Installation

Requirements

WordPress	6.0 or higher
PHP	7.4 or higher (8.1+ recommended)
Database	MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+
JavaScript	Not required for attribution

Method 1 - Install from the WordPress admin

1. Log into your WordPress admin.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
3. Search for CQI Referrer Attribution.
4. Click Install Now, then Activate.

The plugin creates its database table on activation. No further configuration is required to begin classifying sessions.

Method 2 - Download and upload

1. Download the plugin zip from the WordPress.org plugin page.
2. Log into your WordPress admin and go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the zip and click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.

Method 3 - Manual FTP

1. Download and extract the zip from the WordPress.org plugin page.
2. Upload the cqi-referrer-attribution folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
3. Activate at WordPress Admin → Plugins.

After activation

The plugin begins classifying sessions immediately. Access the attribution dashboard at WordPress Admin → Attribution. The session log starts populating on the next page visit.

Installing Pro

After purchase you receive a license key. Enter it at WordPress Admin → Attribution → License. Pro features activate immediately.

Next step

Read the Getting Started guide to understand your first attribution and tour the dashboard.

Common questions

What happens if activation fails? +

Activation failure is almost always a PHP version issue. Confirm your host runs PHP 7.4 or higher (Tools > Site Health in WordPress shows your current version). If PHP is current and activation still fails, check for a plugin conflict by deactivating other plugins one at a time.

Do I need to deactivate my existing analytics plugin first? +

No. CQI Referrer Attribution runs independently and does not need other analytics plugins deactivated. It writes to its own database table and does not read from or modify other plugins' data.

Does it work with caching plugins or a CDN? +

Yes, with one consideration: classification happens on first arrival, before the page is cached. If your host serves a fully cached page to repeat visitors without hitting PHP, the session classification logic still runs on the cache miss that generated that cached copy, so attribution is captured at first request. No special configuration is needed for most caching setups.

Can I install this on a staging site and move it to production later? +

Yes. The plugin has no hardcoded domain dependency for the free tier. If you are using a Pro license, deactivate the license on staging and activate it on production after the move, since a single-site license can only be active on one domain at a time.

Do I need to add any code to my theme? +

No. Attribution starts working immediately on activation with no template edits required. The public PHP API functions are only needed if you want to read the attributed channel from your own theme or plugin code.

CQIP is a methodology standard, not a technology stack. Implementations exist for static PHP sites, WordPress, page generators, and other document management systems.