Plugin Settings - Watchman Tower Docs

Coming Soon - The Watchman Tower WordPress plugin is currently in development. This documentation is prepared in advance for the upcoming release.

Settings Overview

The Watchman Tower plugin offers simple configuration with sensible defaults. All settings are managed through the plugin dashboard. Location: WordPress Admin → Watchman Tower → Settings

Heartbeat Interval

What is it?

The interval controls how frequently your WordPress site sends health data to Watchman Tower. Default: 300 seconds (5 minutes)

Adjusting the Interval

Locate Control

Find “Heartbeat Interval” in the dashboard settings panel

Set Value

Use the slider or input field to set seconds (60-3600)

Auto-Save

Changes save automatically via AJAX - no button needed

Applies Immediately

New interval takes effect on the next heartbeat cycle

[Screenshot: Interval slider]

Allowed Range

Minimum	Maximum	Default
60 seconds (1 minute)	3600 seconds (1 hour)	300 seconds (5 minutes)

Recommended Intervals by Site Type

🛒 eCommerce / High-Traffic Sites

Recommended: 60-120 seconds Why: - Quick issue detection = minimal revenue loss - High uptime expectations - Customer-facing transactions Example: WooCommerce store processing orders 24/7

💼 Business / Corporate Websites

Recommended: 180-300 seconds Why: - Balance between monitoring coverage and server load - Good for most production sites - Default value (300s) works well Example: Company website with contact forms and content

📝 Blogs / Content Sites

Recommended: 600-900 seconds Why: - Less time-sensitive content - Lower traffic = less urgency - Reduces server load Example: Personal WordPress blog with moderate traffic

🧪 Development / Staging

Recommended: 1800-3600 seconds Why: - Not customer-facing - Minimal monitoring needed - Reduces noise in logs Example: dev.yoursite.com or staging environment

Performance Considerations

Lower intervals (60-120s):

✅ Faster issue detection
✅ More granular uptime data
❌ Slightly higher server load
❌ More API calls (may affect rate limits)

Higher intervals (600-3600s):

✅ Lower server resource usage
✅ Fewer API requests
❌ Longer time to detect issues
❌ Less detailed uptime graphs

Even at 60-second intervals, the heartbeat is lightweight (~2KB payload). Performance impact is negligible on modern hosting.

How It Works

// Simplified JavaScript loop
let interval = 300; // seconds

function scheduleNextHeartbeat() {
  setTimeout(() => {
    sendHeartbeat();
    scheduleNextHeartbeat();
  }, interval * 1000);
}

// Started on page load
scheduleNextHeartbeat();

The interval value is stored in WordPress options:

// Behind the scenes
$interval = get_option('wthb_heartbeat_interval', 300);

Changing the interval does NOT restart the current cycle. If the next heartbeat is scheduled in 3 minutes, changing the interval to 1 minute won’t trigger an immediate heartbeat - it applies to the next cycle.Tip: Send a manual heartbeat to sync immediately.

Pause Monitoring

What is it?

Temporarily disable heartbeat monitoring without disconnecting your site. Toggle: ON/OFF switch in dashboard

When to Pause

Maintenance Windows

Planned server maintenance or updates

Development Work

Testing changes that might break the site

Migrations

Moving to a new host or server

Known Issues

Preventing alerts during acknowledged downtime

How to Pause

Open Dashboard

Navigate to Watchman Tower plugin dashboard

Toggle Switch

Click the “Pause Monitoring” toggle to ON

Confirm

Confirm in the modal dialog (if enabled)

Verify

Status badge changes to yellow “Paused”

[Screenshot: Pause monitoring toggle in ON position]

Aspect	Status
Heartbeat sending	⏸ Stopped
Alert notifications	⏸ Disabled
Dashboard status	🟡 Shows “Paused”
Site connection	✅ Maintained
Plugin active	✅ Still running
Settings accessible	✅ Can be changed

Important: Paused state is synced with Watchman Tower, so you won’t receive false downtime alerts. Your uptime percentage calculations also exclude paused periods.

How to Resume

Simply toggle the switch back to OFF:

Click the toggle
Heartbeat loop restarts immediately
Status updates to “Connected”
Next heartbeat scheduled based on interval

Pause Duration

No time limit - monitoring stays paused until you manually resume. Best practice: Don’t forget to re-enable! Set a reminder if pausing for extended maintenance.

Paused vs Disconnected

Feature	Paused	Disconnected
Heartbeats	⏸ Stopped	❌ Not connected
Connection	✅ Active	❌ Removed
Settings	✅ Saved	❌ Cleared
Resume	🔄 One click	⚙️ Full setup again
Use Case	Temporary	Permanent

💡 Always pause instead of disconnecting if you plan to resume monitoring later.

Manual Heartbeat

Send Heartbeat Now

Button: “Send Heartbeat Now” in Quick Actions panel Triggers an immediate heartbeat, bypassing the scheduled interval.

When to Use

✅ After changing settings (to verify changes)
✅ Testing connectivity after setup
✅ Troubleshooting heartbeat issues
✅ Forcing data sync with dashboard
✅ After WordPress/plugin updates

How It Works

Click Button

Click “Send Heartbeat Now” in dashboard

AJAX Request

JavaScript sends AJAX call to WordPress admin

Collect Metrics

Plugin gathers fresh site health data

API Call

Data sent to Watchman Tower API via HTTPS

Update UI

Dashboard status widget refreshes immediately

Confirmation

Success/error message displayed

Rate Limiting

Limit: 1 manual heartbeat per minute Why: Prevents API abuse and excessive server load Error message if exceeded:

⚠️ Please wait before sending another heartbeat
Rate limit: 1 per minute

Behind the Scenes

// AJAX call to trigger heartbeat
jQuery.ajax({
  url: ajaxurl,
  method: "POST",
  data: {
    action: "wthb_send_heartbeat",
    nonce: wthbData.nonce,
  },
  success: function (response) {
    // Update UI
    updateStatusWidget(response.data);
    showNotification("Heartbeat sent successfully");
  },
  error: function (xhr, status, error) {
    showNotification("Failed to send heartbeat: " + error, "error");
  },
});

Manual heartbeats do NOT reset the scheduled heartbeat timer. The automatic cycle continues independently.

Advanced Settings

Constants (wp-config.php)

For advanced users, you can override settings via constants:

// wp-config.php

// Force specific heartbeat interval (seconds)
define('WTHB_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL', 120);

// Disable manual heartbeat button
define('WTHB_DISABLE_MANUAL_HEARTBEAT', true);

// Custom API endpoint (for testing)
define('WTHB_API_ENDPOINT', 'https://custom-api.example.com');

Available Constants

| Constant | Type | Purpose | |----------|------|---------| | WTHB_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL | int | Force interval (seconds) | | WTHB_DISABLE_MANUAL_HEARTBEAT | bool | Hide manual button | | WTHB_API_ENDPOINT | string | Custom API URL | | WTHB_TIMEOUT | int | API request timeout (seconds) | | WTHB_DEBUG | bool | Enable debug logging | Note: Constants override dashboard settings and are not editable via UI.

WordPress Cron

The heartbeat relies on WordPress cron (WP-Cron). Check if cron is working:

wp cron event list

You should see:

wthb_heartbeat_event    2024-01-15 14:35:00    300 seconds

WP-Cron Issues & Solutions

Problem: WordPress cron doesn’t fire reliably on low-traffic sites. Solution 1: Disable WP-Cron and use system cron Add to wp-config.php: php define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true); Add to system crontab: ```bash */5

- - - wget -q -O - https://yoursite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1 ``` Solution 2: Use a cron trigger service - UptimeRobot (ping wp-cron.php every 5 minutes) - EasyCron - SetCronJob Learn more about WP-Cron →

Data Privacy Settings

What Data is Collected

See detailed breakdown in Metrics Reference → Summary:

Site health metrics (WordPress version, PHP version, etc.)
Performance data (RAM usage, disk space)
Security settings (SSL, plugin/theme versions)
Active plugins list (names only, not code)

What is NOT Collected

❌ User passwords or credentials - ❌ Database contents - ❌ Post/page content - ❌ Personal user data - ❌ Customer information - ❌ Payment details
❌ Email addresses (except admin email as site contact)

The plugin is GDPR-compliant:

No cookies set
No personal data tracked
No third-party scripts on frontend
Data processing agreement available
Right to deletion honored

Opt-Out Options

Option 1: Pause monitoring (temporary) Option 2: Disconnect site (removes all data) Option 3: Delete site from Watchman Tower dashboard (permanent)

Multisite Considerations

Network Activation

When network-activated on WordPress Multisite:

Each subsite gets its own instance ID
Configure settings per-site (not network-wide)
Independent monitoring per subsite
Separate heartbeat intervals possible

Super Admin Controls

Super admins can:

Network activate/deactivate
View all subsite connections
Force disconnect subsites (if needed)

Troubleshooting Settings

Settings not saving

Possible causes: - JavaScript errors on page - AJAX requests blocked by security plugin - Database connection issues Solutions: - Check browser console for errors - Temporarily disable security plugins - Check file permissions - Clear cache (browser + WordPress)

Interval changes not taking effect

Explanation: New interval applies to the NEXT heartbeat cycle, not the current one. Solution: Send a manual heartbeat to sync immediately.

Pause toggle not working

Check: - JavaScript enabled in browser? - Admin AJAX URL correct? - Nonce validation passing? Debug: javascript console.log(wthbData); // Check if data available

Manual heartbeat button missing

Causes: - WTHB_DISABLE_MANUAL_HEARTBEAT constant set to true - JavaScript not loaded - User lacks admin permissions Fix: Remove constant from wp-config.php if set

Next Steps

Dashboard Guide

Understand the dashboard UI

Heartbeat Architecture

How heartbeats work

Metrics Collected

Complete data reference

Troubleshooting

Fix common issues

Getting Started

Monitoring

Alerts

WordPress Agent

Troubleshooting

​Settings Overview

​Heartbeat Interval

​What is it?

​Adjusting the Interval

​Allowed Range

​Recommended Intervals by Site Type

​Performance Considerations

​How It Works

​Pause Monitoring

​What is it?

​When to Pause

Maintenance Windows

Development Work

Migrations

Known Issues

​How to Pause

​What Happens When Paused

​How to Resume

​Pause Duration

​Paused vs Disconnected

​Manual Heartbeat

​Send Heartbeat Now

​When to Use

​How It Works

​Rate Limiting

​Behind the Scenes

​Advanced Settings

​Constants (wp-config.php)

​WordPress Cron

​Data Privacy Settings

​What Data is Collected

​What is NOT Collected

​GDPR Compliance

​Opt-Out Options

​Multisite Considerations

​Network Activation

​Super Admin Controls

​Troubleshooting Settings

​Next Steps

Dashboard Guide

Heartbeat Architecture

Metrics Collected

Troubleshooting

Settings Overview

Heartbeat Interval

What is it?

Adjusting the Interval

Allowed Range

Recommended Intervals by Site Type

Performance Considerations

How It Works

Pause Monitoring

What is it?

When to Pause

How to Pause

What Happens When Paused

How to Resume

Pause Duration

Paused vs Disconnected

Manual Heartbeat

Send Heartbeat Now

When to Use

How It Works

Rate Limiting

Behind the Scenes

Advanced Settings

Constants (wp-config.php)

WordPress Cron

Data Privacy Settings

What Data is Collected

What is NOT Collected

GDPR Compliance

Opt-Out Options

Multisite Considerations

Network Activation

Super Admin Controls

Troubleshooting Settings

Next Steps