Product · 15 October 2026 · 7 min read

How to Connect Claude to WordPress with MCP

Step by step: connect Claude to a self-hosted WordPress site with Meikero over remote MCP — permissions, connector settings, a safe first test and fixes for common errors.

To connect Claude to WordPress, install an MCP plugin such as Meikero on your self-hosted site, choose what Claude may read or change, then add your site’s MCP URL to Claude as a custom connector with an Authorization request header. Once the connector is enabled in a chat, one harmless read-only request confirms that Claude is working with your real site. This guide walks through each step, explains what happens behind it and covers the errors people run into most often.

What MCP does, in plain English

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for connecting AI applications to tools and data. A WordPress MCP plugin publishes a list of tools — “list published pages”, “read this theme file”, “update this product” — and Claude decides which of them to call while it answers you. Claude never signs in to your dashboard. It can only call the tools the server offers, and Meikero checks every call against the permissions an administrator has chosen.

One detail matters for everything that follows: a custom connector is a remote MCP server. As Anthropic explains in its guide to custom connectors using remote MCP, Claude reaches your server from Anthropic’s cloud, not from your own computer — even when you use Claude Desktop. Your site therefore has to be reachable over the public internet.

This guide is for self-hosted WordPress

WordPress.com has its own connector in Claude’s connector directory for sites hosted on WordPress.com; if that is your platform, follow WordPress.com’s instructions instead. Everything below is about a WordPress site you host yourself, on any host where you can install plugins, connected through Meikero.

What you need

  • A supported WordPress and PHP version. The current requirements are listed in the Meikero setup guide.
  • HTTPS with a valid certificate and pretty permalinks. Meikero refuses remote connections over plain HTTP.
  • Permission to install plugins on the site — normally an administrator account.
  • A Claude account that can add custom connectors. At the time of writing, Anthropic lists custom connectors on its Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, with Free accounts limited to one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds the connector for the organisation. Availability can change, so check Anthropic’s guide linked above.

You do not need an Anthropic API key or Meikero action credits for this workflow. Claude’s own availability and usage limits still apply.

Step 1: Install Meikero and choose Free or Pro

In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the Meikero ZIP file, install it and click Activate. A Meikero menu appears in the admin sidebar.

  • Free needs no registration and no purchase license. It allows the reads you approve and saving audit reports.
  • Pro is activated with a license key and enables supported changes — still limited to the permissions you select.

A license never switches permissions on by itself. The Meikero pricing page explains what Free and Pro include and what is currently available to download. Meikero 0.9.2 and newer also include a guided setup on the plugin’s Overview screen that walks you through the next two steps.

Step 2: Choose what Claude may access

In Meikero’s settings, each data area — content, media, WooCommerce, SEO, website checks, saved audit reports and so on — can be left off, set to view only, or allowed to change. Theme and plugin folders are approved one at a time. For a first connection, allow view-only access to the basics and save the settings. The Meikero tool reference shows which tool needs which permission.

Then generate a connection key in Meikero if one does not exist yet, and copy it together with the site’s MCP URL. The connection key is not your purchase license. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it can call the tools you allowed.

Step 3: Add the custom connector in Claude

On an individual plan, open Customize → Connectors in Claude and add a custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner does this under Organization settings → Connectors, and members then connect to it from their own Connectors list.

  1. Name: anything recognisable, such as your domain.
  2. Remote MCP server URL: paste the MCP URL from Meikero and continue.
  3. Authentication: choose No sign in. Meikero authenticates with a fixed connection key rather than an OAuth sign-in.
  4. Request headers: add one header, shown below.
  5. Click Add.
Name:  Authorization
Value: Bearer YOUR_CONNECTION_KEY

The value Meikero copies for you already begins with Bearer followed by a space. Paste it exactly as copied and do not type another Bearer in front. YOUR_CONNECTION_KEY above is a placeholder; never share your real key in screenshots, support requests or shared chats.

Claude’s screens change from time to time. If the labels differ from the ones here, follow Anthropic’s current instructions for custom connectors.

Step 4: Enable the connector and run a read-only test

Start a new chat, open the + menu in the lower left, go to Connectors and switch your site on for that conversation. Anthropic’s article on using connectors in Claude describes this menu and the per-tool approval settings. Then ask:

Describe this WordPress site using the available Meikero tools. Identify the active theme, installed plugins and published pages where permitted. Do not change anything.

Claude may ask you to approve each tool call. For a first test, approve calls one at a time so you can see which tools it uses. A good answer names your real theme, plugins and pages. If Claude reports that an area is not permitted, that is the permission system doing its job, not a connection failure.

Observed client activity versus a local endpoint test

Meikero’s connection diagnostics show the time of the last authenticated request. That timestamp only changes when a real, authenticated tool call reaches your site — so seeing it update after your first prompt is the clearest proof that Claude, calling from Anthropic’s cloud, got through.

A test run from your own WordPress admin or from the server itself is different. It shows that the endpoint responds locally, but it cannot prove that a firewall, CDN or host security rule lets outside requests through. When the two disagree, trust the observed client activity.

Troubleshooting

Missing or duplicated Bearer prefix

The header value must contain Bearer, one space and the key — exactly once. A value with only the key fails, and so does Bearer Bearer …, which is what happens when the copied value is pasted after a typed prefix.

The key was rotated

Generating a new connection key invalidates the old one. Claude does not let you edit an existing custom connector, so remove it and add it again with the new header value.

Access is disabled

If remote access is switched off in Meikero, every request is refused. If only a data area is off, the related tools are missing or refused while others still work. Check the connector is also switched on in the current chat.

HTTPS problems

Use the https:// MCP URL. Check that the WordPress Address and Site Address under Settings → General also use HTTPS and that the certificate is valid for the exact domain.

Firewall, security plugin or host restrictions

Sites behind a VPN, a private network or a strict firewall will not connect, because requests come from Anthropic’s IP ranges. Allow those ranges, or relax the rule for the MCP endpoint. Some server configurations also strip the Authorization header before WordPress sees it; if the key is correct but requests are still rejected, ask your host whether that header reaches PHP.

What requires Pro

Reading and saving audit reports work on Free. Anything that changes the site — editing pages and posts, products, SEO fields, image text or theme and plugin files, and saving or restoring checkpoints — needs Pro and the matching permission set to allow changes. Compare the details on the Free and Pro pricing page.

FAQ

Do I need an Anthropic API key?

No. The connector runs inside your Claude account. Your plan’s usage limits apply, but there is no separate API billing or Meikero credit system.

Can Claude change my site without my permission?

Only within the areas and folders an administrator has allowed, and only on Pro. Claude can also ask for your approval before each tool call, depending on your connector settings.

Does Meikero work with ChatGPT or other assistants?

Meikero is built and tested with Claude. This guide does not cover other AI clients.

Is it safe to connect a live site?

Start with view-only access and widen it one area at a time. Keep your normal backups: Meikero’s file backups and checkpoints help you undo its own changes, but they are not a full website or database backup.

Start with read access

The calmest first step is the one in this guide: approve view-only access, connect Claude and ask it to describe your site. When its answers match reality, a natural next step is to run a WordPress audit with Claude — still without changing anything.

What to do next

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