML.
  • Purge page caches and CDN caches after installation.

Verification:

  • Activate the plugin.
  • View source on a public page and confirm the Virent script exists.
  • Check Network for /js/script.js and pageview requests.
  • Refresh Human Analytics status.

Troubleshooting:

  • If the script is absent, confirm the plugin is active and the hook runs on the front end.
  • If page caching hides the change, purge cache and CDN.
  • If a security plugin blocks the script, allow the Virent origin.

AI Analytics#

Keep server values in wp-config.php or environment-specific configuration.

TXT
define('VIRENT_SITE_ID', 'site_...');define('VIRENT_INGEST_SECRET', 'vha_sk_...');define('VIRENT_INGEST_ENDPOINT', 'https://app.virent.app/v1/ingest/bot');

Install a plugin or mu-plugin:

TXT
<?php/** * Plugin Name: Virent AI Analytics */add_action('shutdown', function () {    if (is_admin() || wp_doing_ajax() || wp_doing_cron()) {        return;    }    $user_agent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] ?? '';    $path = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '/', PHP_URL_PATH) ?: '/';    if (        preg_match('/\.(?:png|jpg|jpeg|gif|svg|ico|webp|css|js|map|txt|xml)$/i', $path) ||        ! preg_match('/GPTBot|OAI-SearchBot|ChatGPT-User|ClaudeBot|claudebot|Claude-Web|Claude-User|Claude-SearchBot|PerplexityBot|PerplexityBot\/|Perplexity-User|Perplexity-User\/|Google-CloudVertexBot|DeepSeekBot|DeepSeekSpider|CCBot|Applebot|Bytespider|meta-externalagent|meta-webindexer|meta-externalfetcher|Amazonbot|DuckAssistBot|PetalBot|YouBot/i', $user_agent)    ) {        return;    }    wp_remote_post(VIRENT_INGEST_ENDPOINT, array(        'headers' => array(            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',            'x-api-key' => VIRENT_INGEST_SECRET,        ),        'body' => wp_json_encode(array(            'siteId' => VIRENT_SITE_ID,            'url' => home_url(add_query_arg(array(), $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '/')),            'host' => $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? wp_parse_url(home_url(), PHP_URL_HOST),            'path' => $path,            'method' => $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] ?? 'GET',            'referer' => $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] ?? null,            'userAgent' => $user_agent,            'statusCode' => http_response_code() ?: 200,            'requestId' => wp_generate_uuid4(),            'timestamp' => gmdate('c'),        )),        'timeout' => 2,        'blocking' => false,    ));});

Best practices:

  • Use a plugin or mu-plugin rather than editing core.
  • Skip wp-admin, AJAX, cron, login, REST API, and static asset requests unless intentionally tracking them.
  • Store VIRENT_INGEST_SECRET outside rendered HTML.
  • Confirm the host allows outbound HTTP requests to Virent.

Verification:

SH
curl -A "GPTBot" https://your-domain.com/
  • Confirm the plugin is active.
  • Confirm Virent receives crawler events.
  • Refresh AI Analytics status.

Troubleshooting:

  • If no events arrive, confirm outbound HTTP is allowed by the host or security plugin.
  • If admin requests are tracked, keep admin and login exclusions.
  • If the secret appears in page source, move it to server config and rotate it.