{"id":107896,"date":"2020-07-08T11:09:56","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T16:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=107896"},"modified":"2025-05-14T13:32:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T18:32:42","slug":"smart-plugin-manager-does-it-again-new-features-improve-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/smart-plugin-manager-does-it-again-new-features-improve-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Plugin Manager Does It Again: New Features Improve Productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The best plugin manager for WordPress just got even better. WP Engine\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/smart-plugin-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Smart Plugin Manager<\/a>\u2014the only comprehensive plugin manager for WordPress\u2014now has several new features that make it even easier for site developers to take advantage of the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">massive plugin ecosystem<\/a> available for WordPress sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Launched in 2019, Smart Plugin Manager takes the headache out of plugin maintenance by automatically checking plugins for updates and then initiating those updates overnight or on a weekly basis, whichever frequency best fits your workflow. The tool also employs machine learning in the form of visual regression testing to ensure all plugin updates are completed successfully, without causing unintended consequences that could result in downtime or lost traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its launch, Smart Plugin Manager has safely conducted more than one million plugin updates for WP Engine\u2019s customers\u2014that includes 13 million screenshots, taken for 3,000 customers over the past six months\u2014all of whom are enjoying the latest features of the plugins they already use.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"youtube-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fNC9E7M-920?si=nLjpFmtmFKdyQGl_\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Smart Plugin Manager has also <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/putting-an-end-to-tedious-plugin-maintenance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saved countless hours of developer time<\/a>. With plugin maintenance under control, developers are able to focus their talents on more valuable projects, rather than the weekly, sometimes daily routine that goes into keeping plugins up-to-date.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on requested customer feedback, Smart Plugin Manager was updated a few months after it was launched to include new options for individual plugin updates, updated email notifications, and enhanced user controls. After another round of discussions with customers to determine how we could make Smart Plugin Manager even better, we\u2019re excited to announce the release of several new features that provide significant user experience and functionality enhancements, helping you launch faster, and keep your site more secure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re also excited to announce that all WP Engine <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Premium and Enterprise plans<\/a> now come with one Smart Plugin Manager license at no extra cost! These licenses are good in perpetuity, for the life of the account, and offer unrestricted access to this powerful plugin management solution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur customers are seeking to differentiate their brands through next-level digital experiences, which increasingly rely upon animation or other types of dynamic content,\u201d said Laura Kelso, VP of Product at WP Engine. \u201dWith the latest features added to Smart Plugin Manager, and specifically our new screenshot engine, we\u2019re able to freeze animation frames, ensuring we are comparing site elements at the exact same moment before and after an update. This yields more accurate test results and much shorter maintenance windows, which is a win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See below for a full list of all the recent updates to Smart Plugin Manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Simplified onboarding experience:<\/strong> We&#8217;ve simplified the Smart Plugin Manager onboarding experience with an intuitive guide that walks you through easy steps to quickly connect your sites and configure all your settings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1270\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/spmonboarding-1.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107902\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Weekly update frequency:<\/strong> Now you can configure Smart Plugin Manager so it runs updates weekly rather than daily. This allows updates to better fit the wide variety of maintenance schedules and, for agencies, it allows them to consolidate reporting for their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"692\" src=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107897\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM1.png 870w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM1-300x239.png 300w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM1-768x611.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bulk settings:<\/strong> With this enhancement, Smart Plugin Manager customers can adjust settings once and have the changes update across multiple sites (e.g., notification preferences, automatic rollbacks, time zones). This translates into a significant user experience improvement and big-time savings, especially for agencies that manage a large number of sites or accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1386\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPMBulkSettings3-9-20.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107903\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Git-based support:<\/strong> For custom plugins hosted in GitHub, GitLab, or BitBucket, Smart Plugin Manager will update and ensure updates aren\u2019t overwritten, which significantly reduces the DevOps burden (as custom plugin testing can now be automated) and provides additional peace of mind that your updates are exactly the ones that should be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Single site settings:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>The latest version of Smart Plugin Manager gives you the ability to exclude specific site pages or objects from visual regression testing as well as the ability to exclude specific plugins from updating, enabling deeper customization at the page level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>VRT + screenshot engine enhancements:<\/strong> Smart Plugin Manager\u2019s new screenshot image-taking engine speeds up and improves the accuracy of visual regression tests for before and after screenshots. To make it even better, we added logic to freeze screenshots, resulting in more accurate tests for pages with animation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"938\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM2.png 938w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM2-300x241.png 300w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/SPM2-768x617.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SEO tag change detection: <\/strong>We made Smart Plugin Manager even smarter across the board, but particularly when it comes to protecting your site\u2019s SEO rankings. Smart Plugin Manager now protects your site\u2019s or page\u2019s SEO rankings by performing \u201csmart\u201d comparisons of SEO tags before and after a plugin update. If material changes to the SEO rankings are detected, the site is automatically rolled back and you are notified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Learn more about Smart Plugin Manager&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For Premium accounts requiring more than the single <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/smart-plugin-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\">Smart Plugin Manager<\/a> license included with their plan, multi-pack licenses are available for purchase. Smart Plugin Manager is currently available as an add-on for Start Up, Growth, and Scale <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/plans\/\" target=\"_blank\">plan types<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to learn more about Smart Plugin Manager or see it in action, make sure and watch &#8220;The Future is Now! Using Machine Learning To Automate Plugin Updates + Secure Your Site,\u201d which was presented at <a href=\"https:\/\/attend.wpengine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WP Engine Summit\/2020<\/a> by Annan Patel, Senior Manager of Product Management at WP Engine. <a href=\"https:\/\/attend.wpengine.com\/summit-us-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here<\/a> for access to all of the sessions from Summit\/2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also check out <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/smart-plugin-manager-get-peace-of-mind-with-automated-plugin-updates\/\">this white paper<\/a>, which details why keeping plugins up-to-date is so important as well as how Smart Plugin Manager automates this process and makes it easy for you to rest easy, knowing your plugin maintenance is under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Interested in other WP Engine add-ons? Check out <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/global-edge-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Global Edge Security,<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/application-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Application Performance Monitoring<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>, and <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/geotarget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>GeoTarget<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best plugin manager for WordPress just got even better. WP Engine\u2019s Smart Plugin Manager\u2014the only comprehensive plugin manager for WordPress\u2014now has several new features that make it even easier for site developers to take advantage of the massive plugin ecosystem available for WordPress sites. Launched in 2019, Smart Plugin Manager takes the headache out<span class=\"tile__ellipses\">&hellip;<\/span><span class=\"tile__ellipses--animated\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":86969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-updates"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Smart Plugin Manager Does It Again: New Features Improve Productivity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WP Engine\u2019s Smart Plugin Manager now has several new features making it even easier for site developers to leverage the massive WordPress plugin ecosystem.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" 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