Many beginners ask a common question: How to manage multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard?
The answer is simple: Use a WordPress management tool/plugin.
Managing multiple WordPress sites can be a tedious task, and it consumes a lot of time when you log in to each website separately and update the plugins, themes, or core files.
Many WordPress users (particularly agencies) have several websites, and they can use a WordPress management plugin/tool to handle this hectic job. This saves time and allows the users to focus on their business needs.
In this blog, I’ll share with you 7 of the best tools to manage multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard that will solve your site management problem and provide you with a hassle-free working environment.
But first, you need to know why you should opt for a management tool for managing your multiple sites.
Why Should You Use a WordPress Management Tool?
Ever since its launch, WordPress’ multisite feature has been the talk of the town. With WordPress multisite, you can control the entire network of WP sites from a single dashboard and manage multiple sites easily.
With this feature, theoretically, you may simply launch your website on the best hosting for multiple WordPress sites and enjoy its incredible benefits!
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However, WordPress Multisite, which is a built-in feature of WordPress, may not be the best solution for managing multiple sites for multiple clients with different server resources and individual needs.
But still, the WordPress Multisite feature has limitations when it comes to managing multiple sites for multiple clients that share different server resources. So, to more effectively manage multiple WordPress installations, WordPress management tools, which are third-party solutions, come in handy.
Many WP management tools offer robust features and services to help you automate your workflow. WordPress updates (plugins, themes, cores) are essential because they make your site safe and secure.
You can quickly update your themes, plugins, or cores via a single dashboard with this tool. Also, you can create offsite backups, manage comments/users, installations for entire sites, and much more.
If you want to learn how to set up a WordPress Multisite, we have covered a detailed guide to help you understand what it is and how it works.
Best WordPress Management tools to Manage Multiple WordPress sites
Here are the top seven WordPress management tools that can easily manage your multiple WordPress sites and make your life easier and simpler.
1. WP Umbrella
WP Umbrella is a powerful tool that simplifies managing multiple WordPress websites from a single user-friendly dashboard. It is trusted by over 10,000 businesses worldwide.
With WP Umbrella, you can automate tasks like updating plugins and themes, setting up automatic backups to keep your data safe, and monitoring your sites for any potential issues before they cause trouble.
One of the coolest things about WP Umbrella is its automated reports. They are helpful for web agencies and WordPress users, showing clients the value of WordPress maintenance.
Also, this tool helps you save time and streamline your workflow, allowing you to focus on more important tasks while demonstrating the value of your work to your clients.
Another fantastic feature of WP Umbrella is that it doesn’t require any complicated configuration and can be set up in 10 seconds. Simply connect and manage all your WordPress sites from one place, regardless of where they’re hosted.
And the best news yet – WP Umbrella and Cloudways are fully compatible! Plus, you can enjoy 1 month of WP Umbrella for free using the promo code “CloudwaysWPU.”
Prominent Features
- WordPress Management Dashboard: Easily manage multiple WordPress sites with clear navigation and access to performance and security information.
- Automatic Backups: Set up automatic backups of your WordPress site that are reliable, flexible, and efficient.
- Uptime & Performance Monitoring: Continuously monitor your website’s uptime, performance metrics, and Google PageSpeed Score to keep it running smoothly.
- Bulk Actions On Multiple Websites: Update plugins, themes, and WordPress core across multiple sites with just one click and clear the cache automatically.
Automated Maintenance Report: Create customized reports for clients detailing completed website updates and tasks.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free trial option is available | No free version is available |
| Uptime monitoring | High price, especially if you need for a larger number of sites |
| Monitoring of PHP errors and WordPress error logs | |
| Alert notifications for downtime, errors, issues | |
| Security monitoring and warnings | |
| Easily manage multiple sites from one dashboard | |
| WordPress healthcheck option |
2. MainWP
MainWP is a powerful solution that allows users to manage unlimited WordPress sites from one dashboard.
It’s a free and open-source tool that will solve your site management tasks and give you an intuitive interface from where you can perform all the essential activities. You can update everything across your WordPress sites with a click of a button.
One more thing, Cloudways is in partnership with MainWP, and therefore, you can expect high plugin compatibility with the platform. In other words, our WordPress hosting platform is well integrated with MainWP.
Prominent Features
- You can easily upgrade your WordPress sites to the latest and most stable version with a click of a button.
- Automated updates are available for themes and plugins. If a new update is available, then MainWP will send you alerts on your email, and the next day it will automatically update them.
- It automatically detects abandoned plugins and themes (updated a long time ago) and sends you alerts. This will help you improve your site security.
- It also offers a pro plan where you can get additional features like access to all (current and new) extensions, extension updates, and priority support.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Self-hosted & Free | MainWP relies on other plugins |
| Keep using existing plugin workflows | Not a SaaS |
| Lifetime plan & No per-site billing | User interface could be improved |
ManageWP vs MainWP – Which One Is Better For You
3. ManageWP
ManageWP is a great management tool that is designed to save time and automate your workflow. It is the oldest and most popular in the market for WordPress management services.
This is a free management solution through which you can easily manage multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard.
With ManageWP, you can automate your daily tasks with just one click, enabling bulk updates for all your websites, making maintenance a breeze.
Prominent Features
- With one click, you can quickly update your WordPress sites, do security checks, clean spam, and much more.
- Backups are critical as something goes wrong; you can revert the changes or recover your site via backup. ManageWP offers a free cloud backup where you will get monthly scheduled backup, offsite storage, one-click restore, and much more. You can also purchase its premium add-on, where you’ll get some extra and powerful features related to backup and its management, like on-demand backups, set-up backup frequencies, cloning, and much more.
- You can connect several Google Analytics accounts on one dashboard. This will help you keep track of all results and other essential metrics.
- Many premium add-ons are available, like SEO ranking, white-label, advanced client reports, etc.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Automates reports | Downtime alerts not always accurate |
| Alerts to website downtime | More information about website security flaws |
| Alerts to website security issues | More customizable reports would be nice |
| Has an affordable and custom price plan |
4. InfiniteWP
InfiniteWP is another powerful solution to manage multiple WordPress sites. It helps you manage unlimited WordPress applications and offers a free plan limited to backups and updates (themes, plugins, and core).
But to unlock the real power and access all features, you must purchase its premium plan, and the basic program starts from $147/year.
Prominent Features
- You can update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins with one click.
- Premium – Manage Users: You can easily create and manage users across your multiple WordPress sites.
- Premium – Malware Scan: A security feature is also available to secure your sites from hackers and attackers.
- Premium – WordPress Deployment: You can quickly install, migrate, and create staging of your sites.
- Premium – Client Reporting: You can easily create reports and send them to clients to check the status of their websites.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free version for unlimited sites | Free version lacks many functions |
| One-click access to all sites and updates | Expensive add-ons and bundles |
| Self-hosted for added privacy | Difficult installation |
| Well-rounded set of 24 premium add-ons | Lacks SEO/keyword tracking |
| WordPress.org user rating of 4.5/5.0 stars | |
| 14-day refund policy on paid add-ons |
5. WP Remote
WP Remote is a popular WP management tool that offers many powerful features to help you manage and update all your WordPress sites from one place.
WP Remote offers essential features for WordPress site management. It includes automatic offsite backups, comprehensive security, 1-click integrated staging, easy updates, and professional client reports. With WP Remote, users can efficiently manage their sites, ensure data safety, and impress clients with top-notch service.
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It provides both plans, free and premium. The basic premium plan starts from $29/Month (up to 5 websites).
Prominent Features
- With a click of a button, you can update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
- Premium – WordPress Backups: Backups are available for all your sites (offsite and on-demand backups).
- Premium – Website Security: To help you secure your sites at various levels, WP Remote offers many security features like malware scan, login protection, advanced firewall, and one-click malware removal.
- Premium – Support: Customer support is available via email and chat.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Backups – Easy and efficient WordPress site management | Template Builder – Could be improved for more flexibility |
| Theme and Plugin Management – Simplifies managing themes and plugins | Client Reports – Reports could be more comprehensive |
| Site Monitoring – Keeps your sites secure and performing well | Two-Factor Authentication – Could be enhanced for stronger security |
6. CMS Commander
CMS Commander streamlines and accelerates the management of multiple WordPress sites with its powerful features.
With 1-click updates, users can effortlessly update plugins, themes, and the WordPress version across all their blogs.
The bulk posting feature allows creating new posts or pages on multiple blogs simultaneously, while bulk installing plugins saves time by activating new plugins or themes on all sites simultaneously.
Additionally, users can easily manage user accounts, content, and comments and even clone entire websites to new domains.
Data is kept safe with automatic backups and various backup destinations, and restoring sites is a breeze. CMS Commander simplifies the process of creating new WordPress sites on the server with pre-configured settings and favorite plugins, making it an efficient and reliable solution for managing multiple WordPress sites.
Prominent Features
- The backup feature is available for data protection. (multiple backup destinations like server, Amazon S3, etc.).
- You can easily monetize your blogs as the platform is integrated with many popular affiliate networks.
- Maintaining security is a serious task, but you can easily manage it with CMS Commander. Some security features that it offers: 2FA, malware scanner, and much more.
- You can quickly create a new user, delete previous user accounts and more.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy setup – You can get started quickly without hassle | No image uploading options except through website builder |
| Low learning curve – Navigating and using the platform is intuitive | Lackluster customer support – Support may not meet expectations |
| Excellent free trial period – Try them out risk-free with the free trial |
7. iThemes Sync
Themes Sync is a powerful WordPress management tool that simplifies website administration. It allows you to manage all your WordPress websites from a single dashboard, saving you time and effort.
With Themes Sync, you can easily install themes and plugins, remotely log in to WordPress, and handle user management. The tool also provides WordPress database optimizations, ensuring efficient site performance.
Developed by the creators of BackupBuddy, Themes Sync offers an intuitive interface for seamless site management, including updates, security, uptime monitoring, and more.
Prominent Features
- One-click WordPress updates: Easily view and update WordPress core, plugins, and themes with a single click from the Sync dashboard.
- WordPress uptime monitoring: Monitor website uptime, downtime, and overall performance for all WordPress sites. Receive email notifications for downtime events and track historical performance.
- SEO Checker + Google Analytics & Google Search Console reports: Track crucial SEO metrics, integrate with Yoast SEO for SEO health overview, and access Google Analytics & Google Search Console reports.
- WordPress theme & plugin manager: Remotely update, activate, deactivate, or delete themes and plugins. Bulk install themes and plugins from various sources, including WordPress.org and iThemes membership.
- Remote WordPress backups & security actions: Conduct remote backups with BackupBuddy integration and perform additional security actions using iThemes Security from the Sync dashboard.
- Customize the WordPress dashboard for clients: Utilize Sync’s Client Dashboard to hide specific WordPress menu items for selected users, providing a tailored experience.
Final Words!
By exploring the 7 best WordPress management tools in this article, I hope you’ve gained valuable insights to choose the perfect solution for efficiently managing multiple WordPress sites from a centralized platform.
With these top-notch tools, you can streamline your workflow, automate tasks, and ensure the security and performance of your websites.
Whether you’re a professional managing client website or an individual with a diverse site portfolio, finding the right WordPress management tool can significantly save time and optimize your site management process.
Q1. How do I manage multiple WordPress sites for clients?
To effectively maintain and manage several WordPress websites for clients, follow these steps:
- Regularly back up your websites hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Keep the WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated to ensure security and functionality.
- Remove unnecessary plugins and themes to optimize the website’s performance.
- Monitor uptime and performance to address any issues promptly.
- Keep an eye on SSL certificate validity to maintain website security.
Q2. What are WordPress management tools?
WordPress management tools are software solutions that simplify the management of multiple WordPress websites from a single platform. They streamline tasks like updates, backups, security, and user management, saving time and effort for website administrators.
Q3. How do I use multiple WordPress sites?
You can leverage the multisite feature to use multiple WordPress sites, which allows you to create a network of sites with a single WordPress instance and database. This way, you can manage multiple websites seamlessly from one central installation. Or, you can use any of the WordPress management tools discussed in this guide.
Q4. Which tool is best for managing multiple WordPress websites?
Any of the tools mentioned in this guide can be considered the best. However, we would suggest checking out WP Umbrella or MainWP.
Sarim Javaid
Sarim Javaid is a Digital Content Producer at Cloudways. He has a habit of penning down his random thoughts and giving words and meaning to the clutter of ideas colliding inside his mind. His obsession with Google and his curious mind add to his research-based writing. Other than that, he's a music and art admirer and an overly-excited person.
