Plugins add features and themes control the design of your WordPress site. WP Squared lets you manage both from its dashboard, which is quicker than logging in to each site separately, especially when you run several sites. You can always use the normal WordPress admin screens as well; both stay in sync.
Before you start
- Access to the WP Squared dashboard from MdmHost dashboard → Services.
- A recent backup or restore point for the site, especially before large updates.
View installed plugins and themes
- Open the WP Squared dashboard and select the site.
- Open its plugins section. You see each plugin's name, version, whether it is active and whether an update is available.
- Open the themes section to see installed themes and which one is active.
Install a plugin or theme
- In the site's plugins or themes section choose to add or install a new one.
- Search the WordPress.org directory by name, for example LiteSpeed Cache.
- Install it and activate it in the same step or afterwards.
Premium plugins and themes that are not on WordPress.org are installed inside WordPress: go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin or Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme and choose the ZIP file you bought.
Update plugins and themes
- Items with an available update are highlighted in the site's list. Update them individually or select several at once.
- If you manage several sites, use the overview of pending updates to see which sites need attention.
- Update large plugins, such as shop or page builder plugins, after reading their changelog and ideally after testing on staging.
Tip: Enable automatic updates for small, well-maintained plugins and keep manual control over the few plugins your site depends on most.
Deactivate and delete
Deactivating a plugin turns it off but keeps its files and settings. Deleting removes its files; many plugins also keep their settings in the database unless they offer a clean-up option. Remove plugins and themes you no longer use: inactive code can still contain security holes. Keep one default WordPress theme installed as a fallback.
Choosing good plugins
- Check that the plugin was updated in the last few months and is tested with your WordPress version.
- Prefer one plugin per job: one SEO plugin, one cache plugin, one form plugin.
- Avoid "nulled" copies of premium plugins; they often contain malware.
- On MdmHost use LiteSpeed Cache for page caching, because the servers run LiteSpeed.
When a plugin breaks the site
- Deactivate the plugin you just installed or updated from the WP Squared dashboard, which works even when the WordPress admin is down.
- Reload the site in a private window.
- If the site is still broken, restore the restore point taken before the change.
- Report the problem to the plugin developer with the error message and your WordPress and PHP versions.
Troubleshooting
- Update fails: the plugin's licence may have expired (premium plugins), or the download server is busy. Try again later or update inside WordPress to see the exact error.
- Plugin list out of date: refresh the dashboard; changes made inside WordPress can take a moment to appear.
- Layout broke after a theme update: your customisations were in the parent theme. Move them to a child theme.