Coming Soon - The Watchman Tower WordPress plugin is currently in development. This documentation is prepared in advance for the upcoming release.
Metrics Overview
The Watchman Tower WordPress agent collects comprehensive metrics across five categories to help you monitor your site’s health and performance.Performance
Page generation time, database queries, caching efficiency, and memory usage
System
PHP version and settings, WordPress configuration, server environment, and disk space
Database
Database size, table statistics, optimization status, and transient data
Security
Login attempts, user activity, file integrity, and security headers
Updates
WordPress core, plugin, and theme update availability
Custom
Add your own custom metrics for business-specific monitoring
Performance Metrics
Page Generation
- Average Page Time: Time to generate a page (in seconds)
- Percentile Times: P50, P95, P99 response times for performance analysis
- Helps identify slow pages and performance bottlenecks
Database Performance
- Query Count: Number of SQL queries per page load
- Query Time: Total SQL execution time
- Slow Queries: Queries exceeding performance threshold
- Useful for identifying database optimization opportunities
Cache Performance
- Hit Ratio: Percentage of requests served from cache
- Cache Type: Type of object cache (Redis, Memcached, file)
- Hit/Miss Counts: Detailed cache usage statistics
- Higher hit ratios indicate better performance
Memory Usage
- Current Usage: Memory consumed by PHP
- Memory Limit: Maximum allowed memory
- Usage Percentage: How much of the limit is being used
- Peak Memory: Highest memory usage recorded
- All values in megabytes
System Metrics
PHP Information
- PHP version and SAPI type
- Execution time limits
- Upload and POST size limits
- OPcache status and hit rate
- Input variable limits
WordPress Information
- WordPress version
- Multisite status
- Active theme
- Language and timezone settings
- Debug mode status
Server Environment
- Server software (nginx, Apache, etc.)
- Disk space (free, total, usage percentage)
- Document root path
- Operating system details
Database Metrics
Database Size
- Total database size in megabytes
- Number of tables
- Largest table name and size
- Growth trends over time
Table Statistics
For each database table:- Number of rows
- Table size and index size
- Storage engine (InnoDB, MyISAM)
- Character set collation
Optimization Status
- Tables needing optimization
- Tables with overhead
- Total overhead size
- Last optimization timestamp
Transients
- Total transient count
- Expired transients
- Transient data size
- Autoloaded transients
Autoload Data
- Autoload options size
- Number of autoloaded options
- Large autoload options (potential performance impact)
- Recommendations for cleanup
Security Metrics
Login Activity
- Failed login attempts (current and 24h)
- Successful logins (24h)
- Unique IP addresses with failed attempts
- Helps detect brute force attacks
User Activity
- Total users by role
- Admin user count
- New users (7 days)
- Admin accounts created recently
- Last admin login timestamp
File Integrity
- Modified core files
- Missing core files
- Suspicious files detected
- Last file scan timestamp
Security Headers
Status of important security headers:- X-Frame-Options
- X-Content-Type-Options
- Strict-Transport-Security
- Content-Security-Policy
Update Metrics
WordPress Core
- Current version
- Latest available version
- Update availability
- Security update status
- Auto-update configuration
Plugins
- Total plugins (active and inactive)
- Plugins with available updates
- Individual plugin details:
- Name and version
- Update availability
- Active status
- Auto-update setting
Themes
- Total installed themes
- Active theme information
- Themes with available updates
- Version comparison
Metric Collection
Collection Frequency
Default interval: 5 minutes You can adjust the collection frequency based on your monitoring needs.Data Retention
| Resolution | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | 24 hours |
| 1 hour | 7 days |
| 1 day | 30 days |
| 1 week | 90 days |
| 1 month | 1 year |
Viewing Metrics
In Dashboard
Access your WordPress site metrics at: Integrations → WordPress → Your Site View visualizations for:- Performance graphs over time
- Database health indicators
- Security status overview
- Available updates summary
Metric Alerts
You can configure alerts based on any metric: Common Alert Scenarios:- Page generation time exceeds 2 seconds
- Database queries exceed 100 per page
- Cache hit ratio falls below 80%
- Memory usage exceeds 80%
- Failed login attempts exceed 50 in 24h
- More than 5 plugin updates available
Best Practices
Monitor trends over time
Monitor trends over time
Focus on trends rather than single data points. A gradual increase in page generation time may indicate growing technical debt or database bloat.
Set realistic thresholds
Set realistic thresholds
Don’t alert on every small variation. Base your thresholds on your site’s normal performance patterns.
Correlate metrics
Correlate metrics
High page generation time combined with high database queries often indicates optimization opportunities.
Track metrics after changes
Track metrics after changes
Monitor closely after plugin updates, theme changes, or configuration modifications to catch issues early.
Use custom metrics
Use custom metrics
Add business-specific metrics like order counts, revenue, or user engagement for comprehensive monitoring.
Regular database maintenance
Regular database maintenance
Monitor table overhead and expired transients. Schedule regular optimization for better performance.