Attribution Tracker

Installing Attribution Tracker, every setting it has, the screens it adds, and its 0 documented actions and filters. The full reference, including the arguments every hook receives, ships inside the plugin on its Documentation screen and in docs/HOOKS.md, so it can never describe a version you are not running.

What you need

  • WordPress 6.4 or newer
  • PHP 8.0 or newer
  • No other plugin, service or account required

Installing it

  1. Open Plugins → Add New, search for Attribution Tracker, install and activate it.
  2. Open its Status screen from the sidebar. It reports what is running, and it is the first place to look if something later seems not to be.
  3. That is the whole installation. Every setting has a working default, so nothing has to be configured before the plugin does its job.

Adding Pro

  1. Keep the free plugin active. Pro extends it rather than replacing it, and WordPress refuses to activate Pro on its own.
  2. Download the Pro zip from your receipt or your order history, then install it through Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Paste your licence key on the Licence screen and activate it. Updates then arrive in wp-admin like any other plugin.

Where everything is in wp-admin

  1. Status reports what is running, what this browser has stored, and every token a form field can use.
  2. Settings holds the cookie name, retention, custom parameters and the debug panel.
  3. Documentation is the full reference, bundled with the plugin rather than linked to a website.
  4. Reports is added by Pro: revenue and orders by source, medium, campaign or channel, with CSV export.

Settings

Every one of these has a default that works. The defaults below are the ones in the code, not a recommendation.

SettingDefaultWhat it does
cookie_namewpat_attributionName of the first party cookie the attribution record is kept in. Change it if another tool has already taken the name.
retention_days90How long a stored record is honoured for. The free tier allows up to 90 days, Pro up to 730.
custom_paramsnoneExtra query parameters to capture alongside the UTMs and click IDs. One in the free tier, unlimited in Pro.
server_backuponFills the tracking fields on the server when a form is submitted, so a submission cannot arrive empty if the browser script never ran.
public_debugoffShows the front end debug panel to logged out visitors as well as to administrators. Useful while setting up, and best turned off after.

Actions and filters

Limits, classifications, tracked values and admin screens are all filterable, so extending this plugin does not mean forking it. Names and descriptions below are generated from the source.

A worked example

// Capture a parameter your ad platform sends that nobody else uses.
add_filter( 'wpat_tracked_params', function ( array $params ): array {
	$params[] = 'partner_ref';

	return $params;
} );

// Classify a source of your own, so reports group it with the rest of paid.
add_filter( 'wpat_channel_rules', function ( array $rules ): array {
	$rules['Paid Social'][] = 'partner-network';

	return $rules;
} );

// Do something of your own whenever a form's tracking fields change.
add_action( 'wpat_fields_changed', function ( string $operation, array $form_ids ): void {
	error_log( "attribution fields $operation on " . count( $form_ids ) . ' form(s)' );
}, 10, 2 );

If something is wrong

Check the Status screen, then the debug panel on the front end: between them they name what was captured, what matched and why. If that does not answer it, write to us and say what you expected instead. There is also the product page if you want to see the screens before installing anything.

The other two plugins