As a WordPress consultant managing 50+ commercial sites, I‘ve seen my share of mammoth WordPress installations with hundreds of pages. From online magazines to directories and guides, pages are the backbone of most content-heavy sites.
However, the default WordPress page manager leaves much to be desired:
- No ajax – every action means waiting for full page loads
- Flat structure – hard to manage parent/child pages
- Adding new pages limited to a single button
- No bulk management for multiple pages
To demonstrate, here is the default Add New Page screen:
As you can see, this barebones interface wasn‘t built for managing pages at scale.
After testing 7 different plugins, I have concluded that Advanced Page Manager is the best solution for managing a high volume of WordPress pages.
Why You Need Advanced Page Manager
Here is a comparison between the default WordPress page manager and Advanced Page Manager:
| Feature | Default WordPress | Advanced Page Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Ajax interface | No | Yes |
| Status indicators | Publish/Draft | Online/Offline |
| Parent/child management | Rigid hierarchy | Click to rearrange |
| Add new page options | Single button | Add relative to any page |
| Bulk add pages | No | Yes, specify # to add |
According to BuiltWith‘s stats, over half a million live sites rely on Advanced Page Manager. After using it myself across dozens of client sites, I can attest to why it has become a go-to solution:
1. Fluid ajax-powered interface – The entirely ajax-driven UI creates a smooth page manager that eliminates frustrating full page reloads. You can breeze through updates at record speed.
2. Crystal clear status indicators – Rather than vague publish labels, the online/offline status make it very apparent whether visitors can access those pages.
3. Effortless organization – With easy drag and drop rearrangement of parent/child pages, you can model multi-tier page structures without restrictions.
4. Contextual "add page" controls – Insert immediately before/after any page or create new child pages without hassle. Say goodbye to the single restrictive "Add new" button.
5. Batch create pages – I can‘t count how much time this has saved me on large sites! Simply specify the number to add pages in bulk.
Advanced Page Manager transforms page management from an exercise in frustration to an absolute pleasure. Let‘s see how this plays out with real examples…
Advanced Page Manager Benefits in Action
Here is a hands-on look at some of Advanced Page Manager‘s killer features:
1. Drag and Drop Page Ordering
Let‘s say I‘m building out a site‘s footer navigation menu. I want to rearrange the order of my Help, About, Contact pages:
Without waiting even a split second for refreshes, I can drag the pages to rearrange as needed. This makes structuring site navigation intuitive and fast.
2. Adding and Managing Child Pages
Now I want to create some child pages under my main Services page to detail all the offerings. Rather than cluttering up the Add New Page screen, I can insert exactly where I need:
Being able to instantly add and manage child pages in line saves tremendous time compared to navigating across multiple submenus.
3. Bulk Add Pages
Finally, for my blog section I know I will eventually have over 100 category tags. Rather than manually adding each one at a time, I can knock this out in seconds:
And that‘s just scratching the surface of what Advanced Page Manager can do!
Extending Advanced Page Manager‘s Capabilities
While Advanced Page Manager provides unparalleled core page management functionalities, there are couple plugins I recommend for further customization:
Child Page Display – Display child pages on your site using shortcodes from plugins like Child Pages Shortcode or List Child Pages.
Membership Plugins – Manage access using plugins like MemberPress or restrict content with Groups.
I evaluated 8+ options in each category (see my in-depth child page plugins comparison). The above provide the best usability and compatibility out of the box with Advanced Page Manager.
Conclusion & Next Steps
The bottom line – Advanced Page Manager brings order and efficiency to WordPress page administration. I can authoritatively say that it is the most robust solution for managing a high volume of pages.
- Structuring complex page hierarchies is no longer a struggle
- Contextual controls remove unnecessary clicks and frustration
- Everything happens smoothly without constant full page refreshes
My recommendation – if you manage more than 20+ pages, install Advanced Page Manager to streamline work and save major headaches!
For next steps, grab Advanced Page Manager on their official site. The free version already packs full-featured functionalities.
As you scale up page volume on your site, this plugin will pay dividends in time savings and simplicity. Page management bliss awaits!
Have you used Advanced Page Manager before? I‘d love to hear your experiences managing many WordPress pages in the comments!
