Managing multiple WP sites can be an uphill task as it consumes lots of time to switch between different sites and going through repetitive processes makes things worse. Besides, the stress created by multiple logins affects your overall productivity by continually diverting your attention. So the question is how to manage multiple WordPress installations with ease and efficiency.
While there are many single dashboards allowing you to manage different aspects of multiple WP sites, you need to follow best practices while choosing the one that specifically fits your purpose. In this blog we will consider major things to keep in mind while investing in a good single dashboard by deciding their capabilities for multiple WordPress installations management:
Security
The hackers and other malicious elements constantly drill deep into its architecture to find loopholes and vulnerabilities. These hackers keep on evolving at a fast rate making it impossible to assure 100% future-proof security. So, WordPress keeps on identifying new loopholes and patching them.
An ideal solution should allow the users to quickly update different WordPress elements like themes, plugins and other core elements. It will assure you maximum security against the latest security threats.
Don’t settle for the Single dashboards that require you to go through complex steps or forced to follow a standard, pre-defined set of options with limited flexibility.
Security features
· Scalable options to update themes/plugins on selected sites
· Uncomplicated operations
· Intuitive interface with a well-arranged, collective toolset of commands at single place
Backups
When it comes to your site security, it is always wise to have a plan B i.e., what would you do if your security is compromised despite all your efforts and you lose the control over key data/information and content. Or worse still, what can you do if your website is simply wiped off. Even the fortune 500 companies also experience hacking and other malicious activities every year implying that no security solution is perfect, no matter how sophisticated it is. So, you need to be ready with the provisions for eliminating or minimizing the harmful effects of hacking.
Backup is the (almost) ultimate solution for the same as it allows you to constantly save the latest data of your website. If your site is hacked or even wiped off by malicious elements, you won’t lose your mission-critical data related to your customers and business. Ideal single dashboard should offer best backup ecosystem for multiple sites.
Backup features
Ideal single management offers hassle-free backup provisions for your sites with maximum options to manage different aspects. It should allow you to decide the various major features of backup system like:
· Setting backup schedule with an ability to allocate different timings/frequency to different sites
· Determining the location where you want the backups to be automatically stored (including major remote storage systems like Google Drive and Dropbox)
· A quick and easy provision to restore the backup with minimal efforts
Templates and add-ons
Templates and add-ons are the inseparable part of WordPress ecosystem. Templates allow users to easily create their own WP sites by simply placing the content in the designated content folders in a pre-designed layout. Likewise, add-on could be called a readymade chunk of programming to offer specific functionality and upgrade the experience.
Any single dashboard that needs you to have developer level knowledge for installing themes or plugins on multiple sites cannot be called a suitable option as it denies simplicity and thus defeats the very objective of predefined themes and plugins.
Templates/add-on features
· You should be able to install multiple themes or plugins on different sites using single click steps
· It should also allow you to manage the key functions of your theme or plugins like activation/deactivation, updating or copying theme of a specific site to other sites on the dashboard
· Detoxifying measures like bug fixing, malicious code detection, etc. should be easy and convenient for both beginners as well as advanced users.
Multiple user management
Whether you are developing a blog site or designing an e-store with the help of woocommerce, in many cases you need to share site management responsibilities among multiple users. For that, you need to give them the required access. An ideal single system helps you to easily share access to different users without any restriction. At the same time, it also facilitates the stats monitoring process allowing you to check the detailed log file at any time.
· It should allow you to allocate different levels of access to different users matching there profile and role in site management
· You should be able to remove or add any specific right without repeating the entire exercise
· It allows an easy way to add, edit or remove the users instantly.
SEO
SEO plays the prime role in deciding the success of any website. Along with the content quality, the design and navigation structure of your website also holds vital importance here. Along with that, there are various other technical features that directly or indirectly impact your website ranking. A good single panel thus allows you to take care of the SEO needs of multiple sites with maximum flexibility and ease.
· It offers you a deep SEO analysis of multiple sites without forcing you to go through the complicated process or repetitive steps
· It allows you to see or send the SEO reports and take major actions right from the cost of your single dashboard
· You should be able to instruct single dashboards to automatically send you periodical reports of multiple sites after specific time interval like say weekly or monthly basis
Conclusion
Managing multiple WP sites is very demanding and access one to the risk of human errors. However, with the help of a single dashboard, it has now become easier than ever to manage all your WordPress sites with equal ease and without much stress. In this blog, we have mentioned various issues to be considered before you buy a suitable single WP dashboard for your use.