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The connection to my site fails

Start here when connecting a WordPress or Joomla site fails or a connected site stops answering: a two-minute test, the causes in the order to check, and the detailed guides.

  • 4 min read
  • Updated October 17, 2026
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A connection involves three parties: your site, the small plugin or extension you installed on it, and Content Uploader. When it fails, the question is always which of the three links is broken. This page finds the link; the platform pages fix it.

Symptoms#

  • On Connect, Could not complete the secure connection… or Connection invitation expired…
  • The Sites page shows a site as reconnect required, disconnected or access ended, or Refresh fields says The site's connector could not be reached or its access expired.
  • Publishing stops with The connection expired or permission was revoked. or … didn't answer.
  • The plugin's screen on your site says it is not connected.

Step 1: the two-minute test#

Open the test address for your platform in a browser, with your own site's name in it (the same address that test the connection explains):

Platform Address Healthy answer
WordPress https://your-site.example/?rest_route=/content-uploader/v1/capabilities A short line starting {"code":"cu_unauthorized"
Joomla https://your-site.example/api/index.php/v1/content-uploader/capabilities A short line starting {"code":"cu_unauthorized"

A refusal is the good answer: the plugin or extension is installed, active and reachable from the internet, and it politely refuses you because you are not Content Uploader. The Joomla test with the extension's web services plugin switched off answers {"errors":[{"title":"Resource not found","code":404}]}.

  • Healthy answer, but connecting still fails → the network is fine and the problem is the connection itself: see step 3.
  • Anything else (a login page, Forbidden, a blank page, a security notice, "not found") → something is in the way, or the plugin is not active: step 2.

Step 2: something is in the way#

Check these in order. Each is a confirmed cause of a failed connection.

  1. The plugin (WordPress) or the extension and its Web Services plugin (Joomla) is not active.
  2. A security plugin, firewall or host rule blocks the REST API (WordPress) or /api/index.php (Joomla) for visitors who are not signed in.
  3. The site is behind HTTP authentication, a maintenance page or an IP allow-list. Content Uploader must reach the site without credentials.
  4. The site's address redirects (example.com to www.example.com, or HTTP to HTTPS). Content Uploader does not follow redirects: use the final address in the site's settings.
  5. The certificate is expired, self-signed or for another name, or the site is not on HTTPS.
  6. The site is on a private address or reachable only over IPv6 (WordPress requirements, Joomla requirements).

Step 3: the connection itself#

What you see Cause Fix
Connection invitation expired. More than ten minutes between Connect and approving. Start again from the plugin's screen on your site.
The connection expired or permission was revoked. Reconnect in … Access ended after 90 days, or someone disconnected or deactivated the plugin, or the approving account lost its rights. Renew or reconnect (WordPress, Joomla).
The Content Uploader plugin on this site is outdated… / …extension on this site is outdated or not active. The plugin is too old for what the service needs, or the Joomla web services plugin is off. Update or enable it (WordPress, Joomla).
Only the workspace owner can connect a site. You are a team member. Ask an owner (team members).
The Free plan connects 1 site… The workspace has all the sites its plan allows. Upgrade, or disconnect a site you no longer use.
Could not complete the secure connection (the site answered with HTTP 403). / …The site answered with an error (HTTP 500)… The site answered, but refused the request (403: an expired or used invitation, a firewall) or failed inside (500 and higher, such as PHP running out of memory). Start the connection again from the plugin's screen; for a 500, look in the site's PHP error log (WordPress, Joomla).
This installation is still connected to another workspace. A different workspace has the site connected. Select Disconnect on the site on Sites in that workspace, then connect it again (WordPress, Joomla).

How to verify#

  1. Sites shows the site as connected, with an end date about 90 days away.
  2. Refresh fields finishes without an error.
  3. The configuration editor offers your content types and fields.

If it persists#

Contact support with the exact message, your site's address, the CMS and PHP versions, the plugin or extension version, the name of any security plugin or firewall, and what the test in step 1 showed. Never send passwords.

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