How To Manage Multiple WordPress Sites From One Centralised Dashboard

Are you a website developer or digital agency who manages multiple WordPress websites on a regular basis? If so, then you’re in luck. The tool we are reviewing today allows you to track as many websites as you want all from a single dashboard.

This is a massive time saver and makes managing websites, applying updates, website backups and monitoring uptime a simple task.

What is MainWP?

MainWP is a collection of complimentary, privacy-focused WordPress monitoring plugins, created in the spirit of open-source for WordPress creators to regulate limitless WP sites via a decentralised completely adjustable self-hosted dashboard.

They use a simplified solution to the trouble of having to log in to each and every single WordPress website you take care of in order to upgrade plugins or styles, release posts, edit web pages, back up, as well as much more.

MainWP Free Features

The list of features within MainWP is a long one, but can be split into seven main categories:

• Manage
• Monitor
• Upgrades
• Backup
• Publish
• Clone
• Privacy

MainWP Pro Features

With MainWP Pro, you get access to all extensions, new extensions, extension updates, and priority support during your subscription period. MainWP Pro includes a licence for MainWP Extensions. License for 3rd party premium plugins and services is not included.

Canceling your subscription will stop your access to get critical security & performance updates, new extensions, and priority support.

Benefits of MainWP

Forever Free

MainWP is a completely useful GPL licensed WP sites supervisor plugin with costs expansions readily available.

Unlimited Sites

Quickly handle a limitless variety of web sites from one dashboard. Simplify your internet site monitoring tasks with MainWP.

Self-Hosted Option

MainWP WordPress site administration plugin is installed on your site on your holding platform of option.

WordPress Updates

Stop losing time upgrading your WordPress sites one-by-one. The MainWP WordPress website supervisor makes it straightforward and also easy to upgrade plugins, styles and core across all your taken care of sites.

Being a WordPress maintenance plugin, MainWP enables you to Set up, Turn On, Shut Off, Update or Erase plugins and themes across all your WordPress sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard.

WordPress User Monitoring

Managing customers on your taken care of WP websites is currently as very easy as it can be.

Control Panel Performance

Surf MainWP’s magazine of Expansions for Backups, Advertising, SEO, Maintenance, Safety and also Checking to improve your WordPress monitoring tasks.

Developer Friendly

Options are endless. Activities, filters, and wise coding makes the MainWP site manager much more developer-friendly. They have programmer documents for composing your own MainWP expansions.

MainWP CLI Tool

Use provided built-in CLI commands to automate as well as quicken recurring WP administration tasks in your MainWP Control panel. This can be helpful if you need to schedule a certain task or command.

REST API

The REST API allows MainWP information to be developed, check out, updated, as well as deleted utilizing demands in JSON style.

Drawbacks of MainWP

• No Software As A Service (SAAS) integration you have to host the management dashboard with your chosen hosting provider
• Report customisation could be improved with a drag and drop interface where report elements can be added and rearranged

Article Uploader

MainWP Pro

The MainWP Article Uploader Extension allows you to bulk upload multiple articles to your child sites in just a few seconds. You are given the option to upload separate txt files or to import them using a custom formatted CSV file.

Atarim

MainWP Pro

The Atarim Extension for MainWP expands your ability to collaborate with your clients through your MainWP Dashboard. Get a complete overview of tasks that have been created inside your websites using Atarim to keep track of all your client requests.

Boilerplate

MainWP Pro

The Boilerplate extension is the perfect solution for commonly repeated pages such as your Privacy Policy, About Us, Meet The Team, Service Area or any other page with standard text that needs to be distributed across your network of managed websites.

Bulk Settings Manager

MainWP Pro

The Bulk Settings Manager Extension unlocks the world of WordPress directly from your MainWP Dashboard. With Bulk Settings Manager you can adjust your Child site settings for the WordPress Core and almost any WordPress Plugin or Theme.

Custom Post Types

MainWP Pro

Custom Post Types Extension is an extension for the MainWP Plugin that allows you to manage almost any custom post type on your child sites and that includes Publishing, Editing, and Deleting custom post type content.

Domain Monitor

MainWP Pro

MainWP Domain Monitor Extension lets you keep a watchful eye on your domains. It alerts you via email when monitored domains are nearing expiration.

Favorites

MainWP Pro

The MainWP Favorites Extension allows you to store frequently used plugins and themes for quick and easy installation on a site. In addition, since those favorites are stored locally on your Dashboard and DOES NOT use the WordPress.org Favorites API so your privacy is maintained.

File Uploader

MainWP Pro

MainWP File Uploader Extension is a simple way to upload files to your child sites from one centralized location. It gives you the ability to upload multiple files to all of your child sites at the same time. 

There are multiple ways to upload files to your servers, but the MainWP File Uploader extension is the only way that doesn’t require logging into each website’s cPanel or FTP individually.

Google Analytics

MainWP Pro

The MainWP Google Analytics Extension gives you the ability to view your Google Analytics data for your child sites in your MainWP Dashboard. It adds a widget to your main dashboard where you can monitor Google Analytics data from.

iThemes Security

MainWP Pro

The MainWP iThemes Security Extension combines the power of your MainWP Dashboard with the popular iThemes Security Plugin (over 600,000 Active Installs). The iThemes Security Extension allows you to control the iThemes Security settings for all your child sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard.

Lighthouse

MainWP Pro

MainWP Lighthouse WordPress Extension is used for measuring the quality of your websites. It uses the Google PageSpeed Insights API to audit the performance, accessibility, and search engine optimisation of your WordPress sites.

Maintenance

MainWP Pro

MainWP Maintenance is a MainWP extension that allows you to clean the databases of your child sites. With just a few clicks you can easily delete all post revisions, auto drafts, trash posts, spam comments and remove all unwanted content from multiple databases at once.

MainWP Buddy

MainWP Pro

With the MainWP Buddy Extension, you can control the BackupBuddy Plugin settings for all your child sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard. This includes giving you the ability to create your child site backups and even set Backup schedules.

Page Speed

MainWP Pro

The extension shows you the average speed score for each of your child sites by calculating the average load time of your Pages, Posts and Categories and showing you tips and tricks to increase that score. 

The Page Speed monitor will be visible in both your Sites list and in your Extension settings page utilising a widget that is added to your Main and Individual sites Dashboards ensuring you access to the information.

Piwik

MainWP Pro

The MainWP Piwik Extension gives you the ability to view your Piwik data for your child sites in your MainWP Dashboard. It adds a widget to your main dashboard where you can monitor Piwik data from.

Post Dripper

MainWP Pro

MainWP Post Dripper Extension allows you to deliver posts or pages to your network of sites over a pre-scheduled period of time. You can use post dripper to schedule posts and pages to be pushed to your websites in minutes.

The Extension easily integrates with the Boilerplate Extensions. Combine these Extensions with the Post Dripper, and in just a couple of clicks, you can have unique content dripped over time to your network of managed WordPress websites.

Post Plus

MainWP Pro

MainWP Post Plus extension allow you to randomize meta data for your content giving the appearance of multiple active bloggers. Also, it allows you to save your posts as drafts in your dashboard.

Simply selecting options to randomize, you can have random Authors for your posts, who can be assigned to random categories and have randomly picked publishing dates. You can also narrow the randomised data to specific User Roles and a Date Range.

Pro Reports

MainWP Pro

The MainWP Pro Reports extension is a fully customisable reporting engine that allows you to create the type of report you are proud to send to your clients.

The MainWP Child Reports plugin will track and monitor every change made on your child site, and then the Pro Reports Extension will gather that information and convert it to a PDF Report.

Rocket

MainWP Pro

With the MainWP Rocket Extension you can control the WP Rocket settings for all your child sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard. This includes giving you the ability to manage your preferences, clear or preload cache on your child sites. This powerful combination will enable you to:

• Cache Pages
• Preload Cache
• Enable Browser Caching
• Optimise Google Fonts
• Use LazyLoad
• Minify JS, HTML and CSS files
• Optimize Images
• Defer JavaScript Loading
• Use CDN
• Use DNS Prefetching

Don’t waste your time struggling with complicated plugin settings. WP Rocket launches upon activation – minimal configuration, immediate results. 

Staging Environment

MainWP Pro

We’ve integrated WP Staging as an extension, a WordPress staging plugin so that you can create and manage Staging sites for your Child Sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard.

Staging Sites create a duplicate copy of your live website with the same hardware, same software, same settings and database. This means that any change can be tested before being pushed up to the live site. 

Team Control

MainWP Pro

The Team Control Extension allows you to create your team and arrange the WordPress management tasks among your team members. With a few clicks you can create your custom roles and set custom privileges to created roles.

This Extension is intuitive and easy to use, allowing you to assign specific roles to your team quickly. Quickly create Administrators, Managers, Authors, Editor, etc. and grant access to specific websites, functions, and extensions.

Time Capsule

MainWP Pro

With WP Time Capsule extension, a WordPress incremental backup solution for MainWP, you can control the WP Time Capsule Plugin settings on all your Child Sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard.

You can also select to use the Time Capsule Extension as your primary backup option, which removes the MainWP backup pages and replaces them with your new Time Capsule pages, helping to keep your WordPress Dashboard clean.

Back up all changes on your Child Site(s) as they happen. Any change on your website will trigger a backup in real-time. The total space used for storing your backups is minimal. The system allows you to save your backups in remote locations such as Dropbox, One Drive, Amazon S3, Google Drive.

URL Extractor

MainWP Pro

URL Extractor allows you to extract URLs by custom tokens like (Title, Status, Author, Website URL and Website Name) from any post or page on your child sites and export them as CSV or TXT file. This is often helpful for both client reports and indexing software.

You can easily customise the extractor output. Combining the provided tokens and custom characters, create your desired data to be extracted. The MainWP URL Extractor is both powerful and easy to use. With just a few clicks, you can quickly export hundreds or even thousands of links.

Virusdie

MainWP Pro

MainWP Virusdie Extension uses Virusdie, a powerful, user-friendly, and professional grade WordPress virus scanner for your websites. It helps you monitor all your sites directly from your MainWP Dashboard.

Virusdie features an incredibly extensive database and a stack of technologies to detect viruses and threats. Virusdie detects viruses and vulnerabilities and alerts you about the issue so you can restore from a backup.

White Label

MainWP Pro

Extension allows you can easily change the branding of the MainWP Child plugin, remove and disable functions on child sites and offer an on-site support contact option for your clients.

The White Label section allows you to alter how the plugin appears on your client’s site. You can easily display your company’s name, along with your explanation of what the plugin does in place of the standard MainWP credits and Author information.

WooCommerce

MainWP Pro

If you are managing more than one WooCommerce store, this is the Extension for you! It provides quick insights into the status of all your stores from one central dashboard.

Just imagine how much time you will save by monitoring ALL your stores from one place and accessing the correct pages on child sites with one click. There is also a WooCommerce Status widget that you can add to your MainWP Client Site Dashboards.

WordFence

MainWP Pro

The Wordfence Extension combines the power of your MainWP Dashboard with the popular Wordfence Security Plugin. It allows you to scan your child sites for security issues, monitor live traffic and to manage Wordfence settings across your network.

• Easily scan child sites
• See scan results from your MainWP Dashboard
• See Live Traffic for your child sites
• Block or Unblock users and crawlers
• Control Wordfence settings across your network
• Schedule client site scans

Yoast WordPress SEO

MainWP Pro

The MainWP WordPress SEO Extension simplifies the setup and management process for Yoast SEO across all of your sites and since the Extension also integrates with the Yoast SEO meta box you can customise each Post or Page then publish those custom settings to your Child sites.

The MainWP WordPress SEO Extension simplifies the setup and management process for Yoast SEO across your sites. Since the Extension also integrates with the Yoast SEO meta box, you can customize each Post or Page then publish those custom settings to your child sites.

One-Click Solutions

Another one-click feature is the ability to login into any of your site’s dashboards. Rather than accessing each site separately and remembering every single one’s password, you can access each site from within the main dashboard and run your site from there.

There is also a Trusted Plugins and Themes option, which allows you to select which plugins and themes you trust to be automatically updated without your constant approval. Opposite to this, you can also like which plugins or themes you wouldn’t want to ever be updated, either due to compatibility or customisation issues.

Easily Clone Websites

MainWP allows you to clone a website including themes, plugins, settings, uploads and content to a new website. If you use a set of plugins on multiple sites it can be time consuming to install them and add in the configuration.

You can export a WordPress website using their export feature inside the Tools menu of the admin dashboard. This can then be imported into your new website, but you first need to install WordPress to be able to do this.

Managing Content

MainWP also includes content management options to publish new posts, edit existing ones, manage comments as well as spam, and even incorporates the option of bulk posting across multiple websites at once. 

It does all this while remaining as secure as can be through being self-hosted, meaning the MainWP developers never have access to any of your content, while also remaining unseen by users and search engines alike.

Website Uptime Monitoring

MainWP lets you monitor the uptime on your websites over time. This allows you to see what website hosting companies provide a good service and reliability. 

There are several tools out there for checking website uptime. We have used uptimerobot.com in the past and it has a free plan available. It does require a little bit of setup per website, which MainWP avoids.

Vulnerability Scanning

Websites can become insecure and vulnerable if you don’t update your plugins and themes on a regular basis. Scanning your website files is a good way to ensure you are alerted to potential problems.

Regular Scheduled Backups

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Disclaimer:

Lacey Tech Solutions publish blog articles to help small businesses. We are not liable for any damages if you choose to follow the advice from our blog.