SSH Gateway Is Now Available!

Editor’s Note: Are you a WP Engine customer interested in local development? SSH Gateway is now available for all plan types! Get started with Local Development today.

Recently I was visiting my nieces and nephews and they wanted to have a water balloon fight. I grabbed a few balloons and headed to the hose to prepare for the coming battle. By the time I had a measly two balloons tied off my nephew came around the corner with dozens of perfect balloons in a bucket. How was this possible? The only explanation I saw was that he must have spent all morning filling each and every balloon.

It turns out he was using a tool that automatically fills up and ties 40 balloons in a matter of seconds. He found a way to skip most of the boring and repetitive parts (filling up balloons) so he could focus on the fun stuff (throwing balloons at his uncle). This is what humans excel at, from the invention of the wheel to the latest productivity apps, we make tools to help us get more done with less effort. So what does this have to do with WordPress?

When managing a collection of client sites, web developers can often find themselves performing the same tasks over and over again. For example, onboarding new clients involve installing WordPress, migrating existing content, and adding a standard suite of plugins. Existing clients require regular database maintenance, performance troubleshooting, and content updates. Multiply all these tasks by 20 or 30 clients and you have a good idea of what tasks can easily eat away a developer’s time.

Instead of having to do these tasks one by one for each client, customers on Premium and Enterprise plans can now use WP Engine’s SSH Gateway to accomplish tasks efficiently through a command line interface, saving time and effort. Because the connection is managed and maintained by WP Engine, you know that no outside work from you is required to make sure the connection is secure and performant.

Users can manage their WordPress sites via SSH Gateway through the WordPress Command Line Interface (WP-CLI) and other tools like MySQL. WP-CLI will look very familiar to those with a background in web development. You can use WP-CLI to manage WordPress settings and administration, navigate files and directories, and move and transfer files. Users can even create scripts and loops to automate tasks that previously would take a lot of manual work. Think of it as your very own water balloon filler for WordPress.

With the SSH Gateway you can simplify site management and administrative tasks, such as:

• • Setup and configure new sites faster

• • Update and maintain all your sites easier

• • Sync files to and from your website
  • Import and export databases

• • Change domain names
  • Troubleshoot site errors

• And much more!

Want to find out how you can use our SSH Gateway to get more done in less time? We will be holding a webinar on April 18th on top ways to use WP-CLI.