How to use JetHost WordPress Manager dashboard

JetHost WordPress Manager is a comprehensive control panel that simplifies WordPress site management directly from your hosting account. In particular, this powerful tool lets you create new WordPress installations, manage existing sites, configure automatic updates, handle backups, enhance security, and access advanced features – all without requiring FTP access or technical expertise. Furthermore, WordPress Manager is included free with all hosting for WordPress plans at JetHost.

Accessing WordPress Manager

To access WordPress Manager, log into your JetHost client area and navigate to the WordPress Manager section from the main menu. Once there, you’ll see the WordPress Manager dashboard displaying all your WordPress installations along with options to create new sites.

Understanding the dashboard

The WordPress Manager dashboard provides a centralized view of all your WordPress installations. Each installation is displayed in a table showing:

• Installation name/domain: The primary domain where WordPress is installed
• Service/hosting plan: Which hosting plan this installation uses
• WordPress version: The current WordPress core version number
• Manage button: Quick access to detailed management features

Additionally, the dashboard includes a Create Site button for installing new WordPress sites and a Sync Installations button to refresh the list of installations.

Creating a new WordPress site

WordPress Manager makes creating new WordPress installations quick and straightforward:

Starting the installation process

Click the orange Create Site button to open the WordPress installation form. This form guides you through selecting a hosting service, choosing a domain, and configuring your WordPress installation details.

Selecting your hosting service

The Service dropdown displays all hosting accounts where you can install WordPress. Choose the hosting plan where you want to create the new installation. Moreover, if you have multiple hosting accounts, this dropdown makes it easy to select the appropriate one.

Configuring WordPress information

The installation form requires several pieces of information to complete your WordPress install:

• Administrator Username: Your WordPress admin login name (e.g., “Rosie”)
• Administrator Password: A strong password for your admin account. Use the Generate button to create a secure random password. The strength indicator shows password quality.
• Administrator Email: The email address for your WordPress admin account
• Language: Select your preferred WordPress language from the dropdown

Completing the installation

After filling in all required fields, click the orange Continue button to create your WordPress site. The installation typically completes in under a minute. Consequently, you’ll be able to access your new WordPress site and begin customizing it immediately.

Managing existing WordPress installations

Click the Manage button next to any installation to access comprehensive management features. This opens the detailed WordPress Manager interface with access to all management tools.

Switching between installations

At the top of the management interface, you’ll see a site selector dropdown. Use this to quickly switch between managing different WordPress installations without returning to the main dashboard. Additionally, the interface displays whether you’re viewing a Production or Staging environment.

WordPress Manager features overview

WordPress Manager provides nine main feature sections, each accessible via tabs in the top navigation:

Overview

The Overview tab serves as your WordPress dashboard, displaying essential site information including URL, installation directory, WordPress version, database name, and environment status. Furthermore, quick action buttons let you clear cache and access your WordPress admin panel with a single click.

Plugins and themes

The Plugins & Themes section provides tools for managing your WordPress extensions:

• Plugins management: Discover, install, and manage WordPress plugins from the official repository. Browse featured plugins optimized for JetHost hosting or search thousands of available plugins.
• Themes management: Find, install, and manage WordPress themes. View ratings, check active installations, and deploy themes with one-click installation.

Users

The Users tab lets you manage WordPress user accounts directly from your hosting control panel. View existing users, add new accounts with specific roles, and manage permissions without logging into WordPress admin. Moreover, you can filter users by role and search for specific accounts quickly.

File Manager

The File Manager link provides direct access to cPanel’s File Manager, allowing you to browse, edit, upload, and manage files for your WordPress installation. This tool is essential for editing configuration files, manually installing plugins, troubleshooting issues, and performing advanced file operations.

Backups

The Backups section provides comprehensive backup solutions with three backup types:

• Full Backup: Complete site snapshot including files and database
• Database Only: Backs up WordPress database content
• Files Only: Backs up themes, plugins, and uploads without database

Additionally, you can add optional notes to each backup for easy identification and download backups for offline storage.

Security

The Security tab offers multiple protection features including:

• PHP execution prevention in critical directories
• File access restrictions and permission controls
• XML-RPC protection and pingback blocking
• Bot protection and author scan blocking
• Directory browsing prevention
• Admin file editing restrictions

Each security feature can be individually enabled or disabled based on your specific requirements.

Patchstack security

Patchstack – you can activate it from the dedicated Patchstack Protection tab in WordPress Manager. This feature monitors your WordPress installation for known vulnerabilities and blocks exploitation attempts in real time, adding an extra layer of security without affecting site performance.

Staging

The Staging feature lets you create complete copies of your WordPress installation for safe testing. Test plugins, themes, updates, and code changes without risking your production site. Choose between creating staging sites on new subdomains or existing domains, and easily switch between production and staging environments.

Change Domain

The Change Domain tab allows you to migrate your WordPress installation to a different domain with automatic database and configuration updates. This feature handles the technical complexity of domain changes, updating all references and ensuring your site works correctly on the new domain.

Auto Updates

The Auto Updates section lets you configure automatic updates for WordPress core, plugins, and themes. Enable updates selectively based on your comfort level – you might auto-update WordPress core for security while manually controlling plugin updates. This feature ensures your site stays current with security patches automatically.

Advanced

The Advanced tab provides access to critical maintenance tools:

• Maintenance Mode: Display a maintenance page while you work on your site
• Regenerate Permalinks: Fix broken links and 404 errors by refreshing rewrite rules
• Search Engine Visibility: Control whether search engines can index your site
• Delete Website: Permanently remove your WordPress installation

Best practices for using WordPress Manager

Maintain regular backups

Create backups regularly and before making any significant changes. Download important backups to your computer for offline storage. Moreover, test backup restoration periodically on your staging environment to verify backups work correctly.

Test changes on staging first

Use the staging feature to test plugins, themes, updates, and code changes before applying them to production. This prevents errors from affecting your live visitors. Additionally, staging environments let you experiment freely without risk.

Enable appropriate security features

Review and enable security options appropriate for your site. At minimum, prevent PHP execution in uploads and includes directories, restrict file access, and block author scans. Similarly, combine WordPress Manager security with strong passwords and regular updates for comprehensive protection.

Keep WordPress updated

Configure automatic updates for WordPress core at minimum. Security updates are critical for protecting your site. Consider enabling automatic plugin and theme updates as well, combined with regular monitoring and backups.

Use clear cache regularly

Clear your WordPress cache from the overview tab after making changes, especially after updating plugins, themes, or WordPress core. This ensures visitors see current content rather than cached versions.

Monitor your installations

Regularly check the WordPress Manager dashboard to verify your sites are running current WordPress versions. Use the Sync Installations button to refresh installation information. Additionally, review user accounts periodically to remove inactive users.

Common WordPress Manager workflows

Installing and testing a new plugin

1. Create a backup of your production site
2. Create a staging environment if you don’t have one
3. Switch to staging and install the plugin
4. Test thoroughly on staging
5. If successful, install the same plugin on production
6. Clear cache and verify functionality

Performing major WordPress updates

1. Create a full backup
2. Enable maintenance mode
3. Apply updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes
4. Test critical functionality
5. Clear cache
6. Disable maintenance mode
7. Monitor for issues

Changing your domain

1. Create a complete backup
2. Verify new domain is configured correctly
3. Use Change Domain feature to migrate
4. Regenerate permalinks
5. Clear all caches
6. Test site thoroughly on new domain
7. Set up redirects from old domain

Troubleshooting a broken site

1. Access File Manager to identify the issue
2. Review error logs
3. Rename problematic plugin or theme folders to disable them
4. If issue persists, restore from recent backup
5. Test functionality after restoration
6. Identify and fix the root cause

Getting started with WordPress Manager

For new JetHost customers starting with WordPress Manager:

1. Create your first WordPress site: Use the Create Site button to install WordPress
2. Explore the Overview tab: Familiarize yourself with basic site information
3. Create an initial backup: Establish your first restore point
4. Enable core security features: Activate basic security protections
5. Configure auto-updates: At minimum, enable WordPress core automatic updates
6. Create a staging environment: Set up a safe testing area
7. Review and bookmark documentation: Explore detailed guides in our knowledgebase

Need more help?

Explore more WordPress Manager guides and hosting tutorials in our knowledgebase. The WordPress Manager is included free with all hosting for WordPress plans at JetHost.

For additional support with WordPress Manager or any hosting questions, our team is here to help you successfully manage your WordPress websites.