Analytics Queue and WP-Cron Issues #

PetMatchPro’s analytics pipeline (8.7.0+) relies on WordPress’s scheduling system (WP-Cron) to flush a queue of impression and conversion events into daily summary tables. If WP-Cron is broken or disabled, the queue grows, the analytics dashboard stops updating, and recent activity is missing from reports.

This guide walks through diagnosing the issue and getting cron healthy. Analytics tools are Preferred tier.

Symptoms #

• The Analytics dashboard shows no new impressions or conversions for hours or days
• The “Last rollup” timestamp is well in the past
• The analytics event queue depth keeps growing instead of draining
• An admin notice mentions “WP-Cron” or “scheduled task not firing”

Step 1: Check the Tools Tab #

Go to PetMatchPro > Tools. Three accordions help diagnose the analytics pipeline:

Open Analytics Queue first. If the queue depth is non-zero and the next-scheduled time is in the past or shows “not scheduled”, WP-Cron is the most likely culprit.

Step 2: Run the Cron Self-Test #

1. Open the Cron Self-Test accordion.
2. Click Start Self-Test.
3. Wait up to 90 seconds. The test schedules an event 60 seconds out and polls for completion.

Result interpretation:

• “Cron is healthy” — WP-Cron is firing. If the queue is still stuck, jump to Step 5.
• “Does not appear to be firing” — WP-Cron is broken. Continue with Step 3.

Step 3: Check for DISABLE_WP_CRON #

Many managed hosts disable the default WP-Cron handler and replace it with a real server cron. If it’s disabled but no replacement is configured, scheduled events never fire.

1. Open wp-config.php in your site root.
2. Search for DISABLE_WP_CRON.
3. If you find define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);, you must configure server-side cron (Step 4).
4. If the line is missing or set to false, WP-Cron should be running on visitor traffic. If your site has very low traffic, scheduled events may run late or not at all (see Step 5).

Step 4: Set Up Server-Side Cron (Recommended) #

If DISABLE_WP_CRON is true or your traffic is too low to trigger WP-Cron reliably, configure a real cron job on your server to hit wp-cron.php on a schedule.

Option A — cPanel/Plesk:

1. Log into your hosting control panel.
2. Find Cron Jobs (cPanel) or Scheduled Tasks (Plesk).
3. Add a new job that runs every 5 minutes:

   */5 * * * * curl -s https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1

4. Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain.

Option B — Managed host:

Many managed hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta, Pantheon, SiteGround) provide their own WP-Cron replacement that runs automatically. Check your host’s documentation or open a support ticket asking them to confirm WP-Cron is configured for your site.

Option C — External cron service:

Services like EasyCron, Cronless, or cron-job.org can hit your wp-cron.php URL on a schedule without server access. Free tiers usually handle 5-minute intervals.

Step 5: Cron Runs But Queue Is Still Stuck #

If the Cron Self-Test passes but the queue isn’t draining, something is preventing the flush hook from completing.

1. Check PHP error log. A fatal error during the flush will leave the queue intact.
2. Check PHP memory limit. Very large queues can OOM the flush. Bump memory_limit to 256M or higher.
3. Manually flush. In the Analytics Queue accordion, click Flush Queue Now. This bypasses cron and runs the flush in your admin request. If it succeeds, cron should keep up going forward.

Step 6: Rebuild Missing Summaries #

Once the queue is draining and cron is healthy, the Analytics dashboard may still be missing data for the days when cron was broken. Open Tools > Rebuild Daily Summaries and click Rebuild. This re-aggregates raw events into daily summaries for the configured backfill window.

Prevention #

• If your site has low traffic, set up server-side cron from the start — don’t rely on WP-Cron’s visitor-driven model.
• Monitor the Analytics Queue accordion periodically. A queue depth above a few thousand for more than an hour is a warning sign.
• After major plugin updates, run the Cron Self-Test to confirm scheduled hooks survived the upgrade.

Next Steps #

• WP-Cron Requirement — How PetMatchPro uses scheduled tasks
• Queue Health and Tools — Detailed Tools-tab walkthrough
• Understanding PetMatchPro Analytics — What gets tracked and how