Cloudways Site Manager
WordPress Site Manager That Tests Updates
Automate updates, monitoring and maintenance across every WordPress site you manage. Start free, then add Pro for testing and rollback.
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Free Basic plan
Multi-page visual testing
One dashboard, every site
One Dashboard to Run Every WordPress Site You Manage
Smart Update Engine
- Auto-detection of available updates
- Full backup before every update (Pro)
- Post-update automatic cache clearing
- Exclude specific plugins or themes
Advanced Testing
- Staging clone for every update (Pro)
- Visual regression testing on 6 pages (Pro)
- Automatic rollback if testing fails (Pro)
- Updates run in the background
Performance Monitoring & Alerts
- Core Web Vitals and TTFB tracking (Pro)
- Exportable WordPress activity log (Pro)
- PHP error tracking
- Slack & email alerts
Management Tools
- Centralized theme & plugin management
- User & role administration
- One-click SSO into WordPress Admin
- Bulk plugin and theme updates (Pro)
Automation & Scheduling
- WordPress auto updates (Pro)
- Schedule updates for off-peak hours
- Set schedules per site or for all sites
- Critical updates auto-applied (Pro)
Compatibility
- Premium plugins (WP-CLI compatible)
- WordPress multisite compatible
- WooCommerce compatible
- Built into the Cloudways platform
No Extra Charge for Existing Users
From SafeUpdates to
From SafeUpdates to
Site
Manager
Everything you relied on is still here, plus monitoring, user management and multi-site tools in one WordPress management dashboard. Current users are upgraded to Pro automatically.
Explore All Features
Everything in Site Manager
- Advanced Reporting and Logs
- WordPress SSO
- Safe and Quick Updates
- User Management
- Sandboxed Update Testing
- Enhanced Visual Regression Testing
- Centralized Theme & Plugin Updates
- Detailed Dashboard
Built for Agencies, Developers
and Stores That Run on WordPress
Agencies
Many client sites, one dashboard
Run bulk plugin and theme updates across your client portfolio on Pro, and manage users and roles on every site without logging in.
Developers
For freelancers and dev teams
Schedule updates, track PHP errors and jump into any site’s admin with one-click SSO. Pick Quick or tested updates per site.
Ecommerce
Update testing for WooCommerce
WooCommerce stores can’t afford a broken update. That’s why Pro tests updates on a staging clone before they go live.
Four Steps Between an Update and Your Live Site
Detect
Site Manager automatically detects available core, plugin and theme updates across all your sites.
Test in Staging
A full backup is taken, then each update is applied to a staging clone. Your live site stays untouched.
Visual Regression Test
Screenshots of your homepage and up to 5 more pages are compared against the staging clone.
Deploy or Roll Back
Pages match? It goes live. Differences found? It rolls back automatically and never reaches your live site.
Why Site Manager?
Site Manager automates the work that keeps piling up, so your team stays focused on clients, not chores.
Growth stops when maintenance takes over.
Every manual update round is time you can’t bill. Site Manager takes it off your plate.
Win More Clients. Deliver at Scale.
Take on more clients without stretching your team. Promise faster, more reliable service and actually deliver it.
Save Time on Every Task
Automated updates, backups and performance checks run in the background on schedules you set.
Know What Changed
The activity log on Pro records what changed, when and on which site, and can be exported.
Choose What Gets Updated
Exclude any plugin or theme from an update run, and choose when the rest update.
Start Free. Pay Per Site for Pro.
Basic is free. Pro adds update testing on staging, multi-page visual regression testing, auto updates, monitoring and logs.
| Features |
Basic |
Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Centralized Dashboard | ||
| WordPress SSO | ||
| Plugin Management | ||
| Theme Management | ||
| User Management | ||
| Bulk Application Updates | ||
| Quick Updates | ||
| Safe Updates (Sandboxed Validation) | ||
| Auto Updates (Weekly) | ||
| Visual Regression Testing | ||
| Site Performance Monitoring | ||
| Update History | ||
| Activity Logs | ||
| Schedule History | ||
| Critical Updates Auto-application |
Pro Plan Pricing (per application)
-
Up to 5 Applications
$3
/app/month -
6+ Applications
$2
/app/month
Billed per application (site), not per server. Five sites on Pro cost $15 a month.
Hear Directly From Our Customers
What customers say about running WordPress on Cloudways.
The site is noticeably faster than it was, and our content site has come through traffic surges, a full PHP version upgrade and monthly plugin updates without disruption our customers would have felt.
Tobias Biberbach
Founder of Split My Fare
Adding another WordPress site doesn’t add another hour to my month the way it used to.
Richard Blackburn
RB Website Design
Site Manager is great and very helpful. It gives us a bird’s-eye view of the health of our apps without needing an external platform. It has been especially useful for temporarily disabling problematic plugins.
Claudia Kirkwood
Owner, Super Simple Websites
Site Manager has been a good experience for us so far with no major issues. The biggest advantage is that one failing plugin update doesn’t block the rest of the updates, which was a major limitation for us before. We are now gradually rolling it out across all new sites.
Jason Burgbacher
Technical Director, Tunnel Vision Design
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cloudways Site Manager?
Cloudways Site Manager is a WordPress site manager built into the platform for Cloudways Flexible. It detects available updates and, on Pro (formerly SafeUpdates), backs up each site and tests updates on a staging clone before they go live. It also tracks PageSpeed Insights results and PHP errors, sends Slack or email alerts, and manages plugins, themes and users across connected sites from one dashboard. It supports WordPress only, and manual updates appear after the next sync.
Which Cloudways plans and apps does Site Manager support?
Site Manager works with WordPress applications on Cloudways Flexible, including WooCommerce and WordPress Multisite. It does not manage other application types, and it is not currently available outside Flexible.
How do I activate Site Manager?
Activation takes three steps, and it is done per site, so you can start with one application and add others later. You can switch between Basic and Pro at any time.
Log in to your Cloudways account.
Go to Integrations > Add-ons.
Find Site Manager and activate it for each site you want to manage.
Is there a free plan, and what does Pro add?
Yes. Basic is the free plan, with limited features. It includes the centralized dashboard, WordPress SSO, plugin, theme and user management, and Quick Updates. Pro adds update testing on a staging clone, multi-page visual regression testing, weekly auto updates, performance monitoring, update and schedule history, Activity Logs, critical update auto-application and bulk plugin and theme updates. There is no free trial for Pro, but Basic lets you evaluate Site Manager first.
How much does Site Manager Pro cost?
Pro costs $3 per application per month for up to 5 applications, and $2 per application per month for 6 or more. It is billed per application (site), not per server. You can switch between Basic and Pro at any time.
How does Cloudways handle WordPress updates and maintenance?
Cloudways handles WordPress updates and maintenance through Site Manager, which replaced the older SafeUpdates tool. On Pro, it takes a full backup, applies each update to a temporary staging clone and compares screenshots of your homepage and up to 5 more pages with the live versions. If differences are flagged, the update is rolled back and never deployed. If the pages match, it goes live. There is no option to roll back after a successful deploy. Basic includes Quick Updates.
Can I schedule WordPress auto updates, and what if I update a plugin manually?
Yes, you can schedule updates per site or globally, including off-peak windows. Each site has one schedule, either Quick Updates or Safe Updates (the staging-tested option), not both, and selective updates let you exclude specific plugins or themes. Plugins you update by hand appear after the next scheduled sync or a manual refresh, not instantly. On Pro, Activity Logs are exportable and stored offsite with 90-day retention.
Can I manage multiple WordPress sites, users and clients from one dashboard?
Yes. The dashboard covers day-to-day WordPress site management across all your sites: plugins and themes, user creation and roles, and one-click SSO into each admin. Bulk plugin and theme updates are part of Pro, but uploading a new plugin or theme is done one site at a time. Clients can be given access to only their assigned sites. User management cannot currently be limited to specific team members, because granular restrictions are not available.
Is Site Manager suitable for WooCommerce stores?
Yes, Site Manager supports WooCommerce, and Pro's staging tests are designed for stores that cannot risk a broken update. Updates run on a staging clone first, screenshots of the live site and the clone are compared, and if differences are flagged the update is rolled back and never reaches your live store. Screenshot comparison flags visual changes, so keep testing the checkout flows that matter most to your business.
Will I know if an update fails or succeeds?
Yes. Site Manager sends notifications by email or Slack, and the activity log on Pro records what changed, when and on which site. Logs can be exported and are stored offsite with 90-day retention. PHP errors are tracked in the same dashboard.
Can I choose which plugins or themes to update?
Yes, selective updates allow you to exclude specific plugins or themes.
Which Premium WordPress plugins does Cloudways Site Manager support?
Site Manager supports premium WordPress plugins that are compatible with WP-CLI principles.
Can I find when a plugin was last updated?
Yes, this is available via Activity Logs on the Pro plan.
Can I export Activity Logs?
Yes, on Pro. Activity Logs can be exported for reporting and auditing, and they are stored offsite with 90-day retention.
Will updates disrupt my site while I work?
No. Updates run in the background, so you can keep working while they run.
What happens if an update breaks a site?
On Pro, each update is tested on a staging clone first. If the comparison flags differences, the update is rolled back automatically and never reaches your live site.
How can I monitor site performance after updates?
On Pro, performance monitoring uses PageSpeed Insights to track Core Web Vitals and TTFB over time, so you can see how updates affect speed across your sites.
Does Site Manager clear cache after updates?
Yes, both server-level and plugin caches are cleared automatically.
What is Visual Regression Testing (VRT)?
Visual regression testing compares screenshots of your live pages with the updated staging clone to flag visual differences. On Pro, it covers your homepage and up to 5 more pages. If differences are flagged, the update is rolled back and never deployed.
Ready to automate your WordPress management?
Start free on Basic. Upgrade to Pro when you want updates tested before they go live.
