WP to Twitter: Frequently Asked Questions

Want a little more oomph in WP to Twitter? Upgrade to WP Tweets PRO!

Frequently Asked Questions

Please Note: I provide support for the most recent version of WP to Twitter. If you are using an older version, please upgrade and re-test before requesting support.

  1. Why should I upgrade to WP Tweets PRO?
  2. Can I buy a permanent license to WP Tweets Pro?
  3. 401 Unauthorized: Authentication credentials were missing or incorrect.
  4. I can’t get the OAuth authorization to connect to Twitter / Code 0: Twitter did not return a recognized response code
  5. My custom field templates won’t return data. What’s up?
  6. Code 0: Twitter did not return a recognized response code (may also be Question 2)
  7. Does WP to Twitter support Tweeting to multiple accounts?
  8. Can I post to Facebook using WP to Twitter?
  9. Twitter is blocking your application
  10. I copy posts using the plug-in Duplicate Post, but the new Tweets use the old post’s short URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
  11. Do I have to have a Twitter.com account to use this plugin?
  12. Every time I edit a post, the revisions are Tweeted! Can I stop this?
  13. Can I use WP to Twitter with Postie?
  1. Why should I upgrade to WP Tweets PRO
    Upgrading to WP Tweets PRO is a great way to simultaneously help support my work on WordPress plug-ins and get some more control over how your website interacts with Twitter. I hope you’ll consider it!
  2. Can I buy a permanent license to WP Tweets Pro?

    Based on the continuing API (Application Programming Interface) changes, particularly as described in the August, 2018 API update, I don’t have strong confidence that Twitter will continue to provide a stable API for this app. Based on that, I’m reluctant to sell permanent licenses for a product that could be shut down. I’ll continue to do everything I can to continue to support WP to Twitter, but Twitter may not allow that.

  3. 401 Unauthorized: Authentication credentials were missing or incorrect.

    This is the single most common issue with WP to Twitter. Usually, it can be resolved by re-generating your access token at the Twitter app developer page, verifying that the ‘read and write’ option is checked. Note that both your application and your access token must have read and write permissions; if the access token was generated before the application was set to read and write, then the access token will still only have read permissions.

    If that doesn’t resolve the issue, try these:

    • Go to Twitter Application Settings and revoke the access for your application then reauthorize it again. The recorded authorization may be read only.
    • Verify that your callback URL is the web site where WP to Twitter is installed and that your web site is publically accessible.
    • Delete your Twitter App and create a new one.
  4. I can’t get the OAuth authorization to connect to Twitter
    First, turn on OAuth Debugging at the bottom of the settings page. Attempt the connection again. A bunch of debugging gobbledygook will show up. If the http_code value is 0, then your server is failing to reach Twitter in any way whatsoever. You need to communicate with your hosting company to find out why your server can’t reach Twitter.
  5. My custom field templates won’t return data. What’s up?
    If you’re using any kind of custom method to provide custom fields, the developer who programmed it may have made a common choice to add the meta data to the post after publishing it. Because of this choice, the post meta data is not yet saved with the post when WP to Twitter goes to publish your Tweet. It’s a simple fix: the post should be saved as a draft, then the post meta should be added, then the post should be published. Contact the developer of your theme or plug-in to get this changed! This can also cause problems with category limits or inclusion of tags with your posts, if your application is adding those to an already published post.
  6. Code 0: Twitter did not return a recognized response code
    There are a variety of reasons for the query to Twitter to return a Code 0 error. What it means is that the server was unable to reach Twitter, and so did not receive a reply. This is almost always an issue at the server level, and requires a conversation with your hosting service to resolve.

    • Contact your host to see whether there are any issues with Twitter API access on your server.
    • Verify with your host whether they are using cached IP (Internet Protocol) addresses for Twitter’s API servers. They could be out of date.
    • Verify with your host that they support verifying 2048 bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer (a security protocol)) certificates, which is required by Twitter as of December 10th, 2013.
    • Find out whether your host has implemented a firewall blocking requests to remote resources.
  7. Does WP to Twitter support Tweeting to multiple accounts?
    No, but WP Tweets PRO does.
  8. Can I post to Facebook using WP to Twitter?
    Yes. Well, sort of. WP to Twitter only sends information to Twitter. However, there are numerous means to send information from Twitter to Facebook. You can configure a Twitter application to share information between your Facebook profile and Twitter. Install the application in Facebook, give it permission, then enable it in Twitter.
  9. Twitter is blocking your application
    I’m sorry about that, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. This is one of the powers which Twitter wanted to gain from this change: they can shut down any individual application. If they decided they didn’t like yours, that’s something I am unable to help with.
  10. I copy posts using the plug-in Duplicate Post, but the new Tweets use the old post’s short URL
    Duplicate Posts copies all of the meta data about your post as well as the post content. Since the Tweet history data is stored in post meta data, all of that is copied over. However, Duplicate Posts includes a field on its settings page that allows you to filter custom fields so that they aren’t copied. The custom meta fields used by WP to Twitter are _wpt_short_url, _wp_jd_target, _jd_wp_twitter, _jd_twitter, _wpt_failed. Add those fields into the setting for Duplicate Posts.
  11. Do I have to have a Twitter.com account to use this plugin?
    Yes, you need an account to use this plugin.
  12. Every time I edit a post, the revisions are Tweeted! Can I stop this?
    Yes. Uncheck the setting “Update Twitter when an old post has been edited” to disable tweeting of post edits.
  13. Can I use WP to Twitter with Postie?
    Yes! But you have to enable the option to allow Tweets on edited posts. The reason for this is that Postie uses the email’s timestamp for a published date, which causes WP to Twitter to identify the publication as an edited post, rather than a new post.