Install and activate the plugin
Download
wp-manager-pro-v2.9.4.zip from the Releases page. In WP Admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the ZIP, click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.See the Installation page for manual and build-from-source options.Navigate to WP Manager
Click WP Manager in the WordPress admin sidebar. The full React-powered control panel loads in place — no page reload or separate browser tab required.
Review the dashboard
The Dashboard gives you an at-a-glance snapshot of your site’s health:
- Update alerts — counts of pending core, plugin, and theme updates
- Active plugin and theme counts
- PHP limits — memory limit, max execution time, upload size limit
- Storage — database size, uploads folder size, disk usage
- Recent posts — a summary of the latest published content
Run your first plugin update check
Navigate to Plugin Manager in the sidebar. Click Check Updates in the top-right corner. WP Manager Pro forces WordPress to re-query WordPress.org for fresh update data and immediately refreshes the plugin list — no page reload needed.Plugins with available updates show an update badge. Click the update button on any plugin row to update it to the latest version.
Enable maintenance mode
Navigate to Maintenance in the sidebar. You will see three tabs:
- Content — set the page title and message visitors will see
- Appearance — choose a gradient preset (Midnight, Sunset, Forest, Royal, Slate, or Candy), pick an emoji icon, and adjust colors
- Extras — add a countdown timer to a specified date and time
Set up admin URL protection
Hiding the default WordPress login URL is one of the highest-impact security steps you can take. Navigate to Security in the sidebar, then open the Login tab.Under Admin URL Protection, enter a secret slug — for example,
my-secret-login. Click the clipboard button to copy the new login URL before saving, then click Enable Protection.Your login page now lives at yoursite.com/my-secret-login. Direct GET requests to wp-login.php are redirected to the homepage. Password-reset and POST flows are unaffected.For the full security feature set — IP blocklist, two-factor authentication, and core file integrity checks — see Security overview.