Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Use Download Monitor with WordPress and Nginx

Download Monitor is an open-source WordPress plugin that enables website owners to easily track and manage the downloads on their site. If you're running your WordPress site on a Nginx server, you might need to configure the server to work properly with Download Monitor. In this article, we'll explore how to use Download Monitor with WordPress and Nginx.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, you'll need to make sure you have the following:

• A WordPress site running on Nginx
• The Download Monitor plugin installed and activated
• Access to your server's configuration file (nginx.conf)

Configuring Nginx for Download Monitor

First, we need to tell Nginx to allow the download links generated by Download Monitor. To do this, open your nginx.conf file and add the following code block:

location ~* ^/wp-content/uploads/download-monitor/.*\.(zip|gz|tar|rar)$ { valid_referers none blocked example.com *.example.com; if ($invalid_referer) { return 403; } }

This code block creates a location that matches any file with an extension of .zip, .gz, .tar, or .rar that's requested from the download-monitor directory. It also sets up some security measures by checking the referrer of the download request. Adjust the valid_referers line to match your site's needs.

Configuring PHP-FPM

Next, we need to tell PHP-FPM to pass requests for the download-monitor directory to WordPress. To do this, add the following code block to your nginx.conf file:

``` location ^~ /wp-content/uploads/download-monitor { index index.php; try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;

location ~ \.php$ {
    fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.0-fpm.sock;
    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    include fastcgi_params;
}

} ```

This code block tells Nginx to treat any requests to the download-monitor directory as if they were requests to WordPress. It also configures PHP-FPM to handle any PHP files that need to be executed.

Testing Download Monitor

Once you've made these changes, you can test Download Monitor by creating a new download and attempting to download it from your site. If everything is working correctly, you should be able to download the file without any issues.

Conclusion

Using Download Monitor with WordPress and Nginx is a powerful combination for managing and tracking your site's downloads. With the right configuration, you can ensure that your users are able to download files securely and without any issues. By following the steps we've outlined, you should be able to get up and running with Download Monitor in no time.