I'm trying to connect a website, yet when inserting the key from the development site in the produc...

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client is trying to connect a staging site to the main website using the same site key for WPML, but encounters an error message 'Fehler beim Verbinden der Websites' (error connecting website) when inserting the key from the development site into the production site.
Solution:
1. Each site must have its unique site key. If you're experiencing this issue, follow these steps:
- Visit https://wpml.org/account/websites/
- If the site URL is already registered, delete it from the list.
- Re-enter the site URL to generate a new site key.
- Click "Show key" and copy it.
- Enter the key under Plugins > Install > Commercial (tab) to re-register WPML. If WPML is still registered there, de-register it first.
2. If the staging site remains in use, use the "Copy" option on the migration banner to ensure each site uses a proper key.
3. Go to WPML > Support > Installer Support and click "Check now" on each site, then send screenshots of both reports.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, we recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please open a new support ticket.

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Tagged: Account Issues

This topic contains 10 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by Johannes Rohr 6 days, 8 hours ago.

Assisted by: Andreas W..

Author	Posts
September 18, 2025 at 8:38 pm #17414854
Johannes Rohr	Background of the issue: I am trying to connect the staging site to the main website by copying the key from translation management/connected websites on the development site and inserting it in the appropriate field in translation management/connected website of the production website, to make sure that both use the same translation memory. The issue can be seen at hidden link. Symptoms: I get an error message: 'Fehler beim Verbinden der Websites' (error connecting website) when inserting the key from the development site in the production site. Questions: Why is the key from the development site not being accepted on the production site? How can I ensure both sites use the same translation memory?
September 18, 2025 at 8:40 pm #17414864
Johannes Rohr	Hello, what is going on here? Is a human going to review this issue?
September 18, 2025 at 10:17 pm #17414906
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Hello, WPML must be re-registered after each website migration or after changing the domain or domain provider. 1) Go to https://wpml.org/account/websites/ 2) If the site URL is already registered, delete it from the list. 3) Re-enter the site URL. This will create a new site key. 4) Click "Show key" and copy it. 5) Enter the key under Plugins > Install > Commercial (tab) to re-register WPML. If WPML is still registered there, de-register it first. If the problem persists, please let me know. Best regards, Andreas
September 19, 2025 at 8:38 am #17415895
Johannes Rohr	Actually I un-registered and re-registered the staging and the production site. But in addition, the WPML interface asks me to "connect" the staging site to the production site in order to ensure that both use the same translation memory. And doing so (copying the key from the staging site and inserting it at the production site) fails reproducibly with a big fat error. This is what I need you to address.
September 19, 2025 at 1:11 pm #17416940
Johannes Rohr	Hello? Please kindly respond. Excuse my impatience, but this is a bit time-critical.
September 19, 2025 at 1:16 pm #17416945
Johannes Rohr	What fails is the procedure described here: https://wpml.org/documentation/automatic-translation/automatic-translation-subscription-for-multiple-sites/ I'm trying to connect our staging site hidden link to our production site hidden link
September 19, 2025 at 3:45 pm #17417333
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Each site needs its proper key on wpml.org - you can not use the same site key between different site domains or even the same site URLs if the server or domain has changed in the meantime. On the migration banner, it is advisable to use the "Copy" option in case the staging remains in use.
September 19, 2025 at 5:25 pm #17417524
Johannes Rohr	I DID register the sites individually. So this is not the issue. Still, connecting the staging site to the production site fails. Please look into this. I provided a screencast with the original bug report. I don't get to see a "migration" banner at all. This is a separate issue. Please carefully re-read what I wrote above.
September 19, 2025 at 5:29 pm #17417526
Johannes Rohr	Here is a screenshot of both sites being registered individually in WPML. Again, what fails is connecting the staging site and the main site in accordance with these instructions: https://wpml.org/documentation/automatic-translation/automatic-translation-subscription-for-multiple-sites/ Please pay proper attention and kindly address this issue.
September 19, 2025 at 5:39 pm #17417548
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	According to what I see on the system, both sites use the same site key, which ends with *****d676. This led me to the assumption that the staging was not registered with a unique site key. On each site, please go to WPML > Support > Installer Support and click "Check now". Send me a screenshot of both reports, please.
September 19, 2025 at 8:04 pm #17417756
Johannes Rohr	Actually no. The dev site's key ends in d676, while the production site's key ends in ad6c. The screenshots are attached. Yesterday, I tried to move the dev site to replace the production site, which I later reverted. Maybe this is the cause of the confusion.
September 19, 2025 at 8:35 pm #17417855
Johannes Rohr	I updated all packages, unregistered and re-registered the site and did a couple of other things on the server and for whatever reason, the issue went away and the migration key was finally accepted.