Frequently asked questions

Quick, honest answers to the questions we hear most about Hydrogen SEO — the free WordPress plugin, the hydrogenseo.com platform, and Hydrogen AI. Each answer links to the full guide.

Accounts and pricing

Who makes Hydrogen SEO?

Sheesh Labs, a small software studio in Bengaluru, India (WordPress.org handle sheeshlabs). Hydrogen SEO is its first shipped product; the studio's next product is RankWave AI, an AI-powered SEO and content-optimisation toolkit for WordPress that is still in build. The longer story is in who builds Hydrogen SEO.

Do I need an account to use Hydrogen SEO?

No. Every non-AI feature — titles and meta, schema markup, sitemaps, robots.txt and llms.txt editors, redirects, audits, and the site health score — works with no account at all. A free hydrogenseo.com account is only needed for AI features and the Hydrogen AI agent. See connect your account.

Is Hydrogen SEO free?

The WordPress plugin is free and GPL-licensed. A free account includes free credits for AI features; paid plans on the pricing page cover heavier AI use.

What happens when my AI credits run out?

Only AI generation pauses. Everything already configured — titles, meta, schema, sitemaps, redirects — keeps working exactly as before. Details in credits and billing.

What are the requirements?

WordPress 6.7 or later and PHP 7.4 or later. Install steps are in install the WordPress plugin. The plugin is currently in Beta (v0.0.19).

Privacy and data

What data is sent where?

Non-AI features run entirely on your server and send nothing anywhere. AI features send the relevant content (for example, the post you request a meta description for, or the image you generate alt text for) to hydrogenseo.com, metered by your credits. The setup wizard's Personal Details step is optional, consent-based, and sends nothing if left blank (setup wizard).

How is the Hydrogen AI credential stored?

As a single WordPress application password named "Hydrogen SEO Agent", created only when you connect, verified by callback before storage, and stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM server-side. HTTPS is required to connect.

How do I revoke Hydrogen AI's access?

Two ways, both immediate: disconnect from the plugin, or go to Users → Profile → Application Passwords in wp-admin and revoke "Hydrogen SEO Agent". See agent connection issues.

Compatibility and performance

Is Hydrogen SEO compatible with other SEO plugins?

It runs alongside them without crashing, but two SEO plugins both printing titles, meta, and schema produce duplicate output. Use one primary SEO plugin; the safe switching procedure is in fix duplicate meta output.

Does the plugin slow down my site?

No. All SEO output is server-rendered markup with zero front-end JavaScript, and the admin dashboard's assets lazy-load only on Hydrogen SEO screens, so neither visitors nor the rest of wp-admin pay a cost.

Does it work with Elementor, Divi, or my page builder?

Yes. There is no bespoke builder integration — and none is needed: meta and schema are server-rendered by the plugin, so they work with any builder or theme. Practical workflows are in the Elementor guide and Divi guide.

AI features and the agent

How do AI suggestions work?

With a connected account, open the Hydrogen AI tab in a post's SEO Settings sheet and ask for a title and description; the agent drafts them from the post's content, along with Open Graph and X variants, and either shows them to you or saves them, as you ask. For many posts at once, ask the agent from Hydrogen SEO → Hydrogen AI. See AI titles and descriptions.

Does anything spend credits without me asking?

Only features you switch on. Generate Alt Text with AI on Upload (under Hydrogen SEO → General → Images) is off by default; when on, it uses 1 credit per image uploaded without alt text. The ◆ Generate Alt Text buttons in the Media Library use 1 credit per image when you click them. Everything else AI-related runs only when you ask the agent. See image alt text and credits and billing.

What can the Hydrogen AI agent actually change?

Only what the plugin's own registered abilities expose — SEO data like titles, descriptions, schema, and links — and only within its policy: by default it asks before anything destructive, it can be set to ask before every write or run read-only, it shows every change, and it can be stopped anytime. Three gates apply: the AI Abilities toggle must be on, abilities are locked to your domain, and only manage_options users can drive it. See AI abilities and safety.

Where do I talk to the agent?

In two places: the Hydrogen AI screen in the plugin dashboard for site-wide work, and a tab of the editor's SEO Settings sheet, scoped to the post you are editing. Example prompts are in agent recipes.

Features

Can Hydrogen SEO remove /category/ from my category URLs?

Yes. Switch on Strip Category Base under Hydrogen SEO → General → Permalinks. Category links become /news/ instead of /category/news/ everywhere, and old addresses 301-redirect to the new ones. See general settings.

On Hydrogen SEO → Social, along with your X username, Facebook App ID and default share image. The profiles are listed as sameAs in your Organization schema. See social settings.

What is llms.txt and should I publish one?

llms.txt is a proposed convention (not yet a formal standard) for giving AI systems crawl and usage guidance about your site. Hydrogen SEO includes an editor for it; publishing one is low-effort and forward-looking. See the llms.txt editor.

Does Hydrogen SEO handle redirects?

Yes — a built-in redirection manager with 301 and 302 support. See the redirection manager.

What does the site health score measure?

Seven areas: crawlability, performance, mobile, security, content structure, schema markup, and technical health — each category listing its issues with a fix hint. See site health score.

Can developers extend the plugin?

Yes. Every screen is backed by the plugin's own REST API, and there are extensive filters and actions — see the filters reference, actions reference, and extending Hydrogen SEO.