It’s been almost two decades since the emergence of WordPress. What then was begun primarily as a blog hosting site has evolved into what is now one of the world’s most dominant hosts for websites of all varieties. WordPress now powers more than 40% of all websites, which is a massive percentage, equating to an average of 1 in 4 websites running on WordPress power. As well as basic blogs to business websites, WordPress now hosts an enormous number of eCommerce sites, forums, social media sites, portfolios, membership sites, and just about anything else that you can think of. WordPress’s open-source software has made it hugely versatile, hence its proliferation around the Internet. Contributing to its popularity is its ease of use. However, despite this, the ongoing maintenance of a WordPress site can be time-consuming – and even more so if you rely on WordPress for hosting a variety of websites, be they personal, business – or both you must choose managed WordPress hosting that offers speed and reliability. Check out the best Siteground alternative and also see how Cloudways is offering the best hosting bundles photography.
Here, we’ll take a quick look at five of the best ways to manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.
- ManageWP;
- InfiniteWP;
- MainWP;
- CMS Commander;
- WP Remote.
ManageWP
The first – and still the most well-known – solution available for managing your WordPress workflow. The service is available for free and comes with an intuitive interface allowing you to access all your WordPress websites from one easy-to-navigate dashboard. From there, in no time at all, you can update all of your WordPress sites, clean spam, and run security checks, all with one simple mouse-click.
ManageWP will also provide you with scheduled monthly cloud back-ups, as well as give you the ability to add several Google Analytics accounts so that you can keep tabs on your site’s metrics. Even for beginners, ManageWP is simple enough to learn with its intuitive layout. The base free package provides plenty of time-saving help. For more advanced features, you’ll need to reach into your pockets and pay for premium plug-ins.
InfiniteWP
InfiniteWP is a self-contained, self-hosted application that users can install on their servers, which gives some protection to any personal data. With InfiniteWP, you will be able to run and maintain an infinite number of WordPress accounts – and all via a master log-in, to save you the need for multiple separate log-in details. There is a free plan available, however, with this, its themes, plug-ins, and updates are limited. Paid plans begin at $147 for a year, increasing to over $600, should you require the Enterprise plan.
You’ll need to step up to a premium plan though, should you want all limitations to be removed. The basic plan provides for the usual basics – themes, plug-ins, and one-click handling. But with premium services, you’ll also gain the ability to deploy malware security features allowing you to protect all your WordPress sites from hackers, as well as create and send reports for clients, and a wealth of other features to keep your sites on the rails and operating smoothly.
MainWP
MainWP is a powerful, open-source tool – like WordPress itself. The free version comes with an intuitive, simple, management interface. Backup, cloning, and updates are all just one click away – MainWP will even notify you when anything requires an update and when plug-ins have been neglected. The free plan will also give you a master log-in, as well as security scans and content management abilities. More features are available via extensions, be it administration, performance, or analytical tools. These extensions are available as individual items or collectively with membership to MainWP services. A yearly plan will set you back $200, but there is an option to go month-to-month for $29.99. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can simply buy the lifetime license, which is price tagged at $399.
CMS Commander
CMS commander is specifically designed for website management. It comes with an array of one-click features making updates as simple as possible. It also easily integrates with affiliate networks, allowing for the easy monetization of your blog sites. Security is a cinch with its malware scanner, as is copying settings from one site to another. With CMS Commander you will also be able to schedule content uploads ahead of time – one of its many convenient time-saving features. Its intuitive layout is similar to WordPress’s own so it is easy to get to grips with, especially if you are a newcomer to handling multiple platforms. Another plus is that it comes with Google PageSpeed Insights, giving you some extra valuable info to the life of your WordPress sites. There is a free version available, however, it is very limited when compared to some others. Paid plans begin as low as $8 per month, going up to $75 per month. This top-of-the-range plan will allow for 200 websites – though they offer customization, should you need more coverage.
WP Remote
This tool will give you the ability to keep an eye on an unlimited number of websites. You can update all the bells and whistles across your sites with one click, as well as set automatic updating if you prefer. Maintenance, performance checks, analytical checks, and back-ups are all possible, and all controlled from a neat, tidy, and simple-to-understand user interface. One of the biggest perks of this useful WordPress tool is that it is entirely free. There are no costly premium step-ups, nor are there even any additional add-ons at all. It comes complete with no more and no less than what is immediately offered. This is great of course if you are on a budget but should there be a very specific tool you want or need – then you are out of luck. WP Remote is useful and hard to argue with as a freebie so long as you remember that it is what it is. It may not be the ‘fanciest’ toolbox on the market but for some, it will be more than enough for better time management across WordPress websites.
Conclusion
There are many software packages available today to give multisite users better management abilities and to aid better use of valuable time. Less time spent on maintaining your sites means more time to create your content for them. Needs will vary – not just between individuals but between each WordPress site – but with a little shopping around, you are sure to find the WordPress assistance you need to make your life, and the life of your sites, much more productive and efficient.