WordPress troubleshooting

Most problems between WordPress and ClubHelix are not in either product. They come from the hosting around WordPress: a security plugin, a page cache, a server clock or a firewall. This page covers the six we see most often, how to tell which one you have, and how to fix it. It starts with one step in ClubHelix that's easy to miss after connecting. The WordPress page covers connecting a site in the first place.

Start with Tools → Site Health in WordPress. The ClubHelix plugin adds seven checks there, each marked ClubHelix. The Field reference lists them and the section of this page that goes with each.

Who can use this

Anyone who looks after the club's WordPress site. Most fixes need a WordPress administrator, and some need your web host or whoever manages the server. In ClubHelix, only Admins see the WordPress page, where the connection's last check-in and last error are shown.

What's on the page

One section per problem. Each says what you'll notice, how to confirm it, and how to fix it:

• The site is connected and verified, but payments don't come back to it
• The WordPress REST API is blocked
• WP-Cron isn't running
• A security plugin is blocking ClubHelix updates
• Pages don't change after you update something in ClubHelix
• The server clock is wrong
• WordPress isn't allowed to contact other websites

Step by step

The site is connected and verified, but payments don't come back to it

What you'll notice: Site Health says Site ownership is verified, but payers finish on a ClubHelix page instead of coming back to your site, your ClubHelix widgets don't show on it, and you can't make it your public website. On the plugin's Domain tab you may see "An Admin has not confirmed this site on ClubHelix yet".

Why: Verified only proves the plugin controls the site's address. A connection link can name any website, so an Admin also has to confirm in ClubHelix that the site is your club's. WordPress can't do this step for you.

Fix:

1. An Admin opens Website management → WordPress in the ClubHelix admin.
2. Under Needs your attention, find New site waiting for you to confirm it.
3. Tick I recognise … as our club's WordPress site and choose Confirm this site. If you don't recognise the address, revoke the connection instead.

After you reinstall the plugin or reconnect, the new connection needs confirming again. See WordPress for more.

The WordPress REST API is blocked

What you'll notice: Site Health says No recent updates have arrived from ClubHelix, and changes made in ClubHelix take up to 15 minutes to appear. If you're moving your site to ClubHelix, the migration may fall back to reading your pages one at a time.

Why: ClubHelix sends update notices to /wp-json/clubhelix/v1/webhook on your site. Some security plugins, and some "disable REST API" plugins, block everything under /wp-json/ for visitors who aren't signed in. That includes ClubHelix.

Fix:

1. Open https://your-site/wp-json/ in a private browser window. If you see an error or a login page instead of a page of text, the REST API is blocked.
2. In the plugin that blocks it, allow the route /wp-json/clubhelix/v1/webhook. Most of these plugins have a list of allowed routes or namespaces; add clubhelix/v1.
3. Back in Site Health, run the checks again.

You don't need to open the whole REST API to the public. The ClubHelix route only accepts messages signed with your site's secret, and it ignores everything else.

WP-Cron isn't running

What you'll notice: Site Health says WP-Cron is switched off or The ClubHelix backstop has not run for over an hour. Synced events and fixtures go stale when an update notice is missed, and the daily status report stops, so the ClubHelix WordPress page says the plugin hasn't checked in.

Why: WordPress runs scheduled tasks when someone visits the site. On a quiet site, or when your host has set DISABLE_WP_CRON to true in wp-config.php, those tasks may not run at all. The plugin uses them to check ClubHelix for changes every 15 minutes, as a backstop for missed update notices.

Fix:

• If DISABLE_WP_CRON is set, your host expects a real server task to run WordPress's scheduler instead. Ask them to run it every five minutes. On most hosts it's a cron job that calls wp cron event run --due-now, or that requests https://your-site/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron.
• On managed hosts, look for a "cron" or "scheduled tasks" setting in the hosting panel.

A security plugin is blocking ClubHelix updates

What you'll notice: The ClubHelix WordPress page shows recent updates that didn't arrive, while Site Health shows the REST API working when you test it yourself.

Why: Firewalls such as Wordfence can rate-limit or block requests that don't come from a browser. ClubHelix's update notices come from our servers, not a browser, so a firewall rule can stop them.

Fix (Wordfence):

1. In WordPress, go to Wordfence → Firewall → All Firewall Options.
2. Under Advanced Firewall Options, add /wp-json/clubhelix/v1/webhook to the allowlisted URLs.
3. If rate limiting is on, make sure it doesn't block that address.

Don't allowlist ClubHelix by IP address. Our servers don't have fixed addresses, and the signature on every notice is what proves it came from us.

Other security plugins have a similar allowlist. Add the same address there.

Pages don't change after you update something in ClubHelix

What you'll notice: You changed an event or a price in ClubHelix, the update shows as delivered on the ClubHelix WordPress page, but your site still shows the old version.

Why: A page cache is serving a saved copy of the page. The plugin clears the cache for affected pages when an update arrives, but only with caching plugins it knows how to talk to (FlyingPress, LiteSpeed Cache and WP Rocket). It can't reach a cache in your hosting panel or on a content delivery network.

Fix:

• Clear the cache once from your caching plugin or hosting panel, to confirm this is the cause.
• If you use a host-level cache or a content delivery network, set a short cache time for pages that show ClubHelix blocks, or ask your host whether it can be cleared automatically.
• Changes always appear when the cached copy expires, so this is a delay, not lost data.

The server clock is wrong

What you'll notice: Site Health says The server clock is wrong, and update notices are refused even though nothing else is wrong.

Why: Each update notice carries the time it was sent, and the plugin refuses one more than five minutes old. That stops someone replaying an old notice. If your server's clock is a few minutes out, genuine notices look old and are refused.

Fix: Ask your host to turn on automatic time synchronisation (NTP) for the server. You can't fix this from WordPress itself. Until it's fixed, the 15-minute check keeps your site up to date.

WordPress isn't allowed to contact other websites

What you'll notice: Connecting fails straight away, and blocks show "Couldn't load … right now". Site Health has no check of its own for this. Its connection check says ClubHelix calls have been failing, usually with the code network_error.

Why: Some hosts and security setups add WP_HTTP_BLOCK_EXTERNAL to wp-config.php, which stops WordPress contacting any other website. The plugin needs to reach ClubHelix.

Fix: Keep the block, and add ClubHelix to the list of allowed sites in wp-config.php:

define( 'WP_ACCESSIBLE_HOSTS', 'clubhelix.com' );

If that line already lists other sites, add clubhelix.com to the list, separated by a comma. If you can't edit wp-config.php, ask your host.

Field reference

Each check shows one heading when all is well, and another when it isn't. The headings are the plugin's own wording.

Tips & FAQ

My site still works, so is any of this urgent? No. ClubHelix blocks keep showing their last good copy when anything here goes wrong, so your home page never breaks because of us. Fixing these keeps that copy fresh.

Does any of this mean my site was hacked? No. These are settings on your site or server, and each section describes the setting involved.

Should I turn off my security plugin? No. Allow the one ClubHelix address instead. Every notice to it is signed, so allowing it doesn't weaken your site.

Who do I contact? For anything in the "Fix" steps that mentions your host, contact your host. If the ClubHelix WordPress page still shows a problem after a fix, use Report a bug in your ClubHelix admin and tell us which check is failing.