Frequently Asked Questions

With ParrotWP®, you’ll be able to connect your WordPress-based event website with Cadmium’s Education Harvester in seconds. Pull your education program info into WordPress with the confidence that ParrotWP® seamlessly syncs your presentation and presenter data! The plugin takes just a couple of clicks to implement and use and provides all the necessary components for getting started – no hassles!  Once you activate the plugin using your license key, you can start using the plugin features right away, and any updates will be pushed through to your dashboard as long as your license is active.

NOTE: a Cadmium API key is required, and the Cadmium API fee is included in the ParrotWP® purchase price; Cadmium will provide the key after purchase.

One license allows for activation on one website. However, multiple licenses can be purchased if you plan on using this plugin across multiple WordPress-based event sites.

With the purchase of ParrotWP®, you receive six months’ worth of plugin support and one year of updates. Support covers any issues with the ParrotWP® plugin, and it does not cover conflicts involving other plugins or themes or custom coding problems that may arise when using this plugin in your WordPress configuration. Access our support portal here.

There is not a free version of ParrotWP®. We recommend requesting a demo or emailing us if you have questions. Our knowledgeable customer care staff is here to assist you at any time. ParrotWP.com contains additional ways to contact our support team for assistance.

We currently offer a pre-recorded demo of ParrotWP® and an appointment-based on-screen demo with one of our ParrotWP® specialists. You can view the demo video here or request a demo here.

Yes, starting with ParrotWP® 3.0, both Secure Custom Fields and Advanced Custom Fields are fully compatible with ParrotWP®. We will continue to monitor updates from the WordPress community regarding this plugin, as it plays a critical role in ParrotWP®’s functionality.

All pricing information can be found on our pricing page.

30 days before your ParrotWP® license expires, you’ll receive an email with instructions about renewing or canceling your license.

NOTE: For your protection, we won’t store your credit card information on our servers. You will be asked to re-enter payment issue should you wish to renew.

Before purchasing ParrotWP®, please check that your hosting environment fulfills our minimum requirements to guarantee successful syncing.

ParrotWP’s® operation demands significant hosting resources, mainly throughout the syncing process. To achieve optimal performance, it’s essential to have the capability to adjust server-related settings and timings. This flexibility ensures that the plugin can efficiently manage data transfers and updates without overburdening the server, improving reliability and speed. Ensuring your hosting environment can accommodate these adjustments will help maximize the plugin’s effectiveness and ensure seamless integration with your website.

• PHP/WordPress memory limits must be at least 128MB
• Max Vars must be above 4,000
• Scripts must be allowed to be executed for a minimum of 900 seconds (often referred to as max_execution_time).
  • Example: WP Engine hosting*, your script execution time is only 60 seconds.
• PHP 7.4 or greater – PHP 8 for optimal performance
• MySQL 5.6 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.1 or greater
• WordPress 5+

*WP Engine has a short script execution timer, which impacts the ability to import larger agendas.

No, this plugin is not multisite compatible.

WP Engine hosting has a maximum execution time of 60 seconds. If you need to import a larger dataset, there are several strategies you can use to work around this limitation.

• Use External CRON Instead of WordPress CRON (ParrotWP® 3.0+)
  • Recommend using the External CRON option in the plugin settings
  • Set up smaller, more frequent imports (e.g., hourly instead of daily)
  • Use WP Engine’s built-in cron service or a third-party cron service like cron-job.org
    • This bypasses WP Engine’s admin-ajax.php timeout limits

• Request an increase in PHP memory limit to 256 MB

• Batch Processing Best Practices
  • Use smaller batch sizes in the import settings
  • Run imports during off-peak hours
  • Import presentations and presenters separately
  • Use the “Update Modified Only” option instead of “Update All.”

• WP Engine Portal Settings
  • Enable PHP 8+ in the WP Engine portal (better performance)
  • Enable Object Caching if available

ParrotWP® has built-in functionality to automatically sync your data through the Cadmium API using the WordPress CRON system. We recommend using a CRON plugin like WP Crontrol to control the syncing functionality.

Once you have identified an appropriate CRON plugin, you will want to create a new PHP event in that plugin labeled:

• Parrot_new_cron – For Presentations
• Parrot_import_presenters_cron – For Presenters (requires ParrotWP® 2.1+)
• Then set your timer for how frequently you want this feature to run.

The automated sync can be triggered as often as the plugin options offer and we recommend using the Import function in step 4 for emergency updates only.

ParrotWP® relies on WordPress’s built-in CRON system for its syncing features. If you encounter issues with these features, consider the following:

• If you use shared hosting services (such as Hostgator or GoDaddy), check your CRON job schedule. Verify if any other plugins are set to run too frequently (every minute or every 5 minutes, for example), which could consume unnecessary server resources. We’ve observed that many sites have 15-20 CRON jobs running throughout the day, utilizing significant resources.

• It’s important to know that the CRON system only activates when your website receives visitors. If your website is new or has low traffic, the automatic data synchronization with Cadmium may not occur regularly. To address this, we recommend using an external service like cron-job.org or regularly triggering your website’s wp-cron.php file (by accessing https://yourwebsite.com/wp-cron.php) every 5-10 minutes. This approach simulates the effect of actual visits to your website, ensuring more consistent CRON operation.

ParrotWP® offers a wide range of customization options to make your website unique. We don’t have pre-made layouts in the current version, but we’re working on it! Contact our fearless leaders at the David James Group if you want their help designing layouts using various page builders including Elementor, Divi, and Gutenberg.

ParrotWP® uses Advanced Custom Fields Pro (ACF) to handle and manage all of the data pulled from the Cadmium Education Harvestor API. Fortunately, ACF can utilize shortcodes to pull information into your layouts. If you have an experienced developer that understands “loops” within WordPress they may utilize these shortcodes to create repeatable elements within a layout.

If you’re looking for a partner to develop your layout, we recommend David James Group.

Once your initial sync takes place, ParrotWP® only looks for updates; it will not reimport all your data again. We have found subsequent imports take about 1/3 of the time of the initial sync, meaning quicker updates when you add/modify data.

Not to worry, ParrotWP® has been tested for malware using major WordPress security plugins including Wordfence, iThemes Security, Sucuri, and Malcare. All scans returned were malware-free.