When the Loupely Chrome extension can’t reach the WordPress Plugin on your site, the popup shows a disconnected status or a “browser-only mode” indicator instead of a “Connected” status. Diagnoses run in browser-only mode, which means server-side data (PHP Errors, Hook Execution, WooCommerce pipeline events) won’t be included in captures.
Step 1: Confirm the plugin is installed and active #
Go to your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Confirm that Loupely is in the list and shows an active status. If it’s inactive, click Activate. If it’s not installed, see Plugin Installation and Activation.
Step 2: Check the connection key #
The connection key in the Chrome extension must match the one displayed on the Loupely plugin settings page in WordPress. Go to Loupely > Settings in your WordPress Dashboard and copy the connection key. Open the Loupely extension popup, go to settings, and confirm the key entered there matches exactly. Even a single character difference will cause a connection failure.
If you’re not sure whether the keys match, the simplest fix is to copy the key from WordPress and re-paste it into the extension. See The Two Keys: Connection Key vs. License Key for where each key goes.
Step 3: Check whether the REST API is accessible #
Loupely communicates with the WordPress Plugin through WordPress’s REST API. If the REST API is blocked or disabled on your site, the extension can’t connect. The most common causes of REST API blockage:
- A security plugin blocking REST API access. Wordfence, iThemes Security, All In One WP Security, and similar plugins can be configured to restrict REST API access. Check the security plugin’s settings for a “Disable REST API” or “REST API Access” option and confirm it isn’t blocking unauthenticated or authenticated requests.
- A “Disable REST API” plugin. Some sites install a dedicated plugin to disable the REST API for security reasons. If you have such a plugin active, you’ll need to either whitelist Loupely’s endpoint or deactivate the plugin.
- Server or hosting firewall rules. Some hosting providers or server configurations block requests to /wp-json/ at the server level. Contact your hosting provider and ask them to confirm that REST API requests to /wp-json/loupely/ are not being blocked.
- Plain permalinks. WordPress’s REST API requires “pretty permalinks” (anything other than the default plain option). Go to Settings > Permalinks in WordPress and confirm you’re not using the Plain setting. If you are, change to Post name or any other option and save.
Step 4: Test the REST API directly #
To confirm whether the REST API is reachable, open a browser tab and navigate to: https://yoursite.com/wp-json/ (replace yoursite.com with your actual domain). If you see a JSON response, the REST API is accessible. If you see an error page or a blank response, the REST API is blocked at the server or plugin level.
Step 5: Flush permalink rewrite rules #
After activating the Loupely plugin, WordPress sometimes needs a permalink flush to register the new REST API Endpoint. Go to Settings > Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes without changing anything. This flushes the rewrite rules and registers Loupely’s endpoint. Then test the extension connection again.
If none of the above resolves it #
Contact support@useloupely.com with your site URL, the WordPress version, and the names of any active security plugins. Include what you see in the extension popup and what you see when you navigate to yoursite.com/wp-json/. That information lets the support team identify the specific block quickly.