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WordPress
The Sidekick Forge Connect plugin links a WordPress site to your Sidekick Forge account in one click. Once connected, your members are signed in to the chat automatically and your posts flow into the knowledge base. You can place sidekicks with a block, and give them your shop and your page builder.
On this page
Installing the plugin Connecting your site Putting a sidekick on a page Member sign-in Syncing content to the knowledge base Blog Scan in the post editor WooCommerce, Elementor and Beaver Builder Other settings Manual configuration and disconnecting TroubleshootingInstalling the plugin
Get the plugin
Email help@sidekickforge.com and we'll send you the latest .zip of Sidekick Forge Connect.
Upload and activate
In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the zip, then press Install Now and Activate. A Sidekick Forge item appears in the WordPress admin menu.
Connecting your site
Press Connect
In WordPress, open Sidekick Forge and press Connect to Sidekick Forge. A Sidekick Forge tab opens. Sign in if you're asked.
Approve it
The Connect a WordPress site screen shows the verified site and what connecting allows. Choose the account under Connect to and press Connect Site.
You're back in WordPress, connected
Everything is filled in for you. There are no keys or secrets to copy, and the secret never passes through your browser.
Connecting lets the site:
- sign its logged-in visitors in to your sidekick embeds;
- sync pages and posts into your sidekick's knowledge base;
- use Blog Scan in the WordPress editor.
Putting a sidekick on a page
The block (recommended)
In the block editor, add Sidekick Forge Embed (search "sidekick"). Pick a sidekick from the dropdown, which lists the sidekicks in your connected account. Then choose how it shows:
- Inline chat panel: the chat sits where the block is. Size presets: Standard, Compact or Fullscreen.
- Floating chat bubble: the bubble sits in a corner of the page.
The bubble's colour, side, size and greeting come from the sidekick's Chat Bubble settings in Sidekick Forge (see Embedding & Channels), so it looks the same everywhere. Only one bubble runs per page.
The shortcode
For page builders that can't use blocks, add a shortcode. The block can produce one for you with Copy as shortcode.
| Attribute | What it does |
|---|---|
agent | The sidekick's slug (shown on its Sheet). Required. |
mode | inline (default) or bubble. |
layout | standard, compact or fullscreen. |
width, height, min_height, max_height | Any CSS length, such as 100%, 600px or 80vh. |
aspect | An aspect ratio, such as 16/9. |
defer_teaser | true hides the bubble's greeting teaser. |
class, style | Extra CSS classes, or inline styles. |
Widget and sitewide bubble
- Classic themes get a Sidekick Forge Embed widget under Appearance → Widgets.
- To show a chat bubble on every page without editing any, turn on Sitewide Chat Bubble in the plugin settings and choose the sidekick.
Member sign-in
When a visitor is logged in to WordPress, the plugin signs them in to the sidekick embed automatically. There's no second password. The first time, they see a short invitation to connect their account. After that, their conversation history and the sidekick's memory of them follow them across devices.
Members who sign in this way also count as members of your workspace. That means they can email your sidekicks (see Email channel) and see documents their access tags allow (see Knowledge Base).
Syncing content to the knowledge base
- In WordPress, go to Sidekick Forge → Knowledge Base.
- Choose which sidekick the content is for. Without one, content is stored but no sidekick can read it.
- Press Load Content, tick the posts and pages you want (or use Select All), then press Sync Selected.
To keep it up to date automatically, turn on Knowledge Base Auto-Sync in the plugin settings. New and updated posts, pages and PDFs are then sent to the chosen sidekick, and any PDF that didn't arrive is retried.
Blog Scan in the post editor
Blog Scan puts your sidekick in a Sidekick panel in the WordPress post editor. It can generate content and check grammar, facts, links and SEO before you publish. Set it up under Sidekick Forge → Blog Scan:
- Enable Blog Scan, and enter the slug of the sidekick that powers it. Its model and personality do the writing and judging.
- Featured image: warns when you publish without one.
- Custom Rules: plain-language rules every post is checked against, such as "Every post must end with a call to action". Paste a style guide into Import rules from text and press Convert to Rules to turn it into individual rules.
- Publish gate: checks the rules when you publish or update. Anything that breaks a rule must be confirmed before the post goes live.
WooCommerce, Elementor and Beaver Builder
The plugin settings page can hand your sidekicks parts of your site. Each section shows whether it's working and which sidekicks have it.
| Section | What sidekicks get | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Search the shop and recommend products to visitors as product cards, using only what the shop already shows publicly. Optionally, Also let site admins ask about orders, sales and stock. Sidekick Forge gets a read-only key, and switching it off revokes the key. | WooCommerce active; you're an administrator who can manage it. |
| Elementor | Build and edit Elementor pages, layouts, styles and components from chat. Administrators only. Anything that edits, publishes or restyles asks first, and new pages start as drafts. | Elementor 4.3 or newer and WordPress 6.9 or newer. Layout tools also need Elementor's Atomic Editor turned on. |
| Beaver Builder | Lay out new pages and change text, images, settings and modules from chat. Administrators only. Changes go to drafts, and publishing asks first. | WordPress 6.9 or newer, plus the free WordPress MCP Adapter plugin. |
Choose the sidekicks under Sidekicks that get the shop (or the equivalent for each builder), then save. The matching ability appears on those sidekicks' Abilities tab. See Abilities.
Other settings
- Invitation Message: the message members see before they connect their account. Leave it blank for the default.
- Enable Terms & Conditions: members must tick a box before connecting. You can set the checkbox text and a link to your terms.
- Developer Mode: shows a debug panel next to embeds. Use it only while troubleshooting, and turn it off afterwards.
Manual configuration and disconnecting
If the one-click connect can't reach your site, open Manual configuration (advanced) on the settings page and enter the API endpoint, shared secret and allowed embed origins we give you. Email help@sidekickforge.com to get them.
Disconnect clears the connection and immediately retires its secret. Embeds, member sign-in and knowledge-base sync stop until you connect again.
Troubleshooting
Connect fails, or says Sidekick Forge couldn't reach the site
Check the site loads over HTTPS and that /wp-json/ isn't blocked by a security plugin, firewall or a password prompt. If it must stay locked down, use manual configuration.
Synced posts don't show up in answers
Make sure you chose a sidekick on the plugin's Knowledge Base screen before syncing. Then check the documents in Sidekick Forge's Knowledge Base page are Ready and granted to that sidekick. On a members-only setup, check they aren't being held for tagging.
Logged-in members still see "Sign In" in the chat
Check the site still shows as connected on the plugin settings page, and that the embed was placed with the block, shortcode or widget, not a pasted iframe. Member sign-in only works through the plugin.
Two bubbles, or no bubble
Only one bubble runs per page. If the sitewide bubble is on, remove bubble blocks from individual pages.
Elementor or Beaver Builder shows "problem"
Read the note in that section. It names what's missing, such as the WordPress version, the Elementor version, the Atomic Editor or the MCP Adapter plugin. Fix it, then press Save in that section again.