What are WordPress Salts?

WordPress includes a feature called salts (sometimes called security keys) that work behind the scenes to make sure login sessions and account activity are handled in a reliable way.

Easy Digital Downloads builds on this by using WordPress sessions to keep track of important store interactions, like:

• Staying logged in as a customer
• Remembering what’s in a shopping cart
• Making sure checkout sessions run smoothly
• Generating secure links
• …and more.

Salts play a big role in helping WordPress and EDD do this securely.

What Are Salts?

In simple terms, salts are long, random strings of text that WordPress uses whenever it needs to do something securely. Instead of just saving plain details, WordPress scrambles them together with these salts.

For your store, this means that customer sessions (like carts and logins) are tied to a unique, secure key — helping prevent mix-ups and ensuring only the right person has access to their session.

Why They Matter for Easy Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads uses sessions to keep track of carts, checkouts, and user logins. Because salts are part of that system, they help make sure:

• Cart contents stay linked to the right customer
• Checkout sessions don’t get crossed between users
• Logged-in accounts remain private and consistent

Without salts, sessions may not work as reliably, and features like persistent carts, protected downloads, unique links, and admin interactions might not work correctly.

How to Make Sure Your Site Has Salts

The good news is that salts are easy to set up and most sites already have them. Here’s how to check:

1. Look in your wp-config.php file
   • Open the file and look for lines that start with define('AUTH_KEY', '...'); and similar keys (SECURE_AUTH_KEY, LOGGED_IN_KEY, NONCE_SALT, etc.).
   • If those values are filled with long random strings, you’re all set.
2. If you don’t see them, or want to refresh them:
   • Go to the official WordPress Salt Generator: https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/
   • Copy the new keys it gives you.
   • Paste them into your wp-config.php, replacing any old ones.

That’s it — once salts are in place, WordPress and EDD will automatically use them to keep sessions running properly.