I received a notification on my WordPress website that a plugin was too old.  The plugin was WP Updates Notifier.  I really like this plugin because it tells me via email when there are plugins needed on my websites.  Technically, I am also getting this information from Wordfence Security so I guess it is redundant but like the double detection.  I did some research and found a better solution and one that could be a time saver too.  There is a WordPress solution called ManageWP.   ManageWP is a solution that allows you to add all our WordPress websites to a dashboard and then determine what updates are needed.   The cool feature is you can update via one click.

Here are the steps to do the initial configuration:

  • Create account at ManageWP website.
  • Add first website
    • I preferred to use the connection key method which requires downloading the ManageWP-Worker plugin first
      • Login into WordPress admin
      • Add plugin ManageWP-Worker
      • Install
      • Activate
      • Copy connection key
  • Add additional websites using the Add Website command in ManageWP dashboard
    • You can add multiple websites by entering them separated by a comma
  • Enable Notifications
    • Go to the Settings screen in your profile
    • Delivery frequency – daily
    • Check all notifications you want to receive
    • Save changes
  • Google Analytics integration
    • Go to Settings and then 3rd party services
      • Login with Google Account
      • Click Allow
    • Open website dashboard
      • Click Settings
      • Go to Google Analytics section
      • Select view
  • Setup Scheduled Updates
    • Open website dashboard
      • Go to Plugins
        • Click on Scheduling tab
        • Slide to enable Scheduling
        • Set time and day
        • Save Changes
        • Select all plugins and click Schedule
      • Go to Themes
        • Select all themes and click Schedule
    • You can also do a global setup by multiple selecting the website and then clicking on the Plugins or Themes

To perform a global updated, go to the Overview tab and look for the Updates widget.  Click on Update All.  Progress can be monitored via the monitor bar at the top of the dashboard.

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