## Installing Alpha Insights on Your WordPress Site

Installing Alpha Insights is quick and straightforward. This guide will walk you through the entire process, from downloading the plugin to verifying it's working correctly.

### Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

- WordPress 5.0 or higher installed on your website
- WooCommerce 3.0 or higher activated and configured
- Administrator access to your WordPress dashboard
- Your Alpha Insights download file(should be named something like `wpd-alpha-insights-pro-x.x.x.zip`)
- Your license key from your purchase confirmation email, your account dashboard, or the checkout page

### Where to Download Alpha Insights

If you haven't downloaded the plugin yet, you can get it from:

- Your purchase confirmation email- Look for a download button or link
- The order success page- Immediately after completing your purchase
- Your WP Davies account- Visit wpdavies.dev/my-account and go to the Downloads section

You have unlimited downloads for the duration of your subscription, so you can always re-download the latest version.

### Installation Method 1: Upload via WordPress Dashboard (Recommended)

This is the easiest method and works for most WordPress installations.

#### Step 1: Access the Plugin Upload Screen

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New in the left sidebar
3. Click the Upload Plugin button at the top of the page

#### Step 2: Upload the Plugin File

1. Click Choose File and select your downloaded `wpd-alpha-insights-pro-x.x.x.zip` file
2. Click Install Now
3. Wait for the upload and installation to complete (usually takes 10-30 seconds)

#### Step 3: Activate the Plugin

1. Once installation is complete, click Activate Plugin
2. You'll be redirected to your plugins page
3. Look for "Alpha Insights Pro" in your plugin list - it should show as activated with a blue highlight

### Installation Method 2: FTP/File Manager Upload

If your server has upload size restrictions or the dashboard method doesn't work, use this method.

#### Step 1: Extract the Plugin

1. Unzip the `wpd-alpha-insights-pro-x.x.x.zip` file on your computer
2. You should see a folder named `wp-davies-alpha-insights`

#### Step 2: Upload via FTP or File Manager

1. Connect to your website using an FTP client (like FileZilla) or your hosting control panel's file manager
2. Navigate to `/wp-content/plugins/`
3. Upload the entire `wp-davies-alpha-insights` folder to this directory
4. Wait for all files to upload completely

#### Step 3: Activate in WordPress

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find "Alpha Insights Pro" and click Activate

### Verifying Successful Installation

After activation, you should see:

- A new "Alpha Insights" menu item in your WordPress admin sidebar (usually between WooCommerce and Appearance)
- The plugin listed in your active plugins with version information

#### Installation Troubleshooting

### Issue: "The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive"

Solution: Your server has file upload size restrictions. Either:

- Use Installation Method 2 (FTP upload) instead
- Contact your hosting provider to temporarily increase your PHP upload limit
- Add this line to your wp-config.php:`@ini_set('upload_max_filesize', '64M');`

### Issue: "Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error"

Solution: This usually means a compatibility issue. Check that:

- You're running PHP 7.4 or higher (Alpha Insights requires modern PHP)
- WooCommerce is installed and activated
- You don't have another version of Alpha Insights already installed

### Issue: "Destination folder already exists"

Solution: An old version might be installed. Either:

- Deactivate and delete the old version first
- Or rename the existing folder via FTP, then install the new version

### What Happens During Installation?

When Alpha Insights is activated, it automatically:

- Creates custom database tables to store profit analytics data
- Registers custom post types for expenses, Facebook campaigns, and Google Ads campaigns
- Sets up default settings and configurations
- Schedules background tasks to process historical order data
- Initializes the reporting engine

You don't need to do anything manually - the plugin handles all technical setup automatically.