Title: Troubleshooting
Author: joshua
Published: August 1, 2022
Last modified: January 27, 2026

---

 1. [Troubleshooting common issues](https://docs.parse.ly/troubleshooting-issues/)
 2. Troubleshooting

#  Troubleshooting

Experiencing issues with your [WordPress Parse.ly Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-parsely/)?
This guide addresses common queries about pageviews, plugin settings, metadata, 
and duplicate content. Ensure that you have your [Site ID](https://docs.parse.ly/parsely-integration/#h-step-1-receive-site-ids),
have read our [plugin installation guide](https://docs.parse.ly/wordpress-plugin-setup/#h-installation),
[configured the plugin](https://docs.parse.ly/wordpress-plugin-setup/#h-configuration),
and checked our [common questions](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-common-questions/).
If you still have questions, continue reading below for plugin troubleshooting steps.

## The plugin isn’t generating pageviews

Check through each of these potential causes:

[[

### Basic settings

 * You may find these settings at `/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=parsely`
 * Verify that you have specified the [Site ID](https://docs.parse.ly/parsely-integration/#h-step-1-receive-site-ids)
   in the plugin’s options.
    - Parse.ly Support will generate this value and provide to you via email.
    - Parse.ly Support will add the Site ID for WPVIP customers
 * You may have set “Disable JavaScript” to `Yes`. This prevents the plugin from
   loading the tracking code but still allows the plugin to send your metadata. 
   Use of [this filter](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-common-questions/#h-can-i-prevent-the-automatic-insertion-of-the-javascript-tracker)
   will override the setting.
 * You may have set “Track Logged-in Users” to `No`. You will not see the tracking
   code if you’re a logged in to your wp-admin. Log out of WordPress and [test](https://docs.parse.ly/test-integration/#h-pageview)
   again. Alternatively, test from an Incognito browser window.

### Recrawl settings

 * Settings found at `wp-admin/options-general.php?page=parsely#recrawl-section`
 * Check your “Track Post Types as” settings. Verify that you’re tracking the desired
   post type(s). Be especially vigilant about checking any Custom Post Types that
   you have.

### Advanced settings

 * Settings located at `/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=parsely#advanced-section`
 * Check your Disable Autotracking setting. The default setting is `No`. If this
   setting is `Yes`, then we will rely on you to [implement dynamic tracking](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-dynamic-tracking/).
   We’ll still receive [heartbeat events](https://docs.parse.ly/test-integration/#h-heartbeat),
   regardless.

### Factors outside of the plugin interface

 * The plugin relies on the `wp_head()` and `wp_footer()` WordPress functions to
   work. If your site uses a non-standard WordPress template, your site may not 
   call these functions. In that case, [contact Support](https://docs.parse.ly/troubleshooting-issues/support@parsely.com?output_format=md).
 * By default, the plugin only tracks posts with the `publish` status. This behavior
   can be changed by using the `filter_trackable_statuses` filter:

    ```lang-php
    add_filter( 'wp_parsely_trackable_statuses', 'filter_trackable_statuses', 10, 2 ); 
    function filter_trackable_statuses( $statuses, $post ) {
    	$statuses[] = 'future';
    	$statuses[] = ...;
    	return $statuses;
    } 
    ```

 * To avoid data leakage, we don’t insert the tracking code in password-protected
   pages when the user hasn’t provided the password. This behavior can be changed
   by using the `wp_parsely_skip_post_password_check` filter:

    ```lang-php
    add_filter( 'wp_parsely_skip_post_password_check', '__return_true' ); 
    ```

## Parse.ly tracker not loading on homepage

### Symptoms

 * The Parse.ly JavaScript tracker loads correctly on posts, pages, and other content
   types
 * The tracker does **not** load on the site’s homepage/front page

### Cause

The Parse.ly plugin determines whether to inject the tracker based on the current
post type. On certain homepage configurations, WordPress’s `get_post_type()` function
returns `false` or a value not in your tracked post types list. This commonly occurs
when:

 * Your homepage is set to display **“Your latest posts”** (`/wp-admin/options-reading.
   php`)
 * Your theme uses a custom `front-page.php` template that doesn’t properly set 
   up the global `$post` object
 * Custom homepage implementations bypass the standard WordPress loop

### Solution

Add the following code snippet to your theme’s `functions.php` file or a custom 
plugin to force the tracker to load on your homepage:

    ```lang-php
    /**
     * Force Parse.ly tracker to load on the front page.
     */
    if ( is_front_page() ) {
        add_filter( 'wp_parsely_load_js_tracker', '__return_true' );
    }
    ```

**For multisite or custom setups**, you may need to adjust the conditional check:

    ```lang-php
    /**
     * Force Parse.ly tracker to load on the front page.
     * Adjust the conditional as needed for your setup.
     */
    add_action( 'template_redirect', function() {
        if ( is_front_page() || is_home() ) {
            add_filter( 'wp_parsely_load_js_tracker', '__return_true' );
        }
    } );
    ```

### Additional Considerations

 1. **Metadata customization**: If the homepage also needs custom [metadata](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/metadata/),
    use the [`wp_parsely_metadata`](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-common-questions/#h-can-the-rendered-metadata-be-customized-or-disabled)
    filter to customize or provide the necessary structured data.
 2. **Debugging**: If you need to identify the root cause in your codebase, check:
 3.  * Whether `get_post_type()` returns a valid value on your homepage
     * Whether the global `$post` variable is set when the page loads
     * Whether any code is removing actions from `wp_head` or `wp_footer`
 4. **Theme compatibility**: Ensure your theme’s `header.php` calls `wp_head()` and
    your `footer.php` calls `wp_footer()`, as these are required for the plugin to 
    inject [its code](https://github.com/Parsely/wp-parsely/blob/trunk/src/class-scripts.php).

## I have unexpected or undesired metadata in Dash

 * Check the [Recrawl settings](https://docs.parse.ly/troubleshooting-issues/plugin-troubleshooting?output_format=md#h-recrawl-settings).
   If you’ve had Parse.ly for a while and you’re changing a setting, contact [Support](https://docs.parse.ly/troubleshooting-issues/support@parsely.com?subject=bulk%20recrawl%20request)
   to perform a bulk [recrawl](https://docs.parse.ly/whats-a-recrawl/#4-request-a-bulk-recrawl-from-parse-ly-support)
   of your site. Verify your selections for:
    - “Use Top-Level Categories for Section”
    - “Use Custom Taxonomy for Section”
    - If you want to use your WordPress category values as Parse.ly tags, use the“
      Add Categories to Tags” option
 * If those options aren’t sufficient, customize your metadata with one of [these filters](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-common-questions/#h-can-the-rendered-metadata-be-customized-or-disabled).

## Why do I see duplicate content in the Parse.ly Dash?

When Parse.ly crawls a website, it will read every page’s metadata. If you see duplicate
content (posts or pages that are identical but separated into two items) in the 
Parse.ly dashboard, this is usually caused by a post being accessible from different
URLs (for instance, `http://example.com/post-1` and `http://wwww.example.com/post-
1`).

As the plugin gets the canonical URL from WordPress for every page and puts it into
the metadata, a possible fix to this would be to modify the plugin’s metadata output
by using the `wp_parsely_metadata` filter.

However, we do not recommend this approach as it doesn’t solve the root of the problem.
Having duplicate content can have severe implications, including SEO. We recommend
fixing the issue at the WordPress level and moving your site to having just one 
canonical URL for every page.

## Additional Resources

If this guide did not solve your plugin troubleshooting needs, please contact support@parsely.
com.

Last updated: January 27, 2026