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Install or activation issues

4 min read

You tried to install or activate TTSWP and something went wrong. Either the install failed, the plugin shows a fatal error, or the menu does not appear after activation. This page covers the most common causes in order from most to least likely.

Cause 1: PHP version too old

Symptom: WordPress refuses to activate the plugin with an error like "The plugin requires PHP 7.2 or higher" or shows a white screen right after activation.

Why: TTSWP requires PHP 7.2 or newer. Many hosts still run PHP 7.0 or 7.1 by default on older accounts.

Fix:

  1. Open your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine, etc.).
  2. Find the PHP version selector (often under "PHP Selector" or "Site Tools → PHP Manager").
  3. Switch to PHP 8.0 or higher. PHP 8.2 is the current recommended version.
  4. Try activating the plugin again.

If you cannot change PHP from the control panel, ask your host. Almost every host supports PHP 8.x in 2026.

Cause 2: File permissions block the upload

Symptom: "Plugin install failed" or "Could not create directory" when uploading the zip or installing from the directory.

Why: Your wp-content/plugins/ directory is not writable by the web server.

Fix:

  1. Connect to your site over SFTP or your host's file manager.
  2. Set wp-content/plugins/ to permissions 755 (or 775 on some hosts).
  3. Set files inside to 644.
  4. Retry the install.

On many managed hosts (Kinsta, WP Engine, Pressable) the file manager handles this automatically. If you are stuck, ask your host to fix plugin directory permissions.

Cause 3: Plugin conflict at activation

Symptom: Activation throws a fatal error mentioning a function name, a class name, or "Cannot redeclare". The site may go down until the plugin is deactivated.

Why: Another active plugin defines a function or class with the same name (rare but possible), or a security plugin is blocking activation.

Fix:

  1. Rename wp-content/plugins/text-to-speech-tts/ to text-to-speech-tts.off over SFTP. The site comes back up.
  2. Deactivate all other plugins from Plugins → Installed Plugins.
  3. Rename the TTSWP folder back to its original name.
  4. Activate TTSWP first, then reactivate your other plugins one by one. The plugin that fails when TTSWP is active is the conflict.
  5. Contact support with the conflicting plugin name. We will help find a workaround.

Cause 4: The Text to Speech menu is missing after activation

Symptom: The plugin shows as Active in Plugins → Installed Plugins, but there is no Text to Speech entry in the admin sidebar.

Why: Either your user role lacks the manage_options capability, or a security plugin removed the menu.

Fix:

  • Sign in as an Administrator. Editor and lower roles do not see the TTSWP menu by default.
  • If you are already an Administrator, check Users → Profile and confirm your role is Administrator.
  • Disable security plugins like iThemes Security, Wordfence Admin menu hiding, or Hide My WP one at a time and reload the admin. If the menu reappears, configure that plugin to allow text-to-speech-tts-settings.

Cause 5: The TTS column is missing from the posts list

Symptom: The plugin works, but the TTS column does not show in Posts → All Posts.

Fix:

  1. Open Posts → All Posts.
  2. Click Screen Options in the top right of the screen.
  3. Tick the TTS checkbox.
  4. The column appears.

If the checkbox is missing entirely, your theme or another plugin is filtering it out. Switch to a stock theme (Twenty Twenty-Five) to confirm.

Cause 6: WordPress version too old

Symptom: Plugin install fails with "Your site does not meet the minimum requirements".

Why: TTSWP requires WordPress 6.0 or newer.

Fix: Update WordPress from Dashboard → Updates. If you cannot update, your host may be holding you on an old release - ask them to update.

Cause 7: Outgoing HTTPS blocked

Symptom: Plugin installs and activates fine, but the Overview page shows "Could not reach TTSWP servers" or the Connect button does nothing.

Why: Your host blocks outgoing HTTPS requests from PHP to external domains. This is rare on real hosts but common on local dev setups.

Fix:

  • On localhost, check your firewall or VPN.
  • On a real host, add app.ttswp.com and *.ttswp.com to the allow-list for outbound HTTPS.
  • See Connection troubleshooting for deeper network checks.

Still stuck?

If none of these fixes work, gather this information and contact support:

  • WordPress version (from Dashboard → At a Glance)
  • PHP version (from Tools → Site Health → Info → Server)
  • Active theme name and version
  • A list of other active plugins
  • The exact error message you see, with a screenshot if possible