WordPress Requirements

Platform requirements

SophMate expects a modern WordPress installation, a supported PHP version, OpenSSL, and outbound HTTPS connectivity for provider requests and update checks. Managed hosting, firewall rules, DNS restrictions, or missing PHP extensions can affect provider tests and design-reference fetches. Use diagnostics and support to capture the exact environment state.

WordPress permissions

The initial setup should be performed by a trusted administrator. Do not grant broad SophMate access to editors, contractors, support agents, or marketing users until roles and permissions have been reviewed. High-risk modules such as approvals, tools, automation, and provider settings should stay restricted.

Production readiness

For live stores, confirm backups, staging access, mail handling, queue behavior, cache behavior, and WooCommerce compatibility before using write-capable workflows. The production readiness tutorial gives the operational checklist for launch review.

Owner and cadence

• Primary owner: site administrator or agency implementation lead.
• Review cadence: during initial setup, after hosting changes, and before adding new SophMate users.
• Escalate when setup cannot be repeated, diagnostics are unclear, or the team cannot identify rollback and support owners.

Production checklist

• Confirm WordPress, PHP, OpenSSL, outbound HTTPS, REST behavior, cron, cache, and WooCommerce status before production use.
• Review host-level restrictions if provider tests, diagnostics, or design-reference fetches fail.
• Record the setup owner, production site URL, staging site URL, SophMate version, WordPress version, PHP version, and active theme before rollout.
• Confirm the team can reach diagnostics and support and knows where to pause high-risk activity.

Acceptance checks

• The environment can support provider calls and admin workflows without avoidable host-level failures.
• Minimum requirements are documented for future update and support decisions.
• A trusted administrator can repeat the setup path without relying on private notes or one person's memory.
• The team has a documented rollback or support path before any write-capable workflow is enabled.

Common mistakes

• Inviting the wider team before provider, diagnostics, permissions, and rollback ownership have been verified.
• Treating a successful admin page load as proof that hosting, outbound HTTPS, backups, and support routing are ready.

Related operations

• Review Environment and Hosting Checklist.
• Run the production readiness tutorial.
• Use First-Run Checklist before inviting non-administrator users.
• Use Copilot Prompting and Context before team members rely on chat output.
• Use Environment and Hosting Checklist when provider or fetch tests depend on host behavior.
• Use Staging Test Data and Demo Hygiene before testing with production-like records.
• Use Operator Training and SOP Rollout before broad team adoption.