Are you searching for a straightforward way to oversee several WordPress websites and ensure they’re always up to date?
Fortunately, there are excellent tools available that simplify the management of multiple websites using separate WordPress installations.
In this article, we’ll guide you through managing multiple WordPress sites using Solid Central, previously known as iThemes Sync.
Understanding Solid Central
When handling multiple websites, managing them through a WordPress multisite network isn’t always the best solution due to its complexity and risks. Managing each site individually can be time-consuming, requiring frequent switches between sites for monitoring and updates.
Solid Central offers a user-friendly WordPress maintenance plugin that centralizes the management of multiple sites into one dashboard. It’s a hosted service, allowing you to manage all your sites conveniently from the SolidWP website.
Installing and Setting Up Solid Central
To begin, purchase a license from the Solid Central website and download the plugin. Choose a plan that matches the number of sites you intend to manage. Once purchased, download the Solid Central plugin from your member’s panel on the SolidWP website.
After downloading, install and activate the plugin on each WordPress site you wish to manage. Detailed instructions for installing a WordPress plugin can be found in our installation guide.
Upon activation, connect each website to your Solid Central account by navigating to Settings » Solid Central and entering your SolidWP username and password. Click ‘Connect’ to save your settings.
Confirm each site’s licensed URL by visiting Settings » SolidWP Licensing and entering the WordPress site’s URL. This step ensures you receive automatic updates for Solid Central.
Repeat this process for all WordPress sites you want to manage from a single dashboard.
Managing Multiple Sites with Solid Central
Solid Central provides a unified dashboard where you can oversee updates for all your WordPress sites. After logging into your SolidWP account, click ‘Log in to Central’ to view a list of all your added sites.
If you’re a WordPress developer managing sites for clients, you can hide the Solid Central admin menu on client sites while managing them remotely from the Solid Central website. Simply select ‘Hide Central Plugin’ from the site’s cog menu.
Clicking on a site in your dashboard reveals additional options such as available updates, backups, and more. You can manage plugins, themes, content, comments, users, and site analytics from the ‘Admin’ tab for each website.
Solid Central also offers features like site audits and security settings management per site. Convenient buttons at the top of the page allow quick access to each site’s WordPress admin dashboard for content updates or file uploads.
The dashboard is designed to be mobile-responsive, enabling management tasks, updates, and backups directly from your mobile device.
Additional Features and Considerations
Solid Central includes Solid Backups (formerly BackupBuddy) for reliable WordPress backups. Install it on each site to create backups directly through Solid Central.
While Solid Central streamlines maintenance tasks like updates and backups, it doesn’t assist with content creation or site navigation without logging into each site individually.
Bonus: Managing Sites When Time is Limited
If managing multiple sites becomes overwhelming due to a busy schedule, consider outsourcing website maintenance to a service provider. They offer comprehensive packages that include 24/7 monitoring, cloud backups, security monitoring, updates, and emergency support.
Select a package that suits your needs, pay monthly for the services, and free up time to focus on other aspects of your business.
