Install Ropeline

About 5 minutes. You need to be able to log in to your WordPress dashboard as an administrator.

There are two plugins. Ropeline is free and guards your login. Ropeline Pro is an add-on that guards everything else; it comes with a free trial or a plan. Install the free one first: Pro needs it.

• Part 1: the free plugin
• Part 2: Ropeline Pro and your key
• If something goes wrong

Part 1: the free plugin

1. Download it. Download the free plugin. You get a file called ropeline- followed by a version number and .zip. Don't unzip it. WordPress wants the .zip file itself.

   On a Mac, Safari sometimes unzips downloads by itself and leaves a folder instead. If that happens, download it again with Chrome, or in Safari open Settings, General and untick "Open safe files after downloading".

2. Open your WordPress dashboard. Usually that's your site's address with /wp-admin on the end, for example yourstore.com/wp-admin. Log in.
3. Go to Plugins, then Add New Plugin. Plugins is in the menu on the left.
4. Click "Upload Plugin", the button at the top of the page next to the title.
5. Click "Choose File", pick the Ropeline .zip you downloaded, then click Install Now.
6. Click "Activate Plugin".
7. That's it. "Ropeline" now shows in the menu on the left. Open it to see the Overview. For the first 7 days Ropeline is in learning mode: it writes down what it would have stopped, without blocking anyone, so you can check it won't get in a real customer's way. To start blocking straight away, click "Start blocking now" on the Overview.

Part 2: Ropeline Pro and your key

Pro adds leaked-password checks, hidden usernames, card-testing protection at checkout, fake-signup and spam blocking, AI-shopper checks, card-skimmer alerts, a weekly report and the Ropeline Network. It only runs with a key that's in its free trial or paid, and the download comes with the key.

1. Start your free trial. Pick a plan and click "Start free trial". Stripe asks for a card, but nothing is charged for 14 days, and you can cancel before then. If you already have Ropeline installed, the "Start my free trial" button inside Ropeline picks the right plan for your store's size.
2. Keep the welcome page open. After checkout you land on a page with your key, which looks like RL-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Click "Copy" and keep it somewhere safe: the page only shows it for a day. Stripe emails your receipt.
3. Download Ropeline Pro with the button on the welcome page. Later, you can download it again by signing in with your key at getropeline.com/dashboard.
4. Install it like the free one: Plugins, Add New Plugin, Upload Plugin, choose the Ropeline Pro .zip, Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
5. Add your key. If you started the trial from inside WordPress, click "Add the key to my site" on the welcome page: it opens your Ropeline settings with the key filled in. Otherwise, in WordPress go to Ropeline, then Settings, and paste the key into "Ropeline Pro key". Either way, click Save settings.
6. Check it worked. Under the key you'll see something like "Free trial of the Store plan: 14 days left", and Pro's settings appear below it, all switched on.
7. Optional: tick "Show this site on my online dashboard" in the same settings, to see all your sites at getropeline.com/dashboard.

Being card-tested right now? On the store plans and Agency, checkout protection starts with the next attack, even during the first week's learning mode.

Updates: Ropeline Pro updates show up in WordPress under Dashboard, Updates, like any plugin's, while your trial or plan is active. Each one is signed by Ropeline and checked before it installs.

If something goes wrong

"The package could not be installed. No valid plugins were found."

WordPress got a folder or a single file instead of the .zip. Download the .zip again and upload it without opening it (see the Mac tip in step 1).

"Destination folder already exists."

Ropeline is already installed. WordPress offers "Replace current with uploaded": click it to update to the file you uploaded.

Ropeline Pro says it needs Ropeline.

Install and activate the free plugin first (part 1), then activate Pro.

There's no "Upload Plugin" button.

Your account isn't an administrator, or your host doesn't allow plugins. WordPress.com sites need a plan that allows plugins; most other hosts allow them. Ask whoever set up your site, or email us.

"That doesn't look like a Ropeline key."

Copy the whole key, from RL- to the last character, with no spaces. The Copy button on the welcome page does it for you.

"Ropeline did not recognise this key."

Check it's the key from your welcome page, not your Stripe receipt number. If it still doesn't work, email us.

I lost my key.

Email hello@getropeline.com from the address you signed up with, and we'll send a new one.

I locked myself out of my own site.

Use "Lost your password?" on the login page: resetting your password lets you in straight away. If you can't, add define( 'ROPELINE_OFF', true ); to your site's wp-config.php file, or rename the wp-content/plugins/ropeline folder. Either one stops all blocking at once and keeps your settings. Undo it once you're back in.