Requirements
- A WordPress.com account (sign up)
- The latest version of WordPress
- Your site must be publicly available (no authentication required, maintenance mode off)
- XML-RPC enabled and publicly accessible
Installation
- Log in to your site’s Dashboard (e.g. http://www.yourgroovydomain.com/wp-admin)
- In the left panel, click “Plugins”, then click “Add New”.
- Search for “Jetpack”
- Click the “Install Now” button.
- Wait for the installation to finish, then click the “Activate” button.
- Click the “Connect to WordPress.com” button. Login with your WordPress.com account or create an account.
- Login with your WordPress.com account (or create one) and click “Authorize Jetpack”
- Click the “Approve” button and wait for the connection process to finish.
- Select Basic plan. You will be returned to your site’s Dashboard and see the message “Your Jetpack site is ready to go!”
- Click “Activate recommended features” (optional)
Notes
- If you don’t see a Plugins menu in your dashboard, then your site is likely on WordPress.com and you don’t need Jetpack – its features are already built in.
- If you are using a Multisite installation, Jetpack must be connected individually for each site in the network. Any administrator can connect the site.
Troubleshooting
- Jetpack relies on a solid connection with your site for features such as Stats and Publicize to work. If you are experiencing issues, first verify that Jetpack is connected using the Jetpack debugger. You will know your site is correctly connected when the Jetpack debugger shows “Everything looks great!”
- Plugin conflicts can be a cause of issues. To check this, temporarily disable all plugins but Jetpack. If the issue disappears, enable one plugin at a time until the issue reappears. This will help you identify which plugin Jetpack is having trouble with. Ensure that your plugins are up to date.
- If you see a display issue, try temporarily switching to a default WordPress theme such as Twenty Seventeen. If the issue goes away, it is likely a problem with the theme. You can get in touch with the theme’s author for further help. Be sure to let them know the troubleshooting steps that you have tried.
Useful features
Visitor Engagement Modules
- Site Stats: Get insights into your traffic and other analytics from your dashboard.
- Sharing: Add simple social sharing buttons to your posts and pages.
- Publicize: Automatically share newly published posts on your social media accounts.
- Related Posts: Keep readers on your site by display similar content below each post.
Security Modules
- Protect: Prevent brute force login attempts.
- Monitor: Checks your site every 5 minutes and notifies you of any downtime.
Appearance Modules
- Tiled Galleries: Display your images in tiled arrangements.
- Photon: Optimize, cache, and serve your images from the WordPress.com CDN.
- Widget Visibility: Add conditional rules for when to display widgets.
- Custom CSS: Keep your CSS edits in a separate location from you theme.
Writing Modules
- WP.me Shortlinks: Enable shortlinks for all your blog posts.
- Contact Form: Create simple contact forms with shortcodes.
- Markdown: Write posts or pages in plain-text Markdown syntax.
