5.3 Connection Status
Every site on the Websites list carries one of three connection statuses. The status reflects how recently — and how successfully — the plugin on that site has performed a capability check with Tangible Cloud.
| Status | What it means | When it usually appears |
|---|---|---|
| Connected | The plugin has checked in recently and reported successfully. | Normal steady state for a site that's online and running the plugin. |
| Stale | The plugin hasn't checked in for a while, but there's no sign the site is unreachable — just quiet. | The site is rarely accessed (so WordPress's cron doesn't run the update check), or the plugin has been deactivated but not uninstalled. |
| Unreachable | Tangible Cloud has tried to reach the site and failed, or the plugin's check-in has reported errors. | The site is offline, the domain has changed, or a firewall is blocking traffic between the site and Tangible Cloud. |
[MEDIA: screenshot | 5-3-websites-status-badges.png | A close-up crop of three rows from the Websites page, each showing a different connection status badge: one Connected (typically green), one Stale (typically amber/yellow), one Unreachable (typically red). The goal is to show the visual treatment of each status side-by-side for quick reference. Crop tightly to the status-badge column plus the site hostname column so readers can see which badge belongs to which state. Desktop view.] [ALT: Three Websites rows showing Connected, Stale, and Unreachable connection status badges side by side] [CAPTION: none]
Why a site falls out of "Connected"
Check-ins happen on a schedule driven by WordPress's update cron, which by default runs when the site receives traffic. Low-traffic sites may go longer between check-ins than busy ones. A site that seems quiet isn't necessarily broken — it may just be unvisited for a while.
A site moves to Stale when the gap since its last check-in grows longer than Tangible Cloud's expected window. It moves to Unreachable when outbound attempts to verify the site fail, or when the plugin's check-ins start returning errors consistently.
What to do about each status
Connected
Nothing. This is the normal state.
Stale
Consider whether the site is supposed to be active.
- If it is and you're paying for it, visit the site to trigger traffic (which triggers WordPress's cron and the plugin's check-in). After a minute or two, the status should move back to Connected.
- If the site is no longer in use, you can deactivate it to free up the license activation slot.
Unreachable
Check whether the site is actually online and responsive. Common causes:
- The domain has changed (you migrated the site and the old host is returning errors).
- A firewall or host-level block is preventing Tangible Cloud from reaching the site.
- The plugin has been deleted (not just deactivated), and the activation record is orphaned.
If the site is intentionally offline, deactivate it from Tangible Cloud to free the slot.