Connect Sites to Your Dashboard
Connect a Single Site
As soon as you have added the MainWP Child plugin to your website, you should add that website to your MainWP Dashboard. Adding your website to MainWP Dashboard is easy if you follow these steps to do this:
Log in to your Dashboard site
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Add New page
In the Add a Single Site section:
Enter your website URL
Toggle on Verify that the MainWP Child plugin is installed and activated to reveal additional fields
Enter an Administrator Username of the child site
Connection authentication method(s): Choose options based on your MainWP Child plugin setup on the WordPress site you want to connect. Please note that the options chosen here will be remembered next time you add a child site.
Administrator Password: By default, MainWP now includes an option to use the WordPress administrator’s password for authentication during the initial connection. This feature, enabled by default, adds an extra layer of security by allowing only verified administrators to authorize the setup process. See here for more information.
Unique Security ID: This is also optional but disabled by default.
Both of these options, including the Unique Security ID value can be found in the MainWP Child plugin settings page: your-child-site.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=mainwp_child_tab
Enter your website Friendly Name (optional).
In the Optional Settings section (all of the options here are indeed optional):
Upload site icon: Upload a custom site icon. If left empty, the site favicon will be used.
Select icon: Select one of the many built-in icon for this site. The uploaded site icon takes priority over the ones chosen here.
Tags: Add the website to existing Tags or type in a new Tag to create it
Client: Associate the site with a Client
Verify SSL certificate: If your website uses an SSL Certificate, select if you wish your MainWP Dashboard to verify the certificate before connecting the website. If you are using an out of date or self-assigned SSL Certificate and you are having trouble with connecting a Child Site, try to disable the SSL Certificate verification and see if that helps.
SSL version: If your website doesn’t use an SSL Certificate, skip this field and leave the default value.
HTTP username and password: In case your website is protected with the HTTP Basic Authentication, enter your username and password in the HTTP username and HTTP password fields. If you don’t use HTTP Basic Authentication on your website, skip these fields and leave them blank.
Press the Add New Site button
Extensions Settings Synchronization
If you are using MainWP Extensions that require a third-party plugin to be installed on your website that you are adding to your MainWP Dashboard, additional options will appear in the Add New Site form. Extensions that require a 3rd party plugin to be installed will allow you to install the plugin and synchronize default extension settings automatically. Extensions that don’t integrate with any plugin will only allow you to synchronize extension default settings. Set your preferences and process of adding your site.
Important Notes: If you are experiencing issues with adding a website to your MainWP Dashboard, please use the Test Connection feature to make sure that your MainWP Dashboard can communicate with your website. Also, you can check the Potential Issues document and see how to resolve them. If any of these don’t help, do not hesitate to submit a helpdesk ticket!
Connect Multiple Sites
With the Connect Multiple Sites functionality, you can add several sites to your MainWP Dashboard simultaneously, simplifying the setup process for managing multiple WordPress sites at once.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding, ensure the MainWP Child plugin is installed and activated on each WordPress site you intend to connect.
Steps to Connect Multiple Sites
Log in to your MainWP Dashboard.
Navigate to MainWP > Sites > Add New > Multiple Sites tab. You’ll see a table format where each row represents a site you want to connect. The only required fields are Site URL and Admin Username for each site.
In the Multiple Sites Table:
Site URL: Enter the URL of each site.
Admin Username: Provide the administrator username for each site.
Admin Password: Enter the administrator account password. If the requirement is disabled in the MainWP Child plugin settings, leave this field blank.
Optional Settings:
Site Title: This will be auto-filled based on the URL but can be customized for dashboard display.
Tag: Assign a tag to organize and easily identify groups of sites.
Unique Security ID: If you have set the Unique Security ID on your website that you are adding to your MainWP Dashboard, enter it in the Unique Security ID field. If you have not set the Unique Security ID on your website, skip this field and leave it blank.
HTTP Username and HTTP Password: In case your website is protected with the HTTP Basic Authentication, enter your username and password in the HTTP username and HTTP password fields. If you don’t use HTTP Basic Authentication on your website, skip these fields and leave them blank.
Verify SSL: Set to “1” to enable SSL verification. Use “0” for sites without SSL.
SSL Version: Leave as “Auto” for most configurations. Select a specific version if necessary.
Adding More Rows:
Click Add New Row to add more sites, if necessary. Repeat the details for each additional site.
Connect Sites:
Once all site details are entered, click Add Sites. After a brief processing period, you’ll receive feedback on the connection status.
Import Sites (CSV Import)
MainWP Dashboard allows you to import multiple websites. To do this,
Make sure that the MainWP Child Plugin is installed and activated on your websites
On your Dashboard Site, go to the MainWP > Sites > Import Sites page
Download the Sample CSV file
Open the downloaded file in any text/code editor
Lines 9 – 13 are demo values that should be replaced. Start replacing it with the actual details of your child sites.
Enter details in following the order and separate values by comma (,)
Site Name
Site URL
Administrator Username
Admini Password
Tag name (if you want to add a Tag to the Child Site)
Unique Security ID (if enabled on your website(s))
HTTP Username (if HTTP Basic Authentication is enabled on your website(s))
HTTP Password (if HTTP Basic Authentication is enabled on your website(s))
Verify Certificate ( T – true, F – false)
SSL Version ( auto – Auto-detection, 1.x, 1, 2, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
Once you are done, save changes in the CSV file
Upload the CSV file to your MainWP Dashboard
If the CSV file contains a header (line 8 in the Sample.csv), select the CSV file contains a header option. If you have deleted the header line, you can uncheck the option.
Click the Import Sites button
Important Notes: MainWP Dashboard requires that file for importing sites is saved in the CSV format. Uploading TXT or any other text format won’t work.
Export Sites
Export your Child Sites by following these easy steps:
Go to the MainWP > Settings > Tools page,
Locate and click the Export Child Sites button.
Your sites will be exported to a CSV file.
Synchronize a Child Site
Regular synchronization is one of the most important things for successful WordPress Site management. It is essential always to see “fresh” data from your Child Sites.
Global Synchronization
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
In the Header element, click the Sync Dashboard with Child Sites button
Individual Child Site Synchronization
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate the Child Site that you want to Sync
Under the actions menu
Locate the Sync Data action
Click it
Important Notes: By default, MainWP Plugin will attempt to synchronize your Child Sites once per day. However, it is highly recommended to synchronize data a couple of times per day manually and before performing actions such as Plugin/Them updates, Searching for Posts and Pages,… Auto Sync feature is the WP Cron driven feature, and it can work only if your WP Cron is triggered regularly.
If you want to make sure that WP Cron jobs are regularly triggered on your MainWP Dashboard, you can Authorize the Uptime Robot service and add your dashboard site as a monitor. The Uptime Robot will ping your dashboard site regularly and make sure that all scheduled events are occurring.
Edit Child Site Settings
Along with certain MainWP settings that can be controlled on a child site level, the Child Site Settings page will allow you to update Child Site Name, Administrator User username, assigned groups,…
Access Child Site Settings Page
Login in to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate the Child Site that you want to edit
Under the actions menu, Locate the Settings action
Click it
Settings Page Breakdown
General Settings
If you add an SSL certificate on your Child Site after it’s connected to your MainWP Dashboard, you can easily change from HTTP to HTTPS protocol in the Site URL field. Also, in the case the SSL Certificate is removed after establishing the connection, you can change from HTTPS to HTTP.
If needed, the Administrator Username field will allow you to change the used User.
Update the child site friendly name in the Site Title field
If you change or add the Unique Security ID on your website, update it in the Unique Security ID field.
Update tags
Auto Update Core option will allow you to enable WP Core auto-updates for the Child Site.
Ignore Core Update option will let you ignore WordPress Core Update for the Child Site.
Ignore all Plugin Updates; mark all plugin updates as ignored for the Child Site
Ignore all Theme Updates mark all theme updates as ignored for the Child Site
Advanced Options
If your Child Site starts experiencing issues with an SSL Certificate, you can change the initially set option.
Update the SSL Version. If you don’t know what is the SSL Version on your website or if there is no SSL Certificate on it, skip this field and leave the Auto Detect value.
In case you set HTTP Basic Authentication on your website, enter your username and password in the HTTP username and HTTP password fields.
Access Child Site WP Admin
Once a Child Site is connected to your MainWP Dashboard, the MainWP plugin allows you to access the Child Site WP Admin area with one click. No login required! The easiest way to do this is to follow these steps:
Login in to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate the Child Site you want to access in the list
Click the Login icon
Security Issues
After connecting WordPress websites to your MainWP Dashboard, the MainWP plugin will scan your Child Sites for a couple of known security issues and alert you if there are detected issues.
Issues Searched by The MainWP Plugin
Directory listing prevention – MainWP Plugin will check if it’s possible to list /wp-content/, /wp-content/plugins/, /wp-content/themes/ and /wp-content/uploads/ directories. After fixing this issue, an empty index.php file will be inserted in each directory in order to prevent listing.
WordPress version detection – MainWP Plugin will check if it’s possible to detect a version of the WordPress installation. After fixing this issue, the WordPress generator meta tag will be removed from the head sections of the Child Site.
Really Simple Discovery (RSD) meta tag detection – MainWP Plugin will check if it’s possible to detect the RSD version. After fixing this issue, the RSD meta tag will be removed from the head sections of the Child Site.
Windows Live Writer meta tag detection – MainWP Plugin will check if it’s possible to detect the WLW version. After fixing this issue, the WLW meta tag will be removed from the head sections of the Child Site.
Database Error reporting – MainWP Plugin will check if database error reporting is enabled on your Child Site. After fixing this issue, database error reporting will be disabled.
PHP Error reporting – MainWP Plugin will check if PHP error reporting is enabled on your Child Site. After fixing this issue, PHP error reporting will be disabled.
readme.html detection – MainWP Plugin will check if the readme.html file exists in the WordPress root directory. After fixing this issue, the MainWP plugin will delete this file. Unifix action is not available after fixing this issue. To unfix it, the file needs to be returned manually.
“admin” check – MainWP Plugin will check if there is an Administrator user with the “admin” username. This issue is not possible to fix automatically. To fix it, you need to manually delete the user and create a new Administrator user with a different username.
If the WordPress Version, RSD (Really Simple Discovery) meta tag, and the Windows Live Writer meta tag issues are fixed (removed) by using some other plugin, MainWP Dashboard will detect issues as fixed, but you will not be able to use the Unfix function. The Unfix function can undo the fix only if MainWP Dashboard makes the fix.
Security Issues Widget
On the MainWP > Overview page, you will be able to find the Security Issues widget, which will alert you if the MainWP Plugin has detected any security issue on your Child Sites. Also, it will enable you to fix all detected issues quickly.
Security Scan
If you need more details about the detected issues, the Security Scan page in the Individual Child Site mode will provide you the ability to review all security issues and fix the ones that you want.
Login in to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate a Child Site where you want to fix detected Security Issues
Under the actions menu
Locate the Security Scan action
Click it to access the Security Scan page for the Child Site.
Fixing Issues
To fix all issues, click the Fix All button under the list
To fix a single issue, click the Fix action in the corresponding row
To unfix a single issue, click the Unfix action in the corresponding row
Reconnect a Child Site
If your child site gets disconnected, here is the easiest way to reconnect it:
Single Site Reconnection
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate the Disconnected site
In the actions menu, click the Reconnect action
Reconnect Sites in Bulk
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Select all disconnected sites by checking the checkbox in front of the site row
Select the Reconnect action in the Bulk Actions dropdown menu
Click the Apply button
Delete a Child Site
If you stop managing one or multiple Child Sites, here is the easiest way to disconnect them from your MainWP Dashboard:
Delete a Single Site
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate the site that you want to delete
In the actions menu, click the Remove Site action
Delete Multiple Sites at Once
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Select all sites you want to delete by checking the checkbox in front of the site row
Select the Remove action in the Bulk Actions dropdown menu
Click the Apply button
Important Notes: If a Child Site is properly connected to your MainWP Dashboard, after deleting it, the MainWP plugin will automatically deactivate the MainWP Child plugin on the Child Site. If a Child Site is not properly connected to your MainWP Dashboard, MainWP Plugin won’t be able to deactivate the plugin, and it is highly recommended to go to the Child Site as soon as possible and manually deactivate the MainWP Child plugin.
Manage Child Site Notes
MainWP Plugin allows you to keep notes for all your Child Sites.
Create a New Note
Login into your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page
Locate wanted Child Sites
Click the Note icon in the Notes column
After the Notes modal window opens
Click the Edit button
Add note content
Click the Save note button
View Notes
To view notes, you can follow the same process as adding notes; however, you can also view your notes in the Notes widget in the Individual Child Site Dashboard.
Manage Child Site Tags
Note: Since version 4.3 of MainWP Dashboard, Groups have been renamed to Tags. However, the functionality is unchanged, and this help document applies to older versions of the MainWP Dashboard as well. In case you are managing a large number of WordPress sites, it would be very useful for you to split sites into different groups by applying Tags to them. Later, you will be able to make Site Selection by a tag to speed up your work and makes it much easier. Multiple tags can be applied to any child site at a time.
Create a New Tag
Login to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Tags page
Click the New Tag button
Enter a Tag Name in the provided field
Click the Create Tag button
Click the name of the Tag on the right
Select all sites that you want to add to this Tag
Click the Save Selection button
Edit a Tag
Login to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Tags page
Find the Tag that you want to edit and click on the name of the Tag
Add/Remove sites
Click the Save Selection button
Delete a Tag
Login to your MainWP Dashboard
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Tag page
Locate the Tag that you want to delete
Click the Trash icon next to the Tag name
Uptime Monitoring
The Uptime Monitoring feature in the MainWP Dashboard enables users to monitor the online status of connected Child Sites, providing insight into each site’s availability and reliability. This feature supports various monitoring types and includes customizable intervals, methods, and notifications.
Uptime Monitoring Overview
The Uptime Monitoring page is located under Dashboard > Sites > Monitoring > Uptime Monitoring. Here, you can view a table displaying the uptime status for all connected Child Sites. The table provides a quick overview of each site’s current uptime status and recent monitoring results.
Global Uptime Monitoring Settings
Global settings apply to all Child Sites connected to the MainWP Dashboard and are managed under Dashboard > Settings > General settings. Here’s a breakdown of the options:
Enable Uptime Monitoring
Toggle this option to enable or disable uptime monitoring for all sites.Monitor Type
Choose the preferred monitoring type based on your needs:HTTP(s)/Website Monitoring: Sends HTTP(s) requests to check if the site responds as expected.
Ping Monitoring: Uses ICMP to ping the site’s server.
Keyword Monitoring: Checks for specific keywords on the site page. Selecting this will reveal a field to enter the target keyword.
HTTP(s)/Website Monitoring Options
HTTP Method: Choose from GET, POST, PUSH, PATCH, or DELETE requests, depending on your monitoring requirements.
Monitor Interval (minutes): Choose the frequency of the checks, from every 5 minutes to once daily.
Request Timeout (seconds): Define the maximum time a request can take before being considered a timeout.
Down Confirmation Check: Enables or disables a confirmation check before sending downtime alerts.
Up HTTP Status Codes: Define HTTP status codes (e.g., 200) considered as “Up” statuses for more accurate monitoring. By default, all 2XX status are considered as Up status.
NOTE:
In Advanced Settings you can define the Maximum simultaneous uptime monitoring requests. This option allows you to control how many uptime monitoring requests your MainWP Dashboard should process at once.
If you wish to use server-side cron jobs to trigger Uptime Monitoring, please refer to this document for information on setting up server-side crons.
Notification Settings
Uptime Monitoring notifications are configured via Dashboard > Settings > Email settings. Email notifications are sent to designated recipients whenever a downtime or uptime change is detected.
Notification Email Options:
Navigate to Dashboard > Settings > Email settings and click on Uptime Monitoring Email
Enable: Toggle to activate email notifications for uptime changes.
Recipient(s): Enter the email address(es) to receive notifications.
Subject and Email Heading: Customize the email subject line and heading.
HTML Template: Use or customize the HTML email template for notifications by copying mainwp/templates/emails/mainwp-uptime-monitoring-email.php to wp-content/uploads/mainwp/templates/emails/.
Per Site Settings
Individual site settings allow for custom uptime monitoring configurations on specific Child Sites. Access these on each Child Site’s Dashboard > Uptime Monitoring.
Override Global Settings: All per-site settings default to “Use global settings.” To customize any option, simply update it here.
Sub-Page Monitoring: Monitor additional site pages by selecting Add Sub-Page Monitor. A pop-up will open, enabling you to configure the same settings as the main monitor (excluding Monitor Type).
Per-Site Email Settings: Customize email notifications for specific Child Sites through Individual Child Site Dashboard > Email settings, identical to the global email settings.
Site Health Monitoring
WordPress 5.1 introduced Site Health, which is a suite of features focused on website security and speed. MainWP Site Health Monitoring feature allows you to set if you want to be notified about your child sites Health status or only if it goes under the status Good. To set your MainWP Dashboard to automatically checks your child sites,
Go to the MainWP > Settings page.
Make sure that the Site Health Monitoring is enabled
Set the Threshold
Save Settings
Individual Site Settings
It is possible to set different checking intervals for each child individually, Site Health threshold, or even disable monitoring. Also, it’s possible to add additional email addresses (comma-separated). Individual site settings can be found on the site Edit page.
Manually Check Sites
The Monitoring feature allows you to perform checks whenever you want. To do that,
Go to the MainWP > Sites > Monitoring page
If you want to check a single site, click the Check Now action from the Actions menu.
Or, if you want to check multiple sites, select the wanted sites and use the Check Now action from the Bulk Actions menu.