Content Tracker Sync — WordPress Plugin

Sync WordPress post data (title, slug, Yoast SEO fields, tags) to a Google Sheets editorial tracker with a single click.

Features

• Manual "Sync to Tracker" button in the post editor (Classic + Gutenberg)
• Auto-creates a new row or updates existing row (duplicate prevention via Post ID)
• Hashtag conversion — tags are formatted as #AI #HR #Automation
• Yoast SEO support — retrieves SEO Title, Focus Keyphrase, and Meta Description
• Zero Composer dependencies — self-contained JWT-based Google Sheets API v4 client
• Secure — nonces, capability checks, input sanitisation, output escaping

Installation

1. Copy the content-tracker-sync folder into wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate from WP Admin → Plugins
3. Go to Settings → Content Tracker Sync and configure your Google Sheet

Google API Setup

Step 1 — Create a Google Cloud Project

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project (or select an existing one)

Step 2 — Enable the Google Sheets API

1. Navigate to APIs & Services → Library
2. Search for Google Sheets API and click Enable

Step 3 — Create a Service Account

1. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials
2. Click Create Credentials → Service Account
3. Give it a name (e.g. content-tracker-sync)
4. Click Done

Step 4 — Download the JSON Key

1. Click your new Service Account
2. Go to the Keys tab → Add Key → Create new key → JSON
3. Save the downloaded .json file

Step 5 — Share Your Google Sheet

1. Open your Google Sheet
2. Click Share
3. Add the client_email from the JSON file (looks like name@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com)
4. Give it Editor access

Step 6 — Configure the Plugin

1. In WordPress, go to Settings → Content Tracker Sync
2. Paste the entire contents of the JSON key file into the credentials field
3. Enter your Spreadsheet ID (from the sheet URL between /d/ and /edit)
4. Enter the Sheet Name (tab name, e.g. Sheet1)
5. Click Save Settings

Google Sheet Format

Set up your sheet columns in this order:

Tip: Add these headers in Row 1 of your sheet before syncing.

Usage

1. Create or edit any post
2. Fill in Yoast SEO fields and assign tags
3. In the sidebar, find the Content Tracker Sync panel
4. Click Sync to Tracker
5. A green ✓ confirmation appears on success

Security Considerations

• Nonce verification on every AJAX request
• Capability check — only users with edit_posts can sync
• Input sanitisation — all settings use sanitize_text_field
• Output escaping — all rendered strings use esc_html, esc_attr
• JSON validation — credentials are validated before saving
• No filesystem storage — credentials stored in wp_options, not as files
• Multi-site safe — each site has its own settings, nothing is hardcoded

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8+
• PHP 7.4+
• Yoast SEO plugin (for SEO fields; plugin works without it, but SEO columns will be empty)
• Google Cloud project with Sheets API enabled

Future Improvements

• Bulk sync from the Posts list screen
• Custom column mapping via the settings page
• Webhook/notification support
• Sync history log in WordPress
• Support for Custom Post Types selection
• WP-CLI wp cts sync <post_id> command
• REST API endpoint alternative to AJAX