Publishing troubleshooting
Fixes for publishing errors: connection checks that fail, posts marked failed or interrupted, retries, missing images, duplicate posts and scheduling.
Most publishing problems come from the site's side: a password that changed, a missing permission or a plugin that blocks outside apps. The error SerpPal shows usually names the cause. Find it below.
First steps
- Read the error. It is shown in red under the post on the Publishing page, and next to the site in Project settings, Publishing.
- Click Test next to the site in Project settings. If the test fails, fix the connection first.
- Fix the cause, then click Try again now on the failed post.
Connecting a site
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "Pick a platform" | Choose WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, Webflow or Webhook at the top of the form. |
| "Enter the ..." (for example "Enter the site address") | A required field is empty. Fill it in. |
| "Enter a full address starting with https://" | The address is missing https:// or isn't a web address. |
| "Only http and https addresses are supported" | Use a normal web address. |
| "Could not find the website ..." | The domain doesn't exist or has a typo. Open it in your browser to check. |
| "That address is not reachable from the internet" | The address points to your own computer, a local network or a private server. SerpPal can only reach public sites. |
| "A project can have up to 20 connected sites" | Disconnect a site you no longer use, or use another project. |
| "... (check the key or password)" | The platform refused the sign-in (HTTP 401 or 403). Paste the password, key or token again, or make a new one. |
| "... could not be reached" | SerpPal could not open a connection to the site. Check the address and that the site is online. |
| "... did not answer in time" | The site took too long (more than a minute). Try again later; if it keeps happening, ask your host. |
Platform messages, such as "WordPress: this user cannot write posts" or "Shopify: the token is missing the write_content permission", are explained on each platform's page: WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, Webflow and Webhook.
Publishing a post
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "The article is empty. Write it first." | You can't publish an article with no text. Write or generate it first. |
| "This article is already scheduled for that site. Change or cancel that post instead." | There is already a waiting post for this article and site. Change it with the pencil, or cancel it first. |
| "That site is connected to another project" | Articles can only go to sites connected to their own project. Connect the site to this project too. |
| "Pick a valid date and time" / "Pick a date within the next two years" / "Pick a time in the future" | Check the date and time in Schedule. |
| "A chosen image or video was not found. Upload it again." | A file in the post was deleted from your media library. Remove it from the post or upload it again. |
| "The featured image must be an image" | Pick an image, not a video, as the featured image. |
| "Video links must start with https://" | Paste the full video link. |
| "This post is being published right now" | Wait a moment; you can change the post once it is done. |
| "Only scheduled posts can be canceled" / "Only failed or canceled posts can be tried again" | The post's status changed in the meantime. Reload the page. |
Posts that fail later
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "... (trying again soon)" | A temporary problem. SerpPal tries again after 5 minutes, then after 10 more. Nothing to do yet. |
| "The site was disconnected" | The site was removed from the project. Connect it again, then publish again. |
| "The article was deleted" | The article no longer exists. |
| "The article is empty" | The article's text was cleared after scheduling. Write it, then click Try again now. |
| "Publishing was interrupted. Check your site before trying again." | SerpPal was stopped while sending (for example during maintenance). The post may or may not be on your site. Check your site: if the post is there, remove the record; if not, click Try again now. |
| "This platform is no longer supported" | Contact support. |
Why some failures retry and others don't
SerpPal retries when the problem is likely to pass by itself: the site is down or overloaded (an HTTP 5xx answer), it asks to slow down (HTTP 429), it can't be reached, or it doesn't answer in time. It makes 3 attempts in all.
When the site refuses the post (HTTP 4xx, for example a wrong password, a missing permission, a slug that is taken or a blog that was deleted), trying again gives the same answer. So the post fails right away and SerpPal shows the site's own reason.
Other problems
The post appeared twice on my site. This can happen if you removed the first post's record from the Publishing page, or if the first attempt was interrupted after the site had already saved it. Delete the extra post on your site. To update a post later, use the pencil on its record rather than removing it.
The title shows twice. SerpPal removes the article's H1 only when it is the very first thing in the article. If your article starts with a paragraph and has the H1 below it, move the H1 to the top or delete it.
Images are missing or broken.
- On a webhook or Webflow video link, the file is linked from SerpPal. If you deleted it from your media library, upload it again and update the post.
- On Shopify and Ghost, a video that was too big or took too long to process is linked from SerpPal; keep the file.
- In WordPress, an upload that your host refuses (too large, not allowed) stops the whole post with the host's message.
An image is in the wrong place. Images placed after a heading follow the heading's text. If you renamed or deleted that heading, the image goes to the end. Open the post with the pencil and pick the place again, then click Update on site.
The scheduled time looks wrong. Times are shown in the time zone of the device you are using. A teammate in another country sees the same moment in their own time zone.
The post is live but the address is missing. Drafts have no public address. For webhooks, the address only appears if your receiver sends back a url (see Connect a webhook).
Still stuck?
Write to [email protected] or use the contact page. Include the platform, the exact error message and the time of the attempt. Never send us passwords or API keys. See Contact support.