WP Toolkit

WP Toolkit is a single management interface that enables you to easily install, configure, and manage WordPress. It is available if the WP Toolkit extension is installed in staXscale Dashboard.

Installing WordPress

To install a new WordPress installation, go to WordPress and click Install.

Here you can:

• Install the latest version of WordPress with the default settings by clicking Install.

• Change the default settings (including the desired WordPress version, the database name, the autoupdate settings, and more) and then click Install.

A new installation appears in the list of all existing WordPress installations in WordPress.

Adding existing WordPress Installations to WP Toolkit

All WordPress installations added using the WP Toolkit or through the Applications page appear in WP Toolkit automatically; those installed manually need to be attached to WP Toolkit. If you have upgraded from an earlier version of staXscale Dashboard and you used WordPress, we recommend that you attach all existing WordPress installations to WP Toolkit.

To attach WordPress installations to WP Toolkit:

1. Go to WordPress.

2. Click Scan.

The WordPress installation was attached and is now shown in the list of existing WordPress installations in WordPress.

Importing WordPress Installations

You can use the "Web Site Migration" feature to migrate WordPress websites owned by you but hosted elsewhere to staXscale Dashboard. When you migrate a WordPress website, staXscale Dashboard copies all its files and the database to your server. Once a website has been migrated, you can manage it using WP Toolkit.

To migrate an existing WordPress website, go to Websites & Domains > WordPress, click Import, and then follow the migration guide instructions.

Managing WordPress Installations

Go to WordPress to see all your WordPress installations.

WP Toolkit groups information about each installation in blocks called cards.

A card shows a screenshot of your website and features a number of controls that give you easy access to frequently used tools. The screenshot changes in real time to reflect the changes you make to your website. For example, if you turn on maintenance mode or change the WordPress theme, the screenshot of the website will change immediately.

Changes you make directly in WordPress are synchronized with WP Toolkit once every 24 hours. To sync manually, click the refresh button.

When you move the mouse cursor over the screenshot of the website, you will see:

• Open Website button. To open the website in a new browser tab, click the button.

• Date and time the screenshot was updated last time. To update the screenshot right away, in the upper-right corner of the screenshot, click the refresh icon.

Here you can also do the following:

• Change your website name. To do so, click the edit icon, give your website a name, and then click the confirm icon.

• Log in to WordPress as an administrator. To do so, click Log in below the website screenshot.

• Change general WordPress settings. To do so, click "Setup" next to Log in.

• Go to the domain's screen in Websites & Domains. To do so, click Manage domain below the website screenshot.

Status

WordPress websites are frequently targeted by hackers. Outdated WordPress core, plugins, and themes also pose a security risk.

In the "Status" section, you can do the following:

• See if WordPress core as well as installed plugins and themes are up to date and update them if necessary.

• See if SSL/TLS support is enabled and, if not, enable it.

• See how safe is your website and enhance its security.

The controls in the "Tools" section give you easy access to the following settings and tools:

• Search engine indexing shows your website in search results of search engines.

• Debugging helps you debug a website that is not ready for viewing and being tested or developed.

• Password Protection specifies the password you will use to log in to WordPress from staXscale Dashboard.

• Take over wp-cron.php helps you set up a regular run of wp-cron.php.

Above the "Status" and "Tools" sections, you find the following WP Toolkit features:

• File Manager to manage the website's files in File Manager.

• Copy Data to copy the content of your website to another.

• Clone to make a full copy of your website.

• Back Up / Restore to create a backup of your website and restore it if necessary.

• Logs to view WP Toolkit logs of the installation you need to troubleshoot.

At the bottom of the website card, you can do the following:

• Install updates and configure autoupdates.

• Enable Smart Update, a premium feature, which helps you keep your production websites up to date without the risk of breaking them.

• Turn on "Maintenance mode", which hides your website's content from visitors.

On the remaining three tabs you can manage the installation's plugins, themes, and change the database username and password.

Website Labels

Website labels are preconfigured identifiers that you can give to your websites (for example, "staging", "production", "testing", and so on).

Depending on your project, it might be necessary to host multiple copies of a website for various purposes. Labels will help you distinguish one website from another.

By default, a website has no label. To label it, click ADD LABEL (on the website card next to the website name) and select the desired label. Labels are optional and you can change or remove a label at any time.

Managing Cards View

You can choose the way WP Toolkit shows cards. The default "Cards" view is best suited for a small number of installations. If you have a large number of installations, collapse cards.

You can also Filter installations to manage them easier.

Removing and Detaching Installations

You can detach WordPress installations that you do not want to see and manage in WP Toolkit. Detaching does not remove the installation, merely hides it from WP Toolkit. A detached installation will be attached to WP Toolkit again after you scan for WordPress installations. You can detach WordPress installations individually or multiple installations at a time.

To detach WordPress installations:

1. Go to WordPress and then do the following:

   • (To detach an individual installation) On the card of the installation you want to detach, click the menu icon.

   • (To detach multiple installations) Select installations you want to detach and click Detach.

2. Click Detach.

Unlike detaching, removal completely deletes a WordPress installation. You can remove any installation, no matter how it was installed: using WP Toolkit, through the Applications page, or manually. You can remove WordPress installations individually or multiple installations at a time.

To remove WordPress installations:

1. Go to WordPress and then do the following:

   • (To remove an individual installation) On the card of the installation you want to remove, click the menu icon.

   • (To remove multiple installations) Select installations you want to remove and click Remove.

2. Click Remove.

Search Engine Indexing and Debugging

By default, a newly created WP Toolkit website is shown in search results of search engines. If your website is not yet ready for public viewing, turn off "Search engine indexing".

If you are installing WordPress for testing or development, you can enable "Debugging" to automatically find and fix errors in the website code. To do so, click the settings icon next to "Debugging", select the WordPress debugging tools you want to activate, and then click OK.

Updating WordPress Installations

To keep your website secure, you need to regularly update the WordPress core, as well as any installed plugins and themes. You can do this either automatically or manually:

• Manual updates give you control over when updates are installed. For example, you can wait and see if installing a particular update caused issues for other WordPress users. However, you need to remember to update regularly to avoid falling behind.

• Autoupdates give you peace of mind by keeping your WordPress installation up to date. However, updates can sometimes break your installation, and with autoupdates, you may not learn about it right away.

For security reasons, we recommend that you configure autoupdates.

To update a WordPress installation manually:

1. Go to WordPress. If your WordPress installation needs updating, you will see the corresponding messages in the "Status" section (for example, "Install plugin updates").

2. Click any message about available updates, wait for WP Toolkit to load the list of available updates, and then select the updates you want to install.

   If an update of a WordPress core is available, you will see the "Restore Point" checkbox. Keep this checkbox selected to create a restore point you can use to roll back the update if something goes wrong.

3. Click Update.

The selected updates will be applied.

Although WP Toolkit regularly checks for updates itself, you can also check for updates at any time. To do so, click "Check updates".

To configure autoupdates for a WordPress installation:

1. Go to WordPress and choose the WordPress installation that you want to update automatically and then, on the installation card, click "Autoupdate settings".

2. Choose the desired autoupdate settings. You can configure autoupdates separately for WordPress core, plugins, and themes (for example, you can choose to enable autoupdates for plugins and themes, but not for WordPress core). Follow these recommendations:

   • Selecting "No" next to "Update WordPress automatically" turns off autoupdates of WordPress core. This is insecure.

   • If your website is publicly available (production) and you are concerned that applying updates automatically may break it, select "Yes, but only minor (security) updates".

   • If your website is a non-public (staging) version of a WordPress website, select "Yes, all (minor and major) updates". This will keep your staging website up to date and ensure that, should an update break something, it happens to the staging website and not to the production one.

3. Click OK.

If you are concerned that WordPress autoupdates may break your website, use Smart Updates. With Smart Updates, WordPress installations are always updated safely without breaking your website.

Backing up and Restoring WordPress Installations

To help prevent data loss, you can back up and restore websites. To do so, you can use either the WP Toolkit feature or the general staXscale Dashboard backup mechanism, called Backup Manager.

Creating backups in WP Toolkit may be more convenient than in Backup Manager because of the following reasons:

• WP Toolkit backs up an individual website, while Backup Manager backs up the whole subscription with all the subscription's websites and their data.

• If you need to back up an individual website, a WP Toolkit backup requires less time and disk space.

• Creating backups in WP Toolkit does not require any setup.

To back up a WordPress website:

1. Go to WordPress and then click Back up / Restore on the card of the WordPress installation you want to back up.

2. Click Back up.

Once the backup is finished, it will be displayed in the list of WP Toolkit backups.

To restore a WordPress website:

1. Go to WordPress and then click Back up / Restore on the card of the WordPress installation whose backup you want to restore.

2. Click the restore icon corresponding to the backup you want to restore.

   Restoring a backup removes all changes you made to the website after the backup date. For this reason, WP Toolkit suggests that you back up the current state of your website and use this backup to restore.

3. Click Restore.

You have restored your backup.

To be on the safe side, you may want to download WP Toolkit backup files to store them elsewhere.

To download WP Toolkit backup files:

1. Go to WordPress and then click Back up / Restore on the card of the WordPress installation whose backup files you want to download.

2. Click the download icon corresponding to the backup whose file you want to download.

   You will be redirected to the directory in File Manager (/wordpress-backups in the website's home directory) where WP Toolkit backups are stored.

3. Click the menu icon corresponding to the backup file you want to download