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what options exist to install+manage multiple WP installations?

by SageSound
8 replies
OTHER than Wordpress-MU (which I already know about), what options exist to help install and manage a BUNCH (say, 100 or more) of Wordpress sites on different domains conveniently from one place?

Both server-side scripts and desktop applications are candidates.

In particular, I want something that will help with the following common tasks:

* initial installation from a common "template" (a theme, some plugins, various settings like timezone, first day of week, etc.)

* easy to update plugins on all sites

* a way to manage common things, like replacing a header graphic on a given site, adding a plugin to all sites, activating/deactivating plugins on all sites, etc.

I've seen stuff from time to time, but didn't pay much attention because it wasn't something I needed right then.

Thx
-David
#exist #install #installations #manage #options
  • Profile picture of the author WillDee
    I can't offer any advice on managing them from a central location, because that's something I struggle with too.

    WP ManagerDX is apparently quite good, but is limited to use on hosts that use cPanel, which is why I haven't used it.

    In terms of changing default settings for your initial build, you can do that manually by editing the install.php that comes with WordPress. You can also add individual plugins and themes to the base build. It's manual, but it will simplify installing it later.

    To mass upload, I use ioncube package foundry. I create an install package based on my modified install file and just let it run. While it's not perfect, it does save time.

    More recently I started playing with Winautomation (there's a great WSO on at the moment) and with that I can manage creating custom wp-config files.
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  • Profile picture of the author SageSound
    cPanel is fine for my needs at the moment.

    I can edit everything manually. That's what I'm trying to get away from doing.

    Ioncube doesn't buy anything that can't be accomplished with a Zip file in this case.


    Google turns up something called "WP Auto Installer" from mass-automation.com, but their web site says:

    Mass Automation
    Innovative Web Tools

    Business hours:
    From Sunday morning to Friday afternoon
    I guess they're not innovative enough for their web site to work when they're off for the weekend.

    Anybody know anything about this product? Is their web site usually down when their office is closed?

    I'd like to hear from people who actually have been using a product like this. I can read sales pages and testimonials as well as the next person.


    -David
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  • Profile picture of the author WillDee
    Mass Automation Tools
    Mass Automation Tools

    Interesting. They limit the number of blogs you can install/create. $199/1000

    FWIW, they've both had fairly negative feedback on other forums, around initial configuration and serious lack of support.
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    • Profile picture of the author SageSound
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  • Profile picture of the author owol
    WP ManagerDX is not a nice program in my experience. All the options right now are poor, I'm excited to get Mu set up with WordPress 3.0, as my experience with Mu so far hasn't been great either.
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  • Profile picture of the author SageSound
    Does anybody have anything specific to say about any of these?

    "not a nice program" can be used to describe most Windows software.

    Do they work? Are they useful?

    The nature of the beast is that one-click setups are nice, but they have to make all kinds of assumptions about initial settings. As you add the ability to let people specify initial data, it can get unwieldly and appear overwhelming. So having useful defaults, or defaults that let you simply skip over or ignore certain things, is helpful. None of the product descriptions for these apps disusses this.

    One other option I'd like is the ability to have Wordpress installed automatically when a new user account is created within WHM. Does anybody know of any scripts that do this?

    -David
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  • Profile picture of the author dwatrous
    I think this is partly the idea behind wordpress direct that was part of the 30DC.

    Word Press Direct

    I used their service for a couple weeks but couldn't see what value they added so i dropped it. I'm not saying they don't add value, but I'm a pretty technical user and having them in between me and my blog felt a little clunky, even if they have ultra optimized themes.

    I use Thesis anyway for my blogs and now version 1.7 allows for export and import of options. That would make installing many blogs easier.
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  • Profile picture of the author shera35
    I've used WP Manager DX and have not really found it useful. Documentation and support sucks.
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