Change a plugin everywhere, once
Rolling one plugin out to forty sites by hand is an afternoon. Doing it twice a year is a week you did not bill for. And the version that gets missed on site thirty-one is the one that causes the incident in November.
Fleet plugin management does the whole set in one run: activate, deactivate, install or uninstall across whichever sites you select, installing from an uploaded ZIP, premium plugins included. For the step-by-step version, see how to install a plugin on many sites at once.
What you can do in one run
- Install a plugin across selected sites from an uploaded ZIP, including licensed and premium plugins that are not in the WordPress.org directory. The ZIP is uploaded to your dashboard once and reused for every site.
- Activate or deactivate a plugin across a selection, which is how you switch off a misbehaving plugin fleet-wide in one run instead of forty logins.
- Uninstall a plugin everywhere, so a tool you have stopped paying for actually leaves.
- See every plugin across the fleet with how many sites run it, how many have it active and how many have an update waiting, with a live result for each site as a run completes.
Target sites are picked from a searchable list, with an issues-only filter and select all or none. Tags scope fleet-wide updates on the main Updates screen; the Fleet Plugins screen uses its own site list.
The Advanced Child requirement
Installing plugins from a ZIP needs the Siteward Advanced Child plugin on the target site, rather than the standard Siteward Child. Activate, deactivate and uninstall work with either.
Sites still running the standard child are skipped, and the install screen tells you how many of your selection that is before the run starts, so you always know how many sites will not receive the change and why.
Switching a site over is a one-time swap that keeps the site paired, and the switching steps are set out on the Advanced Child page linked above.
Why this is a Pro feature
Reading state across a fleet is free in Siteward: updates, uptime, backups, vulnerabilities and health flags all cost nothing on unlimited sites. Writing state across a fleet, which is what plugin management is, sits in Pro. Pro is $129 a year or $399 once, unlimited sites, no per-site fee.
Common questions
Can I install premium plugins that are not on WordPress.org?
Yes. Fleet plugin management installs from an uploaded ZIP, so licensed and premium plugins work the same as directory plugins.
What happens to sites that are not ready?
Installing needs the Siteward Advanced Child. Selected sites running the standard Siteward Child are skipped, and the install screen tells you how many before the run starts, so nothing fails silently. Activate, deactivate and uninstall work on either child.
Can I limit a run to some sites?
Yes. Every run targets only the sites you select in the Sites list, which you can search, filter to sites with issues, or select all at once.
Is fleet plugin management free?
No. It is a Pro feature. Pro is $129 a year or $399 for lifetime, covering unlimited sites with no per-site fee.
Unlimited sites free. Pro from $129/yr, or $399 once.