Installation requirements

To successfully install and use Site Kit, your site must meet the following requirements:

  • WordPress version 5.2+
  • PHP version 7.4+
  • Modern browser – Internet Explorer is not supported
  • Is publicly accessible – it isn’t in maintenance or “coming soon” mode, accessible only via password, or otherwise blocked.
  • Is a production environment, not a staging environment. For instructions on setting up Site Kit with a staging environment (on a separate domain, subdirectory, or subdomain), follow the Using Site Kit with a staging environment guide.
  • You and/or your site server are not located in a country that is blocked by Google services.
  • REST API is available – Site Kit must be able to communicate via the WordPress REST API. To ensure that the REST API is available for your site, go to Tools > Site Health. If the REST API is not available, you will see a message that says “The REST API encountered an unexpected result” or “The REST API encountered an error” on the Status tab. If the REST API is working successfully, you will see a message on the Status tab under Passed tests that says “The REST API is available.”

Installing Site Kit

To install Site Kit:

  • Log in to your WordPress site
  • In the left navigation menu, go to Plugins > Add New
  • Enter “Site Kit” in the search bar. You should see the Site Kit plugin in a search results page.
  • Click Install Now, then Activate

Setting up Site Kit

NOTE: If you’re having trouble with setup, check out our Setup Troubleshooting guide.

To set up Site Kit, go to Site Kit > Dashboard.

On the initial setup screen, you can opt in to two checkboxes:

  1. Click Sign In with Google to proceed with setup. You will be directed to a screen asking you to sign in and choose a Google account to connect to Site Kit. You should choose the Google account that you or your client will use for the services that you/they plan to connect to Site Kit, e.g. Analytics and AdSense. Click the account name to proceed. If you’re setting Site Kit up for a client, make sure that you have access and permissions to the Google account before proceeding.
  2. On the next screen, you will be asked (if applicable) to provide additional permissions to allow Site Kit to access statistics from the relevant Google products connected to the Google account. This is necessary for displaying these statistics in the Site Kit dashboard. Check the empty boxes and click Continue.
  3. Next, you will be directed to the three-step (if you did not check the box to set up Analytics as part of your setup) or four-step (if you did check the box to set up Analytics) Site Kit setup workflow. The first step is for Site Kit to verify ownership of the site that you are connecting. First, Site Kit will check to see if your site is already verified. If not, Site Kit will verify ownership by adding a verification token HTML file (or <meta> tag, if for some reason the HTML file fails) to the site and checking it against the Google Verification Service. Click Verify to continue.
  4. On the next step, you’ll be asked to allow the site to access your Google account data. This will allow Site Kit to display your connected modules’ metrics, e.g. Analytics, in the Site Kit dashboard within WordPress. Click Allow to continue.
  5. Next, you’ll be asked to add the site to Search Console if it has not already been added. This will allow Site Kit to display data in the Site Kit dashboard about how people find and use the site. Click Set up to continue.

Site Kit is now set up! Click Go to my Dashboard to view the Site Kit dashboard. Note that it may take up to 48 hours for the dashboard to begin to populate with data.

Setting up Analytics

If you checked the box to also set up Google Analytics, you will see a fourth and final step to set up Analytics.

Click Next to continue.

On the Analytics screen, you can choose an Analytics account (associated with the Google account that you connected) to connect to Site Kit, or create a new Analytics account.

Depending on which option you select, you may be asked to approve additional permissions and/or details regarding a new Analytics account. Once you have completed Analytics setup, you will be redirected to the Site Kit dashboard.

Setting up Site Kit for additional users

At this time, only users with the Administrator role in WordPress can use Site Kit. If an administrator has already set up Site Kit, other administrators will be notified that Site Kit has already been configured by another administrator of the site. The other administrators can sign in with their Google account which will need access to the Google services for the site e.g. Google Analytics.

Other user roles can be granted access to a restricted view of the Site Kit dashboard by an administrator via dashboard sharing.

Managing multiple sites with Site Kit

Setting up Site Kit requires connecting your WordPress user with your Google account to enable communication with the Google APIs necessary for facilitating set up, and providing reporting data in the Site Kit dashboard. 

Due to limitations that apply to all Google Cloud projects related to the number of connections a single Google account can have with a Google app at one time, if you manage many sites (e.g. 25+) with the same Google account, you may be affected by this limit. For example, if you notice that you frequently need to sign in to Site Kit again on a regular basis, this can be why. Again, this limitation would only affect Google accounts that are being used with Site Kit on dozens of sites at the same time.

More specifically, the relevant limit applies to the number of active refresh tokens per Google account per project, but this is not the same as a maximum number of sites a single Google account can use with Site Kit. Because a site can use more than one of these tokens during set up depending on which selections are made, it isn’t possible to define an accurate maximum number of sites that can be used with Site Kit with a single Google account in all cases. The absolute limit is 100, but in practice this number will almost always be lower.

If you manage many sites that use Site Kit, consider using more than one Google account for set up and management to distribute the total number of sites such that a single Google account does not encounter this limit. 

Managing sites connected with your Google account

You can view all sites that are connected to your Google account by going to Site Kit > Dashboard, clicking on your profile image, and selecting Manage sites.

Note this page lists sites that have a connection to your Google account (i.e. a user on the site which is signed in to Site Kit with this account), and have permission to communicate with Google APIs on your behalf. This permission can be revoked on this page at any time.

Best practices for setting up Site Kit for a client

If you’re an agency or manage multiple websites with Site Kit, follow these suggestions for optimal setup and security:

  • Use separate WordPress user accounts
    Using dedicated user accounts is a general best practice for security and access management.
  • Use individual Google accounts for Site Kit
    Avoid sharing Google accounts. Instead, share access to Google services as needed via the service which is common among all Google services.
  • Use client-owned Google service entities (Analytics properties, Tag Manager containers, AdSense accounts, etc.)
    It’s crucial that the Google Analytics properties, Tag Manager containers, AdSense accounts, and other similar items connected to Site Kit are owned by the client’s Google account, not the agency’s.
    This means that the client should own these items, and the agency should be granted access to them within the respective Google services (like Google Analytics or Tag Manager) to configure and connect them in Site Kit.

    For example, instead of a developer creating an Analytics property on their own Google account and sharing access with the client, the client should own the property. The developer can then be granted access to connect it via Site Kit.

    In some cases, like Google Analytics accounts or properties, ownership can be transferred between Google accounts. This means a developer could create the property and then transfer ownership to the client as part of their work delivery. This avoids burdening the client with creation while ensuring they own the data. Note that transferring ownership may not be possible for all things, such as AdSense accounts.
  • Configure dashboard sharing
    Dashboard sharing allows administrators to share a limited, read-only view of the Site Kit dashboard, WordPress dashboard summary widget, and admin bar with other user roles, including non-administrators.

    This lets users view Google data without connecting their own Google account. It’s recommended that the client or another administrator grants dashboard sharing access. Avoid granting administrator access solely for viewing Site Kit metrics; dashboard sharing is the preferred method.

Connecting additional Google services

After you complete the initial Site Kit setup, which will activate Search Console and PageSpeed Insights (and Analytics if selected), you can connect to additional Google services by going to Site Kit > Settings > Connect More Services. Learn more about which Google services are right for you.