Track and log WordPress user activity with the best plugin

Step 1: Download and install WP Activity Log

You can purchase WP Activity Log directly from our website. With a number of different plans to choose from, you can ensure that you get all the features you need (should I mention price here). Each license can be purchased for one or more sites – depending on the number of WordPress active installations you have.

Once purchased, you will receive an email with a download link and your license key. Download the plugin ZIP file, log in to your WordPress dashboard, and install it on your WordPress website.

Step 2: Follow the setup wizard

WP Activity Log comes with a handy setup wizard, which walks you through the initial configuration of the plugin. Any settings you configure here can be easily changed at any point, so do not worry about configuring the wrong options.

Once you finish the setup wizard, the plugin will go to work tracking user activities on your WordPress website. Tracked activities can be viewed from the Log Viewer. The plugin also comes with plenty of documentation to help you make the most out of its many features.

Step 3. Configure additional settings

WP Activity Log comes jam-packed with features to help you make the most out of your WordPress user tracking. Here are some of the top features you’ll want to know about:

User Session Management

The User Session Management module offers advanced features to help you better manage and track user activity. You can track users and easily see when a selected user logged in and their most recent activities – giving you a complete and unrestricted view of logged-in users.

You can also set policies to limit the number of concurrent sessions from the same user account and terminate idle sessions to increase security and limit fraud.

Log storage

By default, WP Activity Log stores the activity log in the main WordPress database. However, the plugin offers many other options when it comes to storing tracking activity. You can save to an external database, integrate with log and business systems, and archive old data for full control over storage and retention.

Third-party plugin support

WP Activity Log supports a number of WordPress plugins straight out of the box, including WooCommerce, MemeberPress, Yoast SEO, and many others. You can also track your own custom events with plenty of documentation available and one-on-one help via email should you get stuck.

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What kind of user activity should you track?

Every website is just as different as the idea behind it. As such, there is no one-size-fits-all model. How you operate, as well as your requirements and priorities, will largely shape your activity logging requirements.

However, there are a few general rules that anyone can follow when it comes to WordPress activity logs :

More information about WP Activity Log user tracking

As the most comprehensive WordPress activity log plugin, WP Activity Log can track a wide range of different user activities. Each individual activity has a unique ID and a severity level, making it very easy to distinguish between different kinds of events, among other information.

Not only does this information provide additional information, but it can also be used to filter and search for specific entries within the log, making it that much easier to find the activity you’re looking for.

These are some of the user-related activities that WP Activity Log can keep track of :

You can find the full list in the List of activity log event IDs. Furthermore, new activities are added on a fairly regular basis, widening the scope of what user activities the plugin can log.

The benefits of tracking user activity and changes in WordPress

WordPress websites depend on their users to function. From administrators, editors, and contributors to customers, members, and everyone in between, users are the beating heart of any successful website. Without users, software wouldn’t be updated, posts wouldn’t be uploaded, and products wouldn’t be sold.

However, it’s important to ensure that each user is only doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Whether it’s an employee, a customer, or even your own account, you need to ensure that there hasn’t been any unauthorized privilege escalation, fraud, illegitimate logins, or any other harmful behavior.

This is why an activity log, or perhaps more specifically, a WordPress activity log plugin, is an essential tool to have in ensuring the safety of your WordPress website.

Let’s now take a more in-depth look at why you should keep tabs on what your users are doing through a user activity log.

Compliance

Regulations and standards such as GDPR and PCI DSS require logs to be maintained at all times. Logs make it easy to uncover who did what at any point. From who accessed which resources to who updated what and when, a user activity log can help you track each and every step and hold all members accountable for their actions.

Security actions

Monitoring user activity for security-related activities can help you prevent security incidents rather than respond to them. Activities such as when each user logged in and logged out (especially logging in outside of regular hours), failed login attempts, and actions that go beyond the scope of one’s role – are all activities you should track.

Of course, different environments require different actions to be monitored. WP Activity Log is very comprehensive and even comes with support for third-party plugins straight out of the box. New activities are also added on a regular basis, giving you very wide coverage over your entire WordPress site.

Failed login attempts

Failed login attempts are perhaps one of the most known security risks. While often these are incorrect password user login attempts, they can also uncover unauthorized login attempts or even a brute force attack.

The plugin keeps more than a simple history log. It can differentiate between login attempts where the username is known and login attempts where both username and password are unknown.

Content actions

Many WordPress websites depend on their content to attract visitors and keep them coming. In such cases, content becomes a valuable asset and, in many cases, a competitive advantage. In such cases, monitoring changes to content across your WordPress site can help you ensure that any edits, uploads, and deletions are recorded.

Fraud prevention

Fraud costs WordPress and WooCommerce administrators and owners a lot of money, making fraud prevention one of the main reasons tracking WordPress activity is a good idea. Whether you want to track a specific user to see if that user is involved in any suspicious activity or multiple users to check whether accounts are being shared, WP Activity Log is the WordPress plugin that has you covered.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting user issues often depends on information from non-technical users, which can make it difficult to get to the root of the problem fast enough. With a user activity log, you can see all of the activities the user undertook prior to encountering the issue, helping you resolve issues faster and minimizing help desk costs.

Get started with WP Activity Log

Getting started with WP Activity Log is very easy. Simply head to the plugin page and choose the plan that best suits your requirements.

All plans come with email support and plenty of documentation, should you require it. Like all other Melapress plugins, WP Activity Log also receives regular updates with new features and improvements to enable you to continue tracking user activity as WordPress and requirements evolve.