As a WordPress consultant with over 5 years of experience managing complex WP networks, I often get asked what the best platform is for managing multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.
Without hesitation, my recommendation is always InfiniteWP.
InfiniteWP is used on over 300,000 websites as of 2023 according to BuiltWith – making it the most widely used self-hosted WordPress management tool:
| Management Tool | Websites Using |
|---|---|
| InfiniteWP | 312,752 |
| ManageWP | 74,357 |
| MainWP | 47,631 |
And for good reason – InfiniteWP makes managing multiple WordPress sites incredibly simple.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- Installing and setting up InfiniteWP
- Connecting sites and managing your WP network
- Handy features for WordPress site management
- Extending functionality with extensions
- Competitors & alternatives worth considering
Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started with InfiniteWP
Before you can start leveraging the powerful centralized management that InfiniteWP offers, the first step is installing and configuring it on your server or web hosting account.
1. Download and Upload the Files
First, download the latest version of InfiniteWP from their website.
Once downloaded, use FTP to upload the InfiniteWP files to a web hosting account or VPS. The files should sit in the main public_html folder:
2. Run the Setup Wizard
With the files uploaded, navigate to yourdomain.com/infinitewp in your web browser. You‘ll be greeted by the setup wizard.
You‘ll need to input information like:
- Database connection details
- Admin username and password
- License key
Once provided, InfiniteWP will automatically configure itself and create the required database tables.
3. Remove the Install Folder
Once setup completes successfully, delete the install folder from within /infinitewp on your server for security reasons.
And that’s it! You now have a functioning InfiniteWP management panel installed and ready to connect your WordPress sites.
Connecting WordPress Sites to your InfiniteWP Dashboard
The power of InfiniteWP lies in its ability to centralize WordPress site management.
To add sites to your dashboard:
- In InfiniteWP, click on Websites → Add Website
- Install the InfiniteWP Client plugin on the WordPress site
- Activate the plugin and copy the connection info
- Paste the connection info back into InfiniteWP → Add website
Rinse and repeat for all your WordPress sites. The connection process uses a secure authentication key so only your registered sites can link up.
Once connected, you‘ll be able to jump between all your managed WordPress installs directly from your InfiniteWP dashboard with just a click.
Key Features and Functionality
Now for the good stuff: managing your WordPress network.
Here are some of the most useful features you‘ll want to use:
One-Click Updates
The #1 benefit of InfiniteWP is being able to update WordPress, themes, and plugins across ALL your connected sites with a single click.
This allows you to quickly patch any security issues without having to log in to each backend individually.
Backups and Restore
Backing up WordPress sites is crucial. InfiniteWP makes managing backups and restores easy across any number of sites.
You can:
- Schedule automatic backups for daily, weekly or monthly.
- Create on-demand backups anytime.
- Download backup archives to your computer.
- Restore site from backup with a single click.
This allows you to quickly rollback changes or recover from issues without needing FTP or database access.
Staging Sites
Test changes on a staging site before deploying to production with InfiniteWP‘s cloning tool.
Push updates from staging to live sites with a single click once validated. This takes the risk out of making updates.
User Management
Managing WordPress users on multiple sites is a hassle. The user management functionality in InfiniteWP allows you to:
- Edit user details across all sites
- Add/remove users site-wide or individually
- Modify user roles and permissions globally
Say goodbye to manually updating users on each site!
Extending Functionality via Add-Ons
As if the built-in functionality wasn‘t enough, InfiniteWP offers optional extensions to further enhance capabilities:
WooCommerce Management – Manage WooCommerce stores by centralizing product/order management, coupons, reports and more.
InfiniteWP Genesis – Specialized features tailored for the Genesis Framework like design syncing, StudioPress updates and automatic child theme creation.
Analytics – Adds Google Analytics dashboard to monitor site analytics and track events from one central dashboard.
And much more.
These extensions help take site management to the next level. They introduce some functionality not easily duplicated otherwise. Well worth looking into them depending on your needs.
Exploring Alternative Self-Hosted Management Tools
Although I firmly believe InfiniteWP is the best self-hosted management platform available right now, there are a few alternatives worth mentioning:
ManageWP – The most direct competitor to InfiniteWP in terms of functionality and features. The core ManageWP software is free for up to 5 sites. However, some more advanced features sit behind a paid plan starting at $6/month.
MainWP – Lesser known but offers similar WordPress site management and extension ecosystem. Lacks certain features like staging sites and user management out of the box.
WP Time Capsule – Specializes specifically in automated WordPress backups for single sites or networks. Does not offer full-featured management capabilities.
WP Control – Open-source alternative but has a more barebones feature set. However, as its OSS contributions can expand functionality over time.
I still recommend InfiniteWP over any of the competition currently. As its feature set is unmatched while being 100% free and open source.
Conclusion & Next Steps
If you manage multiple WordPress sites, utilizing InfiniteWP will save you a ton of time while also making management less stressful overall.
No longer do you need to login to individual WP admin dashboards for tasks like:
- Updating WordPress, plugins or themes
- Backing up content
- Managing user accounts
- and more…
Instead, with InfiniteWP you can centralize and control your entire WordPress network from a single pane of glass.
To get started:
- Install InfiniteWP following the steps outlined above
- Connect your WordPress sites and configure users
- Take InfiniteWP for a spin and leverage its timesaving capabilities
You can manage an unlimited number of WordPress installs completely free.
Let me know if you have any other questions! More than happy to help advise as you get your new management dashboard up and running.
