We’ve rolled out a whole series of improvements across the WebChangeDetector ecosystem — from smarter visual checks to a more responsive web app and a more powerful WordPress plugin.
These changes are designed to make your monitoring more accurate, reduce false alarms, and give you faster, clearer insights into what’s really happening on your websites.
Here’s what’s new and how it helps you:
More Accurate and Smarter Visual Checks
Cookie Consent Handling (Instead of Just Hiding Banners)
Previously, we simply hid cookie banners before taking screenshots. While that helped, it didn’t reflect the real visitor experience, especially when cookie opt-ins triggered layout or content changes.
Now, we go a step further: we simulate a full cookie opt-in where possible. That means your monitored pages look exactly like they would for a visitor who clicks “Accept All,” making the visual comparisons much more accurate and reducing misleading differences.
Elimination of Vertical Shifts
One of the most common causes of false positives in visual monitoring is when a single element (like a headline or a product box) changes its height, causing everything below it to move.
We’ve built a system to detect and neutralize these vertical layout shifts. The result? You only get alerts about the actual change, not the side effects caused by it. This is especially useful for sites with dynamic or content-rich layouts.
Freezing Dynamic Elements
Elements like sliders, number counters, or auto-playing animations can trigger false visual changes even when the page hasn’t really changed.
We now detect and freeze many of these elements during the screenshot process. That way, you get clean comparisons that focus on real layout or content changes, not random animations.
Faster Checks with Improved Scalability
Horizontal Scaling for Parallel Checks
To speed up the process, we’ve implemented horizontal scaling, meaning we now run multiple checks simultaneously across distributed workers.
This is especially helpful for agencies or larger site networks. Whether you’re running 5 or 50 checks, we distribute the load smartly to avoid bottlenecks and keep things running fast and reliably.
More Robust Overload Protection
Running too many checks at once used to risk slowing down the system. We’ve added smarter overload protection to make sure checks are queued and balanced efficiently. This keeps your results fast — even during high-load periods like mass plugin updates or launch days.
Optimizations for Better Screenshot Quality
We’ve fine-tuned several internal processes: optimized delays before capture, smarter DOM stability checks, and better image handling.
All of these contribute to clearer screenshots and fewer false positives, saving you time reviewing unnecessary alerts.
Web App Improvements
Updated Design and Structure
We’ve made small but meaningful design improvements to the app interface. Things are now a little cleaner, more modern, and easier to navigate — especially when you’re managing many checks at once.
Faster Page Loads
We now compress the screenshot images shown in your dashboard. That means faster loading times and better performance when reviewing differences across multiple pages.
Improved Mobile Experience
While WebChangeDetector was originally desktop-focused, we’ve added basic mobile responsiveness. This makes it easier to check your results, review alerts, or manage your checks when you’re on the go.
WordPress Plugin Updates
Check Auto-Update Status Directly
You can now verify which auto-updates are enabled — for Core, Plugins, and Themes — directly from within our plugin interface. This helps you stay on top of which updates are automated, so you know when to expect possible changes on your site.
Select URLs to Monitor From the Admin Bar
There’s a new way to add URLs to your check list: right from the frontend admin bar while browsing your site.
This makes it much faster and more intuitive to add the exact pages you want to monitor, without switching back and forth between dashboards.
Faster Checks After Auto-Updates
Our plugin now includes external cron triggers. That means when an auto-update occurs, a check is automatically triggered shortly after — so you can detect issues almost in real time.
No more waiting for the next scheduled check to find out if something broke.
Why This Matters
Every update we’ve made is focused on one thing: helping you spot real visual problems faster, with less noise and distraction.
Whether you manage dozens of client sites or just want to ensure your own site is visually flawless after updates, these improvements give you:
- Fewer false positives
- Faster alerts after real changes
- A more reliable and insightful monitoring experience
If you’re already using WebChangeDetector, many of these improvements are already live. Just make sure your WordPress plugin is up to date to take full advantage.
