- Run by
- WordPress
- Type
- Website software
- Visits
- When a person does something that needs your page
- robots.txt
- robots.txt doesn't apply
- Documentation
- WordPress' page
What WordPress does
WordPress installs send these requests through the WordPress HTTP API. WP-Cron calls the site's own wp-cron.php, and pingbacks contact the sites a new post links to, which then visit the post to confirm the link. The user agent names WordPress, its version and the sending site's URL, which shows which site sent it.
- Attackers have used pingbacks from more than 162,000 legitimate WordPress sites to flood a target with requests. Source
Does WordPress follow robots.txt?
robots.txt doesn't apply: these are one-off requests from WordPress code, not crawls.
How to stop WordPress
To stop your own site calling wp-cron.php on page loads, add DISABLE_WP_CRON to wp-config.php and run wp-cron.php from a system scheduler. To stop other sites' pingbacks, turn pingbacks off in WordPress or block the requests in your firewall.
What blocking WordPress changes
Blocking it on your own site can break scheduled posts and updates. Blocking it from other sites stops their pingbacks, including pingback floods.
Where to see WordPress visits
Most bots never appear in Google Analytics. Many don't run JavaScript, so the analytics tag never loads, and Google Analytics 4 automatically excludes traffic from known bots and spiders. Your server or CDN logs record every request with its user agent, so search them for the bot's name.
OneLence recognizes WordPress and keeps its requests out of your visitor counts.
Frequently asked questions
What is WordPress?
WordPress installs send these requests through the WordPress HTTP API. WP-Cron calls the site's own wp-cron.php, and pingbacks contact the sites a new post links to, which then visit the post to confirm the link. The user agent names WordPress, its version and the sending site's URL, which shows which site sent it.
Does WordPress follow robots.txt?
robots.txt doesn't apply: these are one-off requests from WordPress code, not crawls.
How do I block WordPress?
To stop your own site calling wp-cron.php on page loads, add DISABLE_WP_CRON to wp-config.php and run wp-cron.php from a system scheduler. To stop other sites' pingbacks, turn pingbacks off in WordPress or block the requests in your firewall.
What happens if I block WordPress?
Blocking it on your own site can break scheduled posts and updates. Blocking it from other sites stops their pingbacks, including pingback floods.
Why doesn't WordPress show up in Google Analytics?
Most bots never appear in Google Analytics. Many don't run JavaScript, so the analytics tag never loads, and Google Analytics 4 automatically excludes traffic from known bots and spiders. Your server or CDN logs record every request with its user agent, so search them for the bot's name.