7 Tools to Manage Multiple Sites from Single Dashboard

Managing multiple WordPress websites can be a hassle. While WordPress as a CMS is easy and simple to manage, dealing with multiple admin panels can get increasingly difficult and time-consuming very fast.

Multiple sites require you to update plugins and themes individually and keep track of everything else from core updates to regular backups. Fortunately, there are many services for WordPress that make tackling this particular issue a lot simpler and save you a ton of time while making everything a lot more manageable.

With this in mind, in this post, we will run over some of the best services that are currently out there in the WordPress market which allow you to manage multiple websites without having to open each one up individually. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll be able to find a service that fits your needs and say goodbye to multiple site management for good.

Let’s get started.

1. ManageWP

ManageWP is one of the best services out there for managing multiple websites. It allows webmasters to access all their websites through a single dashboard that has all the information and makes updating, backups, and security scans a breeze.

Amazing Features of ManageWP

All the common routine tasks that you might want to perform on any of your websites can be done via ManageWP whether it is updating a plugin, adding content to site A, creating a backup of site B for experimentation or starting a new project based on a local server production.

The service is also easy to use and features an intuitive interface that is very user-friendly. This is thanks to adept core design that the service is built on.

It takes all your data and presents it in an interface that is almost as easy to get around as if you were managing a single website. This makes it very easy for almost anyone to jump in and get started with ManageWP – regardless of their technical expertise.

ManageWP offers premium-quality support for its customers that can be availed 24 hours a day throughout the week and will tackle any problems you might face with their service. The dedicated customer support staff is highly knowledgeable and truly help you solve your problems.

Pros

• Single dashboard for multiple sites.
• Ability to create backups and site migration.
• Monitoring and security scans of websites.
• Easy to set up and use.

Cons

• The one downside appears to be that the service is not free and you have to pay a price, which while low, is a recurring cost. The developers have opted for a freemium model for ManageWP and to get all the goodies you will need to pay a price every month that scales according to the number of websites you intend to manage and the features that you will be using.

2. MainWP

MainWP is a free, open-source tool for WordPress websites that packs a lot of powerful features. It offers great flexibility in managing multiple websites and keeping them secure. The standout feature on offer here is that the core services are available free of charge for unlimited sites and when you are ready to take things to the next level you can purchase one of the premium extensions. This way you’re essentially only paying for the services that you’ll be using instead of a complete package that you might not even use to its full potential.

Amazing Features of MainWP

MainWP’s dashboard features an intuitive interface that takes all of the hassle out of managing your plugins and themes. From a central location, users can update their site’s themes and plugins with a single click.

MainWP checks the status of all of your plugins and themes and notifies you if they haven’t been updated for some time. With this feature, users can remove plugins that are no longer receiving regular plugins and search for a more suitable alternative.

This tool’s one click access makes it extremely easy to access child sites’ admin panels. The best part about this is that you don’t have to type in each and every individual URL to access your different websites.

All you have to do is navigate to your website’s sub-menu and click on the admin link to open them. By doing this you’ll instantly be logged in to your child site and be in a position to start managing that from there. Once you’ve configured the login credentials you won’t have to remember them anymore.

MainWP offers a truly customized and premium multiple site management experience for WordPress webmasters. It takes care of everything from updating your site’s plugins and themes to remembering your site’s login credentials to allow you quick access every single time.

Pros

• Service is available free of charge.
• MainWP is open source which allows users to customize it.
• This tool can be used to manage multiple websites.

Cons

• Advanced functionality requires paying a premium for each of the extensions.

3. InfiniteWP

InfiniteWP is a powerful tool that helps busy webmasters with multiple WordPress websites stop wasting time. Once you sign up for this service you’ll never have to log in to you individual WordPress dashboards ever again. In fact, you’ll be able to manage all of your sites from a single intuitive and powerful admin panel. This premium-quality service is optimized for agencies, developers, and freelancers which makes it a one of a kind WordPress multiple site management service.

Amazing Features of InfiniteWP

InfiniteWP gives webmasters an eagle’s eye view from a centralized admin panel. Its one-click update feature makes it easy to update the themes and plugins across all your websites with just a click. The tool is based on a self-hosted platform which puts you in full control of its security and guarantees that you won’t have to give anyone else access to your data.

InfiniteWP’s free backup and restore service allow you to save your data on your drive which you can easily restore in case any of your websites get hacked. This tool’s premium add-ons are broadly categorized into six sections – analytics, maintenance, manage, reporting, security and utilities.

Each of the add-ons ranges from $49 to $99 per year. However, you can also opt for the add-ons suite which will set you back $399 for first year and $199 every year after that.

So whether you are a digital marketer, web developer, or a small business, you’ll be able to get all of the features you need and pay only for what you use with InfiniteWP’s flexible pricing plans. InfiniteWP has a truckload of happy customers who are raving about the service’s features and ease of use – you can be one of them, too!

Pros

• A set of the core features is free for life with updates.
• You get an easy to use and reliable backup solution for free.
• The service comes with 23 add-ons to implement advanced functionality to your WordPress site.

Cons

• The bundle of premium add-ons can cost you a pretty penny.

4. iControlWP

With the flexible iControlWP service, you can essentially free yourself from never-ending WordPress management. This powerful tool packs security, backups, and site management into a single centralized platform which allows you to overlook and control all of your websites. The iControlWP service comes with a free 30-day trail which allows you to manage an unlimited number of websites.

Amazing Features of iControlWP

iControlWP enables webmasters to lock down access with multi-factor authentication and IP address restrictions. In addition to this, you can scan your websites and manage all of the security settings from a single platform.

The iControlWP Automagic plugin update feature allows users to program their plugins to be automatically updated whenever a new update is detected. In contrast to this users also have the ability to lock plugin updates – if you like the plugins just the way they are you can make sure they update at all.

Another one of the standout features on offer with iControlWP is that you get integrated first aid support built right into the tool. This way you don’t have to submit a support ticket – support is just a click away. With this service, you can start managing your WordPress security, plugins, themes, backups and databases better.

The best part is that you can take them up on the free trial offer and see how well this service fits with you. Premium services and a free trial – it’s a no-brainer!

Pros

• With iControlWP, you get automated daily backups.
• Before restoring a backup you can test out the restored sites by launching a test site with your backup data.
• You can create unlimited site groups.

Cons

• iControlWP is a premium service which sets you back $15 to $99 every month.
• There are no extensions or add-ons so you must pay for all of the features even if you do not use them.

5. CMS Commander

CMS Commander understands that time is money. With this in mind, they offer a powerful management service that enables webmasters to take care of their blogs by completing repetitive management tasks on all of their WordPress websites in bulk.

By signing up for this service you can completely let go of managing each individual site and focus on business growth. This incredibly powerful feature lets you set up your WordPress multiple site management once and then forget about it all together while you work towards building your brand and increasing conversions.

Amazing Features of CMS Commander

The standout feature on offer with CMS Commander is bulk posting. This incredibly powerful functionality features a content editor built into the CMS Commander interface which allows webmasters to create posts and pages on any number of their blogs simultaneously.

The Copy Blog Settings feature allows users to copy all of their WordPress options from popular plugins to any of their other sites. CMS Commander also lets users install and activate plugins on all of their websites in one go. Users can import content such as articles from text files or entire RSS feeds into the CMS Commander and then post them to any of their websites from a single dashboard.

In addition to all of this users can create however many articles on all of their blogs and then schedule them from the CMS Commander interface in order to control when each gets published. This tool also features a re-writing and article spinning software built into its core which allows webmasters to create unique variations of their articles to be published on each of their sites.

As we mentioned above, CMS Commander is a CMS-centered service that puts your sites content management needs at the forefront. Those of you who have several different personal blogs or content curation sites can make the most of this fascinating service.

Pros

• CMS Commander features an incredibly intuitive interface.
• CMS Commander is available free of charge for up to 5 websites with the basic features.

Cons

• CMS Commander does not come with add-ons or extensions, so webmasters do not have the flexibility of only adding the features that they require.
• CMS Commander is a CMS centered tool.

6. WP Remote

WP Remote is a free tool that allows webmasters to manage multiple websites from a single dashboard. In addition to being free of charge, this web application is also incredibly easy to use. By signing up with their service you can get started with adding your first website and then adding, even more, sites as you go along.

WP Remote is a service that is built for everyone, whether you are running multiple personal blogs, operating small businesses or a mix of both.

Amazing Features of WP Remote

The WP Remote tool enables webmasters to monitor an unlimited number of websites for free. WordPress users and webmasters can easily update everything from the WordPress core to plugins and themes with a single click. With WP Remote users can also download a snapshot of their website.

While this tool currently does not offer an insane amount of features like the other entries on our list, this can be a turn off for many and makes it a tool that is not for everyone.

It should be kept in mind though that it is completely free to use, while being reasonably reliable and can be a great starting point for managing WordPress websites, it’s not the best out there. Those of you who are not particularly tech-savvy may not find this to be a user-friendly option. Getting used to the process without incurring any costs – time, effort or money – is possible for WordPress webmasters who hold some basic technical knowledge.

Pros

• Webmasters can use WP Remote completely free of charge.
• The service is developer friendly. It offers JSON based RESTful API so you can integrate all of the functionality WP Remote has to offer into your existing processes.

Cons

• WP Remote does not have a lot of features to offer.

Which Is The Best Service for You?

Picking the right tool can be a little tricky because all offer different services and features. To make the best choice it would be wise to list down all your required features – such as a number of websites that you manage or plan on managing, the purpose, nature and structure of the websites, as well as the plugins and themes in use. That will be decisive in making a selection, for example, if you are already using a premium backup service such as BackupBuddy or VaultPress then it would not be very cost effective to go for something where you might be paying for the backup service without using it.

The number of websites is also crucial. If you are a blogger and manage 5 relatively simple websites, then a standard license of ManageWP will only cost you $4 a month, which is next to nothing when taking into consideration the sheer amount of features that it offers.

Similarly, a larger business with a larger number of websites, sensitive data and lots of plugins and themes would benefit much more by opting for a higher-priced option on this list to accommodate their needs such as iControlWP.

If you’re a content curator or are operating several different content oriented sites then CMS Commander would be a great fit for your needs. This service offers CMS-centered features that are bound to help you get to the next level with your online business.

Thankfully, however, due to the number of options available, there is always something adeptly suited to the user’s needs.

Conclusion

Managing multiple WordPress sites doesn’t have to be difficult. If you find yourself spending most of your valuable time with site management then perhaps it’s time to outsource it to a service provider.

We covered some of the best tools to help you manage multiple sites from a single dashboard. Hopefully, you’re in a good position now to identify your specific requirements and then determine which service is right for you. We hope that you’re able to find a service that takes care of your sites while you shift your attention to business growth.

Are you still using elbow grease and hard work to manage all your WordPress websites or have you opted for an easier solution as well? Did we miss out on any of your favorite services and tools for managing multiple sites from a single dashboard? We’d love to hear from you so let us know in the comments below!