7 Ways in Which We’re Going to Make ManageWP Even Better

Vladimir Prelovac

March 20, 2013

Improvement

We are at a point in time where we have released a number of huge features for ManageWP that we have had planned for a while: version 3 of the dashboard, the affiliate programme, our in-house ticket system, and both the iOS and Android apps.

We can also see the light at the end of the tunnel where the list of smaller features on our to-do list is concerned. We have a great team now that is achieving fantastic development output and we estimate that we will need about 4-5 more months to get them all done (things like improving sub-user functionality, client branding features, a notes/tasks list and more).

We also have couple of “big fish” on the menu and we’d like to read your opinion on what you would most like to see. Have a read below and let us know in the comments section!

1. Hosting Partnership

ManageWP does everything around WordPress sites except for hosting. We have always thought that having a strong hosting partner we can recommend and rely upon would be a great thing for our users.

We decided a while ago that we will not enter the hosting business ourselves (ManageWP is already a huge challenge even though we have over 20 people working on it) so basically we’d like to partner up with a hosting company that shares our vision, provides the same level of excellent customer service and is fully compatible with ManageWP and its features.

Feel free to suggest who would be the great partner for ManageWP.

2. Security Tools

We have been planning this for quite a while but something else has always come up. Our goal is that the ManageWP client plugin contains some of the most advanced security features anywhere on the market.

Spam, malware and hacking are still major threats to the WordPress community and it only makes sense that the world’s most sophisticated WordPress management platform should include tools that bring you the peace of mind when security of your sites is in question. We already have a long list of tools and features that we want to include (from protecting your login to intrusion detection and file monitoring).

Personally I can’t wait to get started with this. Please let us what security feature you’d like to see first!

3. Micro Jobs

Perhaps not the best name for it but the basic premise of this idea is to create a marketplace for WordPress tasks, projects and jobs. We have over 50,000 users and we think that some of you may need a few changes done on your sites here and there and others are able to help. ManageWP should be able to connect you.

4. Plugin/Theme Marketplace

Since ManageWP was created I always felt that it would be a perfect platform to run a premium plugin/theme marketplace. ManageWP has the unique ability to distribute and update the purchased plugins and themes to all of your sites. The shopping experience could take place within the ManageWP dashboard and decisions would be made easier by top lists, community reviews, feedback and ratings. It is a pretty big project though; we want to make it right. What do you think?

5. Community Stats

Because ManageWP is used to manage over 150,000 websites we have the ability to create top lists and suggestions based on what the community uses. For example, we could compile a list of the most popular plugins of all time and in the last 30 days. We could reveal the average number of comments per blog post. We could enable you to compare your site against others in the same category.

The way it would work is that the data would be gathered anonymously. You would have an option to opt in and if you did you’d be able to view the stats and see how your sites rank.

6. Remodel the Backup System

Our backup system is one of the most used features of ManageWP and there have been a tremendous challenge to execute — namely because of the sheer number of different hosting environments out there and the almost unsurmountable restrictions some of the hosting companies employ. While we have come a long way to date there is still room for improvement. It would however involve a huge effort. Worth it?

7. Curate the Best WordPress Articles

Although the WordPress community is huge and passionate we still do not have a centralised location for all of the best articles in the WordPress world. There are great examples of weekly newsletters like WPMail.me but we also see prominent WordPress news sites disappearing (like WPTavern recently). It is a very hard job that involves curation and a lot of research. We have already begun working on a project that we believe will help unite the WordPress community.

Did We Miss Anything?

The plan presented here is basically what the long term roadmap for ManageWP looks like. I would love for you to share your view on the major items under consideration at this time. Equally important, is there anything else that we are missing? Let us know in the comments section!

Photo Credit: parylo00

author

Vladimir Prelovac

Vladimir is the Founder of ManageWP, and is a frequent contributor to the WordPress community – in the form of numerous plug-ins, tools, WordCamp talks and a book by the title WordPress Plugin Development.

35 responses

smbmedia

March 20, 2013

As you no doubt know, logging into hundred’s of client websites to manually update them all each day would be a pain in the back side – Manage WP solves that issue for us and I’m very happy with your service, however…

Personally speaking, it already feels a bit ‘bloated’ to be perfectly honest – the only feature of MWP that I require is the plugin & theme updates section.

We manage off-server back-up’s by ourselves, offer web-hosting, and all other features that MWP currently has to offer may well suit some of your customers, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who uses your service just for ease of updating plugins & themes.

Just my 2 cents

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Rob

March 20, 2013

Remodel the Backup System! And any extra security of the Worker plugin would be great as long as it all went unnoticed so to speak. But apart from that I agree with smbmedia. I only use the backups and auto updates.

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chuck@charlesrunyan.com

March 20, 2013

I think being able to run something along the lines of Wordfence, or your own same level security and malware detection would be very helpful.

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anitah@i4design.co.nz

March 20, 2013

Hi,

Here’s my thoughts on the new features:

Hosting – I host my client’s website on a VPS, so I wouldn’t host via ManageWP.

Security Tools – yes please. This has been a problem for me over the past 4 months. I’m now installing 6 security plugins on each site! Wordfence is one of the best in my opinion, and WordPress File Monitor Plus is very useful.

Micro Jobs – not for me. I’m a control freak and wouldn’t outsource tasks.

Plugin Theme Marketplace – I primarily use Theme Forest and Code Canyon. Tough competition!

Community Stats – I like the sound of this one! A unique offering.

Remodel the Backup – Yes please. I only use your backup system for databases as it never seems to work for anything more.

WordPress Articles – sure… why not?

I’m pleased to be part of your community and although I really like what you offer now, I look forward to any future additions or improvements.

Thanks, Anita

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master@beyond-trading.com

March 20, 2013

3) micro jobs: a good idea. Not only wordpress but it could be also server jobs, Linux stuff.
6) we believe you need to improve backup, it does not work with SFTP. It would be useful to have one working with those hosting their sites on Amazon EC2. The clone tool which is very interesting is useless if you have your sites running on Amazon though.
1) hosting: the best hosting environment is Amazon definitely if you are willing to give that step.

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Eric

March 21, 2013

Hosting – I think a good hosting partner would be HostGator.

Security Tools – Built in security sure wouldn’t hurt.

Micro Jobs – The title made me actually think of something else, I’ll explain at the bottom.

Plugin Theme Marketplace – You’ve got the audience; if it fits your core business…go for it.

Community Stats – Again, you’ve got the audience.

Remodel the Backup – Backup is really nice during setup; I normally used Backup Buddy, but I’ve actually started using MWP more simply for ease during client setup. I haven’t had any issues so if it needs fixed; I hadn’t noticed.

Okay, so “Micro Jobs” actually made me think of WordPress Cron Jobs. So, let’s say I have a typical series of activities I do when setting up a new site. A certain set of plugins, themes, settings, etc. This would allow me to create a “normal” workflow or package…and then “install” that package upon initial site setup. This would save a ton of time. I don’t think that’s what you meant, but it got me excited.

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harry

March 21, 2013

ramnode gets my vote for hosting

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Chris

March 21, 2013

I think the idea of partnering with other companies who excel at what they do makes a lot of sense and the list is intersting – but you can’t successfully be ‘all things, to all people’. So I echo smbmedias comment.

You simply can’t be the best at everything; better to focus.

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Bart

March 21, 2013

Security: Two factor login for WP. Look at Duo security, they did a excellent job. Maybe you can partner with them.

Good idea to scan, detect, prevent, clean malware and the like

Backup: I would like to see automatic backup in the standard tear of ManageWP

Marketplace: Maybe a good idea to partner with Theme house like WooThemes so WooThemes updates integrate with ManageWP WOuld save a lot of time & effort and give ManageWP great publicity.

GUI of MangeWP: I still wrestle with the big fly-out menus. I often hover over links accidentally and a bog fly menu covers my main info. Just one minor announces that slows me down managing my site. Please consider other ways.

Hosting: Thats a tricky one. Think it is interesting if:
Completely integrated within MangeWP. I.e. Install, manage, delete sites from within MangeWP. And if it’s 100% scalable which no hosting company really can. Except Amazone S3 maybe. Dropbox uses there own frnt end and S3 as there main storage. If you can manage it maybe S3 can do the trick. This would free me of setting and maintaining my own VPS, which is awesome. But please all integrated within ManageWP dashboard, which is a big challenge

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Darnell Jackson

March 21, 2013

I know these guys aren’t popular with everyone but I had a great experience with Godaddy last year.

My server went down and I tweeted about it.

Not only did the fix my problem but the followed me.

To me customer service is all about helping you when there’s a problem.

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Arne

March 22, 2013

I really enjoy using managewp. It’s beautyful and easy to use.

I still like the idea of an improved backup system. Something that gives more of a time machine feeling, may be like worpdrive but in better and not that expansive?

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Glenn Hauman

March 23, 2013

A log of what gets upgraded when would be incredibly useful. When a plugin conflict develops in a upgrade, we can spend a long time trying to track down what got upgraded when.

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eRock

March 23, 2013

1. Hosting: WPEngine has awesome hosting, but is more expensive. It is specifically for WP. ManageWP would bring plenty of volume and pass along a discount to everyone. HostGator also offers excellent service and support.

2. Security Tools: YES! Rather than having to configure multiple plugins, it would be great to have it integrated already. Limiting login attempts, changing database prefixes, etc would be very handy. I use BPS security, File Monitor, Securi plugin, Limited Login and others to protect client sites. Having all these integrated into one interface would be awesome. This would be my first priority if I was in your shoes.

3. Micro Jobs: I wouldn’t put this at the top of my list. However, it would be cool to set up an installation “template” so we could set up a theme with all the plugins we like (and their settings preconfigured) and simply create a new site in a couple of minutes.

4. Plugin/Theme Marketplace: How about a premium repository? MWP can obtain various themes and plugins licensing rights, and then turn around and sell them to us at discounted prices or for free.

5. Community Stats: This would be cool, but not hugely important to me.

6. Remodel the Backup System: if you think it makes MWP better, then why not?

7. Curate the Best WordPress Articles: Good idea!

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ellaj

March 23, 2013

I agree with eRock’s comments.

Thanks for a great service!

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rdueck

March 24, 2013

Re: Backup System – I’ve been using Backup Buddy. and must say it’s pretty awesome as well as flexible. Although I do have some issues migrating sites depending on the clients hosting sometimes. Overall, It’s quick, and easy. By either using a similar method or working together with them to integrate into ManageWP I think would be a great thing.

I do really like the idea mentioned of being able to create an “installation Template” that includes theme and plugins. that would make life very easy.

Re: Hosting – Certainly a good idea. however, as many of us who use manageWP are web desingers/developers, It would seem that VPS/Resellar accounts would need to be part of the hosting package. I’m currently running a VPS account, and find it quite helpful

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alex@sweetfiredesign.com

March 25, 2013

I would LOVE it if along with better developed back-up system you could advance your reporting tools with scheduled reports e-mailed to clients. This would be huge!

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Pastie

March 28, 2013

The people at MyRepono.com do a great job on the backup front. The product just works so you never have to think or worry about backups and the service costs very little. Could be some synergy there perhaps?

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McBart

March 29, 2013

Automatic update for plugins and themes please! Maybe this sounds dangerous, but you hardly break a site when you update. A update log is a must, so you can rollback or inactivate plugins for trouble shooting.

Installing several plugins and themes from pre defined profiles. Handy for new websites. Having the ability setting up more than one profile is of course a must.

Adding ManageWP plugin via a API key. It’s still a hassle to add sites I need to switch back and forth between sits and ManageWP. Add a (secret and changeable) API key to integrate WP sites to my account. I just have my API key ad hand when I install a new WP site. Install the ManageWP plugin fill out the API key field in the plugin prefs hit OK and be done. When I come in MageWP and refresh the will be there 🙂 Much quicker this way!

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Greg

April 1, 2013

1 – Hosting
Anything by EIG (Endurance International) e.g. Hostgator, A Small Orange, Netfirms, Bluehost, iPage, Ipower, JustHost etc…would be a massive insult to ManageWP and your customer base. They are satan. I would personally be rather offended if ManageWP started throwing offers of sub-par hosts under the EIG brand at me. If my sites are important enough to warrant ManageWP and other premium products, there is more chance of hell freezing over than my sites being crowbarred onto a some overloaded, scabby EIG server.
I have no affiliation with the following: LiquidWeb, HostDime..would get my vote as they own real datacentres and have a progression from decent shared environments through to biggg dedis. On site support staff in a self owned datacentre is where its at. (Plaes ManageWP, do not be fooled by the affiliate dollar signs…a few extra bucks from a bad host and your brand is then tied to the bad experience that referred ManageWP’ers experience.
Seriously guys, EIG/crappy hosts will devalue your fantastic brand.
Those who mention HostGator…I understand that suggestion, but as EIG sinks it’s teeth deeper, you will see original HG staff being downsized and suppost subtly pushed to an EIG amalgamated off-shore support centre. Shared servers will be crammed with accounts and HG will become like every other EIG brand. (Look at Netfirms – I think the Netfirms staff are almost completely gone.)

I won’t even bother opening up on Go Daddy. It’s neck and neck with them and EIG as to who is the worst host on the planet right now. I’d sooner give my dad a lap-dance than give a single dollar to some elephant murderer’s over-hyped, underspec’ed Walmart of the hosting world.

2 & 4
Why not look at getting on-side with security plugin guys at Bulletproof security and Better WP Security. See if there is any sort of partnership/new ManageWP toys could be developed. Both are awesome and play fine with Securi. Same goes for W3SC and WPSC (cache) and Yoast (seo). Lots of awesome possibilities.
Why not make a “master plugin” optimised for the HIGH QUALITY host you partner with – being preconfigured with all the optimal settings for (e.g. BPS, BWPS, WPSC & yoast)…you can brag that no tweaking is required to have your master plug activated, that all plugs will play nice…

Additional features that would be cool:
A ManageWP change/update sandbox….kinda like WP Engine offers. Let us try out an update before making it live.

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derek@derekkruger.com

April 2, 2013

Vladimir,
You all have built an amazing product here. I’ve just started building niche sites and I envision having hundreds of sites and naturally using ManageWP to do it easily.
I would suggest hosting at Rackspace Hosting. (Disclaimer: That’s where I work) They offer a huge portfolio of products from Cloud hosting to dedicated and even colocation. The best part is you get a great team of people that are Fanatical about supporting you! Give us a call, someone will answer the phone!
Keep up the great work, you guys have an awesome product and I use it daily.
Best,
Derek

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SocialSpark

April 5, 2013

Definitely need the backup improved. That was one of my main reasons for using ManageWP, but it doesn’t work with GoDaddy or most of the other hosts my sites are on and that’s a big problem.

As for hosting partnerships, WPEngine is the best by a long shot. I can’t get all of my clients to go for it because of the price, but they’re the best, AND they already provide a backup system with their hosting.

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michaeltieso

May 7, 2013

I’m willing to bet Sucuri would partner with you guys. Better malware detection would be fantastic.

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steve@neostead.com

July 5, 2013

I HIGHLY recommend BlueHost as the hosting ptovider. They are first on the list for hosting on the WordPress site itself, and the level of customer service is extraordinary! I switched to BlueHost many years ago and as of this day have never had a single bad experience. The phone support is fantastic. The techs will stay on the phone with you no matter how long it takes.

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