Stop worrying about your phone ringing because a client’s site is down while you are on vacation. Instead, spend your time on what matters most with our latest and greatest release of our Managed Plugin Updates Add-on. We’ve got your back!

We’ve added AI technology that leverages a machine learning model that has run plugin updates millions of times in addition to our Technical Account Specialists’ creative problem solving to troubleshoot issues. This provides you with the most reliable plugin management service on the market. With this added functionality you’ll also have more control over how often they update, what time they run, how you’re notified, and if a site goes into maintenance mode during updates. We’re changing the game on plugin updates.

Let’s take a closer look at how it works!

Automate plugin updates without the risk

Our Managed Plugin Updates Add-on takes the best of AI technology and adds a layer of real WordPress experts. It’ll detect even the slightest difference to your site that the human eye might’ve missed, and then will roll back the update and create a ticket for our team of experts to troubleshoot. You can get back to more important work, and relax knowing that your sites are safe and up to date!

Here’s how it works:

1. A backup is taken of the site and the plugin folders.
2. Screenshots of up to 20 pages (including the home page) are taken prior to updates.
3. Plugin updates are run on the site via our automated service.
4. Another set of screenshots are taken of the same pages.
5. Our AI technology checks for these 3 things:
   • Are there any critical site issues like PHP or 50X errors? 
   • Did anything change on the site? (We compare the screenshots pixel-by-pixel!)
   • If yes to either, we run the site through our machine learning model and determine if the site is in fact different from the previous version.
6. If the Machine Learning model detects any problems, we revert the changes to the site and our Technical Account Specialists will be notified to try to resolve the issues. They’ll reach out via a ticket. 
7. If all is good or the plugins could not be updated due to missing license keys,  you’ll get an automated email letting you know we’re all done!

Total control over automatic plugin updates

With options to manage when, how often, and who knows about your plugin updates, your site visitor’s experience is never interrupted — including a maintenance mode option! You can easily see update statuses and customize your settings right from your Flywheel dashboard.

• See the status of updates and the history
• Choose your update frequency (daily or weekly!)
• Select “non-spike” hours for updates
• Put your site into maintenance mode
• Decide who gets email notifications

Get the best, most reliable plugin management service on the market!

Ready to get started with Managed Plugin Updates? If you already have a sites on your Flywheel account, you can enable it from the Managed Plugin Updates Add-on page in the app.

If you’re not a current Flywheel customer, you can learn more about Managed Plugin Updates here or create an account to get started!

FAQs

We’re guessing you probably are asking a few questions like the ones below, but check out our full FAQ help doc here.

Why should I use Flyweel’s Managed Plugin Updates vs. something else?

Other tools require manual intervention and management by you. You have to monitor the updates, ensure your sites do not break in the process and roll back as needed. With our Managed Plugin Updates Add-on, we handle all of the management at a price that beats you managing it yourself.

By combining the best of our AI technology with an added layer of real WordPress experts, we’re able to catch even the slightest changes to your site that the human eye might have missed while also providing creative problem solving and troubleshooting from our Technical Account Specialists. This means no more sites left in broken states and relying on yourself or a developer to fix your site!

What is visual regression AI technology?

The software we use for visual regression testing uses a sophisticated model that has been run millions of times on sites to be trained to detect even the smallest changes before and after updates. 

First, we check for any critical errors, if there is a critical error we rollback the changes. Next, we take screenshots of up to twenty pages of your site and do an image comparison to look for changed pixels. If there are changed pixels, we run the data through our machine learning model to see if the pixel changes are substantial enough to roll back the site. If any of these scenarios occurred that resulted in a rollback, our Technical Account Specialists step in. They will check the site, troubleshoot, and send you a summary of where there is an issue.

How do I enable Managed Plugin Updates?

1. Log in to the Flywheel app (or create an account!)
2. Head to the Add-ons tab on the top navigation and select “Add-ons”
3. Select the sites or subscriptions you would like to enable the Add-on for
4. Select “Add sites”
5. Preview your billing summary and once you’re ready to go, click “Make Payment”
6. If you have any additional questions you can always reach out to us at [email protected]

How do Managed Plugin Updates work?

Once you’ve enabled Managed Plugin Updates, select which plugins you want updated and then you’re ready to go! Your plugins will start updating within that first week you sign up.

We’ll update all of the public WordPress repository plugins that have updates available and premium plugins that have their license keys available in WordPress. Before the update process begins, we take a backup of your site and plugin files. Only then are the updates completed. If any issues are found during the live site update process, we’ll revert the suspect plugin or restore back all changes. The site will never be left down or broken!

If there are any errors or issues, you’ll see a ticket generated and our Technical Account Specialists start investigating to help you troubleshoot.

How often do you perform the plugin updates?

By default, your plugins will get updated weekly. If you’d like daily updates, you can change those settings globally or on a per-site level. Learn more about Managed Plugin Updates settings here!

What happens if my site has an issue after the plugin updates?

We complete a site inspection to ensure that your site is fully operational. If there are any issues with your site, the update will be rolled back to the previous version automatically. We won’t leave your site in an errored state. Any errors will be noted in the update summary on the Managed Plugin Updates page or in each site’s plugins tab. 

If you choose our Premium option, we don’t update your plugins in a production environment. Instead, we perform the updates on a separate cloned environment. Once updated, we’ll share the site with you and only push your updates live with your approval.

Are there any plugin you don’t update or any exceptions?

We do not update any premium plugins that are missing an up-to-date license key in the WordPress admin.

If you’re interested in Premium Managed Plugin Updates, contact us for detail and pricing!

Is there an option for updates on staging or in a separate environment from my live site?

Absolutely! With our Premium option, we don’t update your plugins in a production environment. Instead, we perform the updates in a separate cloned environment. Once updated, we share the site with you and only push your updates live with your approval. Contact our product specialists to get a custom quote for the premium add-on.

I’m a Managed Plugin Updates customer. Why don’t I see the new feature?

Hold tight! We’re in the middle of moving existing customers to the new service. Watch your email for a notification over the next few weeks, and we’ll migrate you over! If you have any questions or want to be moved over sooner, shoot us a message at [email protected].

I have a question that’s not listed.

For more information about Managed Plugin Updates, check out our overview help doc or our FAQ doc. And as always, if you have any other questions, just give us a call at 402-235-6105 or drop us a line at [email protected].