For those who have been building WordPress sites, either for their own projects or for their clients, there will come a time when they think about managing them all from one central location. Whether they are looking to bulk upload premium WP themes to multiple sites at the same time or simply to update to the latest version of WordPress without having to log in several times, having a central hub will clearly be an attractive thought.
The good news is that it is indeed possible to manage your WordPress properties from a single dashboard. In fact, this article will take you through seven software solutions designed for this task:
Solution 1: CMS Commander
CMS Commander is designed to help streamline the blogging process and includes plenty of automation features alongside its central management service. To get up and running, you will first have to register for an account and then add your payment details. This will then enable you to download the CMS Commander helper plugins to those sites you want to add to your dashboard.
In common with all of the solutions in our list, CMS Commander will help you to manage core, theme and plugin updates across all of your sites. Other features include regular backups (with restore option), site cloning, user management, content and comment management, uptime monitoring, malware scans, Google Analytics stats and a backlink checker.
Affiliate marketers can also auto insert products while content writers can post in bulk and even spin articles.
How Much Does CMS Commander Cost?
CMS Commander is the only software on this list which doesn’t have a free tier. Prices range from $8/m for up to 5 sites to $125/m for up to 400 sites. There is a 30-day free trial for those who are interested.
Solution 2: InfiniteWP
InfiniteWP is one of only two solutions (the other being MainWP) that is hosted on your webhost’s server giving you that little bit more control.
You can install InfiniteWP from inside of any WordPress installation but the software is stored outside of the files. Next, you will need to install InfiniteWP client plugins on each site you want to manage.
InfiniteWP is a freemium product. The free tier provides webmasters with one-click access, one-click core, plugin and theme updates and backup and restore facility.
The paid option adds a broken link checker, bulk file upload, content and comment management, Google Analytics and Search Console views, malware scanning, script running, security event logs, staging site creation, uptime monitoring, user management and more.
How Much Does InfiniteWP Cost?
The premium product has four tiers which will set you back from $147 per year for up to 10 sites up to $447 per year for unlimited sites.
Solution 3: iThemes Sync
Another freemium option is iThemes Sync which is a popular option for webmasters familiar with other iThemes products.
iThemes Sync is stored remotely and once users have registered for an account, they can get a free helper plugin from WordPress.org in order to add sites.
The free tier (iThemes Sync Standard) offers core, theme and plugin updates, backup management (requires iThemes BackupBuddy plugin), content and comment management, security logs (requires iThemes Security Pro) and user management.
The paid tier (iThemes Sync Pro) enables webmasters to control what is displayed on individual site dashboards and to send their clients white-label reports. Paid users can also benefit from uptime and performance monitoring, automatic Twitter sharing and access to Google Analytics and Yoast data.
How Much Does iThemes Sync Cost?
iThemes Sync Standard is free for up to 10 sites. iThemes Sync Pro has four tiers ranging from $8/m for up to 10 sites up to $55/m for up to 100 sites.
Solution 4: Jetpack
Jetpack was created by Automattic, the company responsible for WordPress itself. One of Jetpack’s features is – you guessed it – multisite management.
The master dashboard is hosted on WordPress.org so you will need to set up an account on that site first. Some of the features included with Jetpack Professional include unlimited real-time automated backups, unlimited archives, brute force attack prevention, spam filtering, malware scanning, unlimited file hosting, scheduled social media posting, Google Analytic integration and more than 200 premium WordPress templates.
Free tier users (Jetpack Free) have fewer features and templates.
Solution 5: MainWP
MainWP is one of the most cost-effective multisite management platforms, packing more features into its free tier than its competitors. The software is installed on your server but, unlike InfiniteWP, it resides within your WordPress installation itself. For this reason, it is recommended to create a fresh WP installation for the MainWP plugin.
MainWP offers free core services with a mixture of free and paid-for extensions. Free services include core, plugin and theme updates, backup integration (e.g. with UpdraftPlus), uptime monitoring, user management, content management and security scanning. There are more than 40 extensions including a broken link checker, client report creation and white-label branding.
How Much Does MainWP Cost?
The full MainWP package will set you back $29.99/m or $199.99 for the year. To get lifetime support and updates (including all current and new extensions), you can make a one-time payment of £399.
Solution 6: ManageWP
ManageWP is owned by the well-known webhost GoDaddy and is another very cost-effective option due to the abundance of free features available. To get set up, you first have to create a free ManageWP account. You can then install the ManageWP plugin on every site you want to manage.
Like MainWP, ManageWP includes a free core service which is augmented by add-ons. These add-ons tend to cost only $1 to $2 dollars per month per website.
Free features include core, plugin and theme updates, client reports, comment management, Google Analytics stats, maintenance mode, monthly cloud back-ups, one-click log-in, performance monitoring, security monitoring, user management and vulnerability updates.
Paid add-ons include automated client reports, automatic performance checks, automated security checks, on-demand backup, site cloning, site migration, uptime monitoring and white-label rights.
Solution 7: WP Remote
Part of the Maekit platform, WP Remote will be of particular interest to web developers who manage multiple WordPress sites for their clients. WP Remote is hosted remotely and once you have registered for an account you will be given an API key. Once you have added sites to your account using the WP Remote plugin, you will need to enter the API key to connect the sites to your account.
WP Remote features include core, plugin and theme updates, automated scheduled backups, manual backups, offline backups (to AWS or SFTP), plugin management and a JSON based REST API for integrating WP management with your other business processes.
How Much Does WP Remote Cost?
WP Remote is absolutely free for one user. For additional users (up to 5 maximum), there is a charge of $20/m.
Final words
In addition to the above, you may find that some of the best multipurpose WordPress themes have their own plugins for multi-site management. If you have experienced WordPress developers working for you, they might even be able to build you a bespoke site management dashboard.
As you can see, there are many ways to manage your WordPress sites from a central location and save you considerable time and effort in the process.
