Metorik Docs
Store Connection Errors

WordPress.com or Pressable is blocking Metorik

What this error means

Metorik syncs your store by talking to the WooCommerce API on your site (the /wp-json/ address). WordPress.com and Pressable both have a security feature called defensive mode that shows a "Checking your browser..." page and asks the visitor's browser to solve a small puzzle. Metorik isn't a web browser, so it can't pass the check, and your host blocks it with a "403 Forbidden" error before it reaches WooCommerce.

The good news: nothing is wrong with your store or your API keys.

Am I on WordPress.com or Pressable?

  • WordPress.com: you pay WordPress.com for hosting (usually a Business or Commerce plan) and manage your site from the Hosting Dashboard at my.wordpress.com.

  • Pressable: you log in to the My.Pressable.com dashboard to manage your site.

Sites hosted elsewhere also appear in the WordPress.com dashboard when Jetpack is connected, so if you're not sure, check who your hosting invoices come from.

Step 1: Check whether defensive mode is on

Defensive mode is usually switched on for a set time while a site is under attack.

On WordPress.com

  1. Go to your Hosting Dashboard at my.wordpress.com.

  2. Click your site's name.

  3. Select Settings in the left sidebar.

  4. Scroll down to the Security section and click Defensive mode.

  5. If it says Defensive mode is enabled and you turned it on yourself, click Disable. (Left alone, it switches off by itself when the time you picked runs out, anywhere from 1 hour to 7 days.)

  6. If it says "We've enabled defensive mode to protect your site", WordPress.com staff turned it on for you. There's no Disable button in that case, so contact their support team with the message in Step 2.

  7. If it says Defensive mode is disabled and you still see the error in Metorik, go to Step 2.

On Pressable

  1. Log in to My.Pressable.com.

  2. Go to Sites, select your site, then open Cache.

  3. If Defensive Mode is on, you'll see how long it's on for and an option to disable it (Pressable guide).

If your site is still under attack, it's safer to leave defensive mode on and move to Step 2.

Step 2: Ask your host to let Metorik through

If defensive mode is still on, or it's off and Metorik is still blocked, the fix needs your host's support team, because neither host offers a self-serve setting to let a service like Metorik past this check. Copy and paste this message:

Hi! I use Metorik (metorik.com) for reports on my WooCommerce store. Your "Checking your browser..." challenge is blocking Metorik's API requests to my site and returning 403 Forbidden with a "Javascript required" page.

My site: [your store URL]

Could you please let these requests through, or tell me how to?

  • IP addresses: 23.239.31.174, 45.33.123.9, 45.33.116.36, 96.126.113.196, 173.255.205.248

  • Paths: /wp-json/* and /wc-api/*

If defensive mode is switched on for my site, please let me know if it can be turned off or if an exception can be added. Thanks!

To contact WordPress.com support

(guide)

  1. Go to wordpress.com/home while logged in.

  2. Click the question mark icon in the top-right corner to open the Help Center.

  3. Click Need help? Get in touch.

  4. Ask the assistant to speak to a human, then paste the message.

To contact Pressable support

(guide)

  1. Log in to My.Pressable.com.

  2. Click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner and choose Send us a message.

  3. Choose to chat with technical support or submit a ticket, then paste the message.

You can also email [email protected]. Your host may say they can't add an exception, and if so, let us know what they said.

Things you can try yourself

  1. On WordPress.com, look for Always allow specific IP addresses in your site's Settings under Security, and add Metorik's IPs (guide).

  2. If you use Jetpack, add the same IPs at Jetpack → Settings → Security → Always allowed IP addresses (guide).

  3. Make sure the store URL you connected to Metorik is your own domain starting with https://, since WordPress.com sends API requests for your .wordpress.com address to your custom domain anyway.

  4. In WordPress, go to Settings → Permalinks and make sure it isn't set to Plain, because the WooCommerce API needs friendly permalinks.

  5. If your site was recently under attack, try again in a few hours, as defensive mode turns off by itself.

The IP allow lists in steps 1 and 2 stop the firewall from blocking Metorik, but they may not get past the "Checking your browser" page on their own.

Verify it worked

  1. Go back to Metorik.

  2. Click Retry, enter your store address again and approve the connection.

  3. If the error is gone, Metorik will carry on setting up or syncing your store.

Still stuck?

Send us a message using the chat in Metorik. Tell us which host you're on and paste in your host's reply, and we'll help you work out the next step.

Further reading

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