How to Manage Multiple WordPress Websites?

What Are the Challenges of Managing Multiple WordPress Sites?

As we have mentioned before, when you work with several websites, either for clients or for your own projects, it is common to face a series of problems derived from the maintenance that these sites need.

We talk here about things like:

• Updates: If you want to keep your WordPress secure and up to date, you will have to update themes, plugins, and WordPress core on each of your sites. This can take a lot of time if you manage multiple sites and have to do it individually on each one.
• Security: The proliferation of cyber-attacks makes monitoring vulnerabilities and protecting sites a critical task. Without a proper system in place, you could miss important threats and have several of your sites hacked.
• Backups: It is critical to ensure that all sites have recent backups to prevent data loss. Without an automated strategy, the process becomes tedious and error-prone.
• License management: Monitoring plugin and theme licenses across multiple sites can be difficult, which could lead to disruptions in key functionality if any license expires.
• Client communication: One of the challenges of web maintenance as a service is selling it, as customers don’t always understand the value it brings. For this, a good solution is usually to deliver maintenance reports. But of course, creating a good report for each website every month or quarter when you manage many sites, can be time-consuming.

These challenges not only affect your productivity but also the quality of service you can offer your clients. Therefore, as your portfolio of sites grows, the need for efficient management becomes indispensable.

Must-Have Tools for Managing Multiple WordPress Sites

Here are some of the best tools available for professionals to centralize and optimize the management of multiple WordPress sites.

Tools with which to manage a few, dozens, or hundreds of websites from a single panel, automating many of the tasks related to their maintenance.

Modular DS

Modular DS is a WordPress tool for freelancers and agencies to centralize the management of all your websites from a single panel. Constantly evolving and improving, it stands out for having a simple interface and a slight learning curve.

Key features of Modular DS:

• 1 click login: Login to every WordPress with a single click, no need to remember usernames and passwords.
• Global updater: Update plugins, themes, and WP versions of all websites from one place at the same time.
• WordPress management: Install, activate, deactivate, or remove plugins and themes on multiple websites.
• Cloud backups and 1-click restore: Perform cloud backups (monthly, weekly, or daily) and restore them in 1 click.
• Uptime monitoring and security scanning: Monitor website status and receive email/SMS alerts if something goes wrong or if a new vulnerability appears.
• Client reporting: Generate automatic reports with all maintenance tasks for your clients, including relevant data from Google Analytics, Search Console, Pagespeed, or WooCommerce in online stores.

Modular DS offers a free plan that allows you to connect your first five websites and test all its features in its basic version. And if you are looking for something more, the PRO plans start at 29€ per month for 50 websites.

Pros:

• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
• GDPR compliant.
• Integrations with popular tools such as Google Analytics, Search Console, PageSpeed, or WooCommerce.
• Constantly being improved.

Cons:

• Does not yet have a database cleanup option.
• Dependency on a cloud-based system.

ManageWP

ManageWP is probably the most popular tool for managing multiple WordPress sites, and it was the first to appear more than a decade ago. Its centralized dashboard allows you to manage multiple websites from a single site. 

Key features of ManageWP:

• 1 click login to WordPress: Login to your websites from the tool’s dashboard.
• Centralized management of plugins, themes and WP versions: Update or manage your plugins and themes on all your websites without accessing them.
• Database cleanup: Clean spam comments, revisions, etc., to reduce the weight of your database. 
• WordPress user control: Add, edit, or delete WordPress users from the tool panel.
• Flexible backups: Configure your backups, restore the,m or even migrate them to a new location.

ManageWP offers a free plan with basic features, such as centralized updates and monthly backups for unlimited sites. 

For the rest of the features, premium add-ons are available with prices per site, ranging from $1 to $2 per month, depending on the functionality.

Pros:

• Free plan with unlimited websites for beginners.
• Database cleaning.
• Cloud backups in different locations.

Cons:

• Pricing can be an unknown when you grow.
• Dependence on a cloud-based system.
• Has not evolved or added new functionality for many years.

InfiniteWP

InfiniteWP, unlike the previous ones, is designed for those who prefer to have full control by hosting the tool on their own server. It is particularly popular with advanced developers and system administrators. 

Key features of InfiniteWP: 

• 1 click logins to WordPress: Like the previous ones, it allows you to log in from your main site to any other site.
• Bulk updates: Update plugins and themes on all your sites with a single click.
• Customizable backups: Configure manual or automatic backups tailored to your needs and even create staging sites to test them.
• Malware scanner: Scan all your sites to see if they are infected.

InfiniteWP offers a free version with basic features such as mass updates and manual backups for unlimited sites. 

Its premium plans start at $147 per year to manage up to 10 sites.

These plans include access to advanced features, such as automated backups, security tools, and monitoring, making it ideal for those looking for a robust solution hosted on their own server.

Pros:

• Full control by hosting the tool on your server.
• GDPR compliant.
• Perfect for advanced users.

Cons:

• Requires initial technical configuration.
• Less intuitive interface for beginners.
• Lack of integration with some popular tools.

MainWP

MainWP is a popular open-source option that allows you to customize and scale the management of your websites according to your needs. Like the previous one, it is a self-hosted tool, so you will need a website on which to set up your main management site.

Key features of MainWP: 

• Global management: Update and manage plugins, themes, and WP versions of your websites from a single panel.
• Customer management: Create profiles for your clients, organize them and add the data of each one to have them at hand.
• Content editing: Add, edit, or update posts on multiple websites from the control panel. 
• Detailed reporting: Present your clients with clear data on the performance and maintenance of their sites.

MainWP offers a free version for unlimited websites with basic functionality and has a PRO plan to access its 33+ extensions with popular WordPress plugins like Updraft Plus for backups. Pricing starts at $29 per month. 

Pros:

• Open source solution with advanced customization.
• Wide range of extensions for SEO, security, and more.
• Integration with most popular plugins.

Cons:

• It can be overwhelming for non-technical users.
• Some extensions have an additional cost.

WP Umbrella

WP Umbrella is a cloud-based tool specialized in website monitoring and maintenance, geared towards WordPress professionals and agencies. 

Key features of WP Umbrella: 

• Real-time alerts: Immediate notifications if any of your sites have problems.
• Automated reports: Send scheduled reports to your customers with details about the maintenance performed.
• Cloud backups: Ensure the security of your data with remote and reliable backups.
• Safe updates: Be able to go back with an update if something breaks your site. 

Its pricing plan is very simple: $1.99 for each website. Although it does not have a free version, it does have a 14-day free trial to try it out.

Pros:

• Ideal for agencies that need automatic reports for clients.
• Real-time monitoring and alerts.
• Pricing that scales with you.

Cons:

• Limited functionality compared to other tools.
• Prices can be high for users with many sites.

CMS Commander

CMS Commander is a comprehensive tool for managing multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard. It offers a wide variety of features that make it ideal for freelancers and agencies alike.

Key features of CMS Commander: 

• Bulk updates: Allows you to update plugins, themes, and WordPress core on all your sites with a single click.
• Bulk content manager: Facilitates the simultaneous publication of content on multiple sites, saving time on repetitive tasks.
• Automated backups: Set up regular backups to ensure all your information is safe.
• Site cloning: Quickly create exact copies of your sites for testing or migration.

One of the advantages of CMS Commander is its tiered pricing model, which allows you to manage from 5 to 200 sites for rates ranging from $8 to $45 per month. This makes it accessible to all types of users, from small entrepreneurs to large agencies.

Pros:

• Content management feature.
• Automated backups and site cloning.
• Tiered pricing to suit different needs.

Contras:

• Outdated Interface 
• Has not added new features or improved existing ones for some time.

Conclusion

Managing multiple WordPress sites doesn’t have to be a complicated task. With the right tools and a well-defined strategy, you can centralize management, improve productivity, and offer a high-quality service to your clients.

Try the different alternatives mentioned above and choose the one that best suits your needs in order to further scale your maintenance services.