Documentation · Getting Started

Go Live Checklist

This document is the production readiness checklist for ADP Car Market Hub. It collects every cross-cutting item that should be confirmed before automatic imports are enabled on a customer's live WordPress site, so that the launch is predictable and reversible.

It complements rather than replaces First Setup: First Setup describes how to configure the plugin step by step; this document describes how to verify that the configuration is safe to switch into live operation.

When to use this document

Use this document if you are:

An agency or implementation partner about to release a new ADP Car Market Hub deployment to a customer.
A WordPress administrator promoting a validated staging configuration to a production site.
A hosting team responsible for confirming that the production environment is sized and configured for scheduled imports.
An operations owner running a controlled re-launch after a server migration, domain change, certificate renewal or major plugin update.

The audience is technical: a WordPress administrator with full back-office access, working together (where applicable) with the hosting provider and with whoever owns the AutoScout24 API access for the dealer.

Overview

A production go-live for ADP Car Market Hub is not a single action — enabling automatic imports is the last step in a chain that depends on:

Hosting and PHP environment readiness.
Correct, dealership-owned API credentials.
A successful, repeatable Connection Test and at least one successful test import.
A frontend that has been reviewed against real, imported vehicle data.
Legal, privacy and consent settings that match the dealership's published policies.
A documented rollback path if anything fails after launch.

The checklist below is grouped by topic. Each item should be either ticked off or explicitly accepted with a documented reason before the site is opened to real traffic with live imports.

Requirements before working through the checklist

Confirm that all of the following are in place before opening this checklist:

The plugin is installed and activated on the production site (see Installation Guide).
A configured staging environment exists and the same configuration has been replicated on production (see Staging to Live Migration).
The API credentials for the dealer's account are available through a secure channel (see API Credentials Setup, AutoScout24 API Setup, External API Credentials).
The site has a current, restorable backup that includes the database and wp-content/.
Stakeholders (dealership, agency, hosting) have agreed on a go-live time window in which to monitor the first imports.

Step by step instructions

Work through the sections in order. Do not enable automatic scheduling until every applicable item is confirmed.

1. Environment and infrastructure

[ ] WordPress meets the plugin's minimum version (Requires at least: 6.2) and PHP meets the minimum (Requires PHP: 8.1). See Technical System Requirements.
[ ] Required PHP extensions are present: openssl, curl, mbstring, json, and one of gd or imagick. See PHP and Database Requirements.
[ ] Outbound HTTPS to the configured AutoScout24 API host is allowed by the hosting firewall and any WAF in front of the site. See API, Network and SSL Requirements.
[ ] The server's CA bundle trusts the API host's certificate chain (no SSL/TLS validation errors during the Connection Test).
[ ] The wp-content/uploads/ directory is writable by the web-server user, and wp-content/uploads/as24ci-logs/ is created or createable for plugin logging.
[ ] Sufficient disk space is available for the projected media library (imported vehicle images, including any WebP variants if conversion is enabled).
[ ] Server resources (memory, max execution time, database) are sized for the expected catalogue. See Hosting Requirements.
[ ] All entries on the Pre-Installation Checklist are confirmed.
[ ] Car Market Hub → System & Help shows no red badges.

2. Plugin configuration

[ ] The license has been activated on Car Market Hub → Settings (License Activation card). The plugin's admin tabs no longer show the "License required" screen, confirming the premium areas are unlocked. See First Setup.
[ ] The plugin's main settings on Car Market Hub → Settings have been saved and reflect the production environment, not staging.
[ ] API Base URL, Seller ID (one or more), Client ID and Client Secret are populated on Settings.
[ ] Default currency matches the dealer's pricing currency.
[ ] Image options (whether to import images, maximum images per vehicle, optional WebP conversion and quality) are set deliberately and not left at unverified defaults.
[ ] Default post status and default post author for newly imported vehicles are appropriate for production.
[ ] The Default pages option is either enabled (so that the Cars, Compare Cars and Favorites pages are created) or explicitly handled by the dealership's own pages using the documented shortcodes.
[ ] Filters, mappings, design and styles, and any layout customisations have been reviewed on real, imported vehicle data — not on placeholder content.

3. API connection

[ ] The API Connection Test on Car Market Hub → Tools completes successfully on the production site, against the production API credentials. See Connection Test.
[ ] If multiple Seller IDs are configured, a Dry Run has been executed from Tools and returns data for every configured Seller ID.
[ ] No authentication, authorisation or SSL errors appear in Car Market Hub → Logs for the most recent Connection Test and Dry Run.
[ ] Credentials in production are not the same throwaway values used during early staging tests; rotated production credentials, where applicable, have been re-tested.

4. Test imports and data quality

[ ] At least one manual import of a single vehicle through Car Market Hub → Car Importer has succeeded, including image attachments.
[ ] A full manual import via the Batch-Wizard on Car Market Hub → Import & Limits has completed without errors. The Batch-Wizard supports pause, resume and abort if needed.
[ ] The number of imported vehicles matches the expectation for the configured Seller IDs (verify against the dealer's AutoScout24 inventory).
[ ] A representative sample of imported vehicles has been reviewed for: title, price, currency, mileage, equipment list, image count and image order.
[ ] Full Sync is only enabled after the test import confirms that all expected vehicles arrive correctly. Full Sync permanently deletes local car posts and their images for any listing no longer returned by the API.

5. Scheduling and background processing

[ ] The desired automatic import interval (hourly, every 6 hours, twice daily, daily or custom) has been chosen and reflects the dealer's data refresh expectations.
[ ] If WP-Cron is unreliable on the host (for example because page visits are too sparse or the host throttles internal cron), a real server cron job is configured against the plugin's token-secured REST endpoint. See Server Cron Setup and Cron and Background Processing.
[ ] The image queue is enabled to keep cron runs within PHP timeouts on large catalogues. The queue status on System & Help shows healthy progress after the test import.
[ ] The cron robustness settings (maximum vehicles per cron run) are sized for the catalogue and the host's PHP execution limits.
[ ] Token cache behaviour has been verified: a fresh test after credential rotation succeeds (clearing the token cache from Tools if needed).

6. Frontend and customer experience

[ ] The Cars archive page renders correctly with real vehicles, including filters, pagination, sorting and image thumbnails.
[ ] At least one single vehicle page has been reviewed end to end: gallery, vehicle details table, equipment list, price formatting, contact form (with the consent checkbox), and any optional features (financing calculator, Test Drive form, social sharing) that are enabled.
[ ] A test contact form submission appears under Car Market Hub → Leads and triggers the configured recipient email.
[ ] If Search Alerts are enabled, a test subscription has been completed including the Double-Opt-In confirmation email. See Search Alerts Double Opt-In.
[ ] If the AI Assistant is enabled, AI-generated outputs on at least one vehicle have been reviewed and are acceptable for publication.
[ ] Translations / language strings on the frontend reflect the site's language; missing strings have been addressed via the standard WordPress translation workflow. See Translation and PoEdit Guide.

[ ] The site has a published privacy policy that covers the data the plugin collects (contact form data, optional analytics events, optional search-alert subscriptions). See GDPR / DSGVO Notes and Data Storage Overview.
[ ] The contact form's consent checkbox label, required state and visible fields under Car Market Hub → Leads match the dealer's privacy policy. See Lead Data and Consent.
[ ] If Test Drive booking is enabled, the available weekdays, daily time window, slot duration and blackout dates reflect the dealership's actual availability.
[ ] The dealership has accepted that imported lead and search-alert data will be stored in the WordPress database and is responsible for any retention or export obligations under applicable law.

8. Performance, caching and SEO

[ ] Any page or object cache (server-side cache, CDN, caching plugin) has been configured so that vehicle archive and single-vehicle pages display fresh data after each import, and so that admin requests are not served from cache.
[ ] If a CDN serves images from wp-content/uploads/, image purges or short cache lifetimes are in place so that newly imported images become visible promptly.
[ ] The site is reachable on the final production domain over HTTPS, and the WordPress Site Address / WordPress Address options point to that domain.
[ ] The site is not set to "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" (unless that is the dealership's explicit intent).
[ ] An XML sitemap exists (provided by WordPress core or by an SEO plugin) and the new vehicle URLs follow the dealership's canonical structure.
[ ] No staging URLs, test email addresses or test consent text remain in the production configuration.

9. Operations, monitoring and support

[ ] Car Market Hub → Logs has been opened and the rotation behaviour is understood. The log directory wp-content/uploads/as24ci-logs/ is writable. See Logging and Monitoring.
[ ] A schedule for routine checks has been agreed with the customer: daily lead and import review (Daily Operation), Weekly Maintenance and Monthly Maintenance.
[ ] Import Monitoring and Image Queue Maintenance are understood by whoever will operate the site.
[ ] A backup and restore procedure is documented and has been tested at least once. See Backup and Restore.
[ ] The plugin's update channel is agreed (admin upload of a new ZIP, or SFTP replacement of the plugin folder) and matches the Update Process.
[ ] A documented rollback plan exists: how to disable scheduling, how to deactivate the plugin without losing data, and how to restore from backup if needed.
[ ] Day-to-day operation has been delegated to the appropriate users via the plugin's role and capability. See Access Control and Capabilities.
[ ] Contact paths for support are documented on the customer side: who handles WordPress issues, who handles hosting, who owns the AutoScout24 API account, and how to escalate to AD Promotion if needed.
[ ] The information needed to open a support ticket is known in advance. See Support Information Checklist.

10. Final go-live actions

Only after every applicable item above is ticked:

Re-run the Connection Test on the production site as a final sanity check.
Enable automatic imports on Car Market Hub → Import & Limits with the chosen interval.
Trigger one import manually (or wait for the first scheduled run) and watch Logs until it completes.
Re-check the frontend on the production domain, including a real contact-form submission and, if applicable, a real Search Alert subscription.
Hand over to the agreed monitoring routine and inform the customer that imports are now live.

Configuration reference

This document does not introduce new settings; it only references the configuration documented elsewhere. The most relevant pages are:

API connection fields: see API Credentials Setup.
Import scheduling and limits: see First Setup (Step 5) and Cron and Background Processing.
Lead and consent fields: see Lead Data and Consent.
Server cron and external triggers: see Server Cron Setup.

Operational notes

Reversibility. Disabling the automatic schedule on Import & Limits stops new imports without removing already-imported vehicles. Deactivating the plugin disables its features but keeps imported vehicles, options, leads and analytics data in the database. Data is removed on uninstall only when the corresponding cleanup setting is enabled. See Uninstall and Data Cleanup.
Full Sync at launch. It is generally safer to launch with Full Sync disabled, observe a full import cycle, and enable Full Sync only once the imported inventory is consistently complete. Enabling Full Sync prematurely can permanently delete vehicles that were simply missing from a transient API response. Verify this behaviour in the current plugin version before publishing if in doubt.
Domain and URL changes. If the site is being launched on a new domain (for example moving from staging.example.com to www.example.com), make sure WordPress URLs, any caching layer and any external service that links into the site are aligned before enabling imports. See Staging to Live Migration.
Quiet launches. For sensitive launches, consider enabling automatic imports outside of business hours and watching the first cron cycle through the Logs view before customers can reach the new pages.
Documentation hand-over. Provide the customer with the relevant pages from the User Handbook and the Operations and Maintenance section, so they understand the day-to-day workflow they are taking ownership of.

Troubleshooting

Symptom at go-live	Likely cause	What to check
Connection Test fails on production but passed on staging.	Production credentials differ, production network is more restrictive, or the production server has a different CA bundle.	Re-enter credentials, confirm outbound HTTPS to the API host with the hosting provider, and review SSL errors. See Connection Test and API Connection Errors.
Scheduled imports do not start after enabling the schedule.	WP-Cron is disabled or throttled on the host.	Configure a server cron job against the plugin's REST endpoint. See Server Cron Setup and Cron Errors.
First production import deletes vehicles that should still exist.	Full Sync was enabled before the imported inventory was confirmed complete.	Disable Full Sync, restore the affected vehicles from backup, and only re-enable Full Sync after observing a full, complete import cycle.
Vehicle pages render without images, or images appear gradually.	The image queue is processing in the background (expected) or PHP timeouts interrupt downloads.	Watch the image queue status on System & Help; trigger Run image queue now. See Image Import Errors and Image Queue Maintenance.
Lead emails are not delivered.	Site cannot send mail, recipient address is wrong, or the host blocks outbound SMTP.	Verify the recipient email under Leads and the site's outgoing mail configuration. See Email and Lead Errors.
Cached pages keep showing the old vehicle inventory.	Page cache or CDN is serving stale content.	Configure cache invalidation or shorter TTLs for the affected URLs.
Visitors land on staging URLs after launch.	Stale links, incorrect WordPress site URL, or DNS not yet propagated.	Confirm the WordPress Site Address and WordPress Address options, and verify DNS propagation for the production domain.

For broader symptom-based diagnostics, see the Troubleshooting section.