Tracking plugins fail quietly — a stale cache, a missing mapping, or an ungranted consent looks exactly like “the plugin is broken.” Run this checklist before launch (and after every update) so you catch those issues before your visitors do.

Note Work through the steps in order. Steps 1–4 apply to every deploy; steps 5–9 are pre-launch confirmations.

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1. Back up first

Take a fresh backup of both files and database before you change anything on the live site. If a deploy goes wrong, this is your fastest way back.

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2. Replace the plugin folder cleanly

Do not just upload the new files over the old folder — files you removed in the new version would stay behind on the server and can cause subtle bugs.

1. Rename the existing plugin folder, e.g. smartdingo-form-tracker → smartdingo-form-tracker-backup.
2. Upload the new smartdingo-form-tracker folder.
3. Load the site and a form page to confirm nothing errors.
4. Once you’ve confirmed it works (steps 3–5 below), delete the backup folder.

Note If you install/update through the WordPress admin (upload ZIP or auto-update), WordPress already replaces the folder cleanly — this manual dance is only for FTP/SFTP deploys.

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3. Purge every cache, then verify the script version

Caches are the number-one cause of “it worked locally but not live.”

1. Page cache / optimization plugin (LiteSpeed, WP Rocket, WP Super Cache, host cache): run Purge All.
2. CDN (e.g. Cloudflare): purge the CDN cache too.
3. Browser: hard-refresh (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R).
4. Verify: open a form page, view source, and confirm it loads the current tracker script:

   sdft-tracker.js?ver=<current plugin version>

   If you still see the old ?ver= number, the page cache wasn’t fully purged.

Warning The lead-submission security token is only valid for 5 minutes. On a full-page-cached site the token is frozen in the cached HTML; the plugin works around this by fetching a fresh token from admin-ajax.php right before each submission — but that only works once visitors are served the new script. Always purge after deploying.

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4. Do one real test lead

Confirm the whole capture path end-to-end on the live site:

1. Visit a form page with a test UTM: ?utm_source=sdft-test.
2. Submit the mapped form with recognizable test data.
3. Open SmartDingo Form Tracker → Leads and confirm the lead shows the correct UTM source, contact details, form name, and tracking data.
4. Delete the test lead so it doesn’t pollute your real data.

Note On the free plan there’s no Leads page — verify with the Debug overlay (Tools) instead, as described in Installation & setup.

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5. Confirm every form you want to track is mapped

SmartDingo only logs forms that contain a mapped selector. A form without a matching mapping (for example, a form that has no hidden utm_source field and no configuration pointing at it) is simply not tracked.

• For each form you care about, make sure there is a form configuration whose selectors exist on that form.
• If a form should be tracked but isn’t, add the mapped field (e.g. a hidden utm_source input) or create a configuration for it. See Field mapping & auto-fill.

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6. Confirm your consent / GDPR setup

• Check the consent mode on the Privacy page matches your legal setup.
• Remember that Off tracks every visitor immediately with no consent check. Combined with a submitted form, that data is personal data — decide deliberately whether that’s acceptable for your audience and jurisdiction.
• See GDPR & consent.

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7. Turn off the Debug overlay

If you enabled the Debug overlay while setting up, switch it off on the Tools page for production. (It only renders for logged-in administrators, but keep production clean.)

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8. Confirm your license / plan is active

• Check that your Starter/Pro license shows as active.
• Confirm the paid features you rely on are actually working (e.g. the Leads page loads, CSV export is available, chart colours save on Pro).

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9. Rotate any temporary credentials

If you shared credentials to set up the site — an FTP/SFTP account, an admin login, a database login — rotate or remove them now:

• Change the password, or delete the temporary account entirely if it’s no longer needed.
• This is easy to forget and is a common way stale access lingers after a launch.

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Launch checklist (at a glance)

• Backup taken (files + database)
• Plugin folder replaced cleanly (old folder removed after verifying)
• All caches purged (page cache, CDN, browser) and ?ver= confirmed current
• Test lead captured, checked, and deleted
• Every form you want to track is mapped
• Consent mode matches your GDPR/legal setup
• Debug overlay turned off
• License/plan active and paid features working
• Temporary credentials rotated or removed

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Next steps

• Troubleshooting
• Managing leads
• GDPR & consent