ManageWP alternative for a single site
A free plugin adds a chat to your WP dashboard. Ask, and it updates free wordpress.org plugins, checks the site, and puts the old version back if it got worse.
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
ManageWP is a trademark of its owner. CMSHands is not affiliated with it.
Update Loco Translate and check that my site still works.
Watch it do this on a real site
When it works
You ask
You type it in the chat in your WP dashboard, the way you'd say it to a person. You don't need the version number, and you don't open the Plugins screen.
Update Loco Translate and check that my site still works.
You see it first
It listed the site's plugins, read a setting and loaded the home page the way a visitor would. About 13 seconds after the request, a card showed the change: 2.8.8 out, 2.8.9 in. Nothing on the site had changed yet.
Ready for you to review — 2.8.9 hasn't been tried on this site yet; if anything breaks after the change, 2.8.8 goes back on its own, and the check afterwards is part of the card. Your home page loads normally right now.
- 4 secondsListing your plugins and themes
- Reading a WordPress setting
- Loading a page the way a visitor would
- 6 secondsPreparing the change for your OK
You press the button
Only now does it touch the site. It checked the site first, put 2.8.9 in, then checked the site again.
- 14 secondsChecking your site before the change
- 16 secondsUpdating Loco Translate to 2.8.9
- 17 secondsChecking your site
Updated and checked
The home page, the login page and the dashboard loaded as they did before, so 2.8.9 stayed. That last check took about 4 seconds. The card turned green, with an Undo link that would put 2.8.8 back. We didn't press it this time.
Loco Translate is now on 2.8.9. I checked your homepage, login page and admin afterwards, and they load as they did before.
A real run on our test site, Quillmoor Pottery (WP 7.1.3, Twenty Twenty-Four), Oct 11, 2026. From asking to done, it took 20 seconds.
When an update breaks the site
Same request, same card
We broke the update on purpose for this run, so 2.8.9 breaks the home page. The request and the card were the same as in the first run: 2.8.8 out, 2.8.9 in, about 13 seconds after the request. Nothing on the site had changed yet.
Ready for you to review — 2.8.9 hasn't been tried on this site yet; if anything breaks after the change, 2.8.8 goes back on its own, and the check afterwards is part of the card. Your home page loads normally right now, on Loco Translate 2.8.8.
- 2 secondsListing your plugins and themes
- Loading a page the way a visitor would
- 7 secondsPreparing the change for your OK
You press the button
It checked the site, put 2.8.9 in and checked again. This time the check found errors, so it checked once more, then put the old version back on its own. That second check is why the home page showed an error for about 20 seconds.
- 15 secondsChecking your site before the change
- 16 secondsUpdating Loco Translate to 2.8.9
- Checking your site
The old version goes back
It put 2.8.8 back on its own, with no press from you. Right away the card said “Didn't work” and “Nothing was changed”. After a reload it reads “Rolled back”, and “No change used”: the update didn't count as one of your free changes.
- 36 secondsPutting Loco Translate 2.8.8 back
Loco Translate 2.8.9 broke your site when I checked it, so I put 2.8.8 back straight away. It is running 2.8.8 again.
We broke the update on purpose. A real run on our test site, Quillmoor Pottery (WP 7.1.3, Twenty Twenty-Four), Oct 11, 2026. From asking to done, it took 36 seconds.
That's the whole job. The plugin is free: 3 changes to try it, no account. Nothing changes until you press the button.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Who should keep ManageWP
Keep ManageWP if you look after many sites: its one dashboard holds them all. Client reports and a monthly backup are free, and add-ons such as Backup and Uptime Monitor cost extra per site (managewp.com/pricing, read Oct 11, 2026). Its Safe Updates also cover themes and WP itself, which CMSHands doesn't update. CMSHands looks after one site from inside its own dashboard, and it doesn't make backups.
How they compare
| CMSHands | ManageWP | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | The one site you run yourself | Managing many WordPress websites “at scale”2 |
| Where you work | A chat in your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin | ManageWP's own dashboard, linked to each site by its Worker plugin2, 4 |
| Plugin updates | One at a time, by asking. It checks the site after and puts the old version back on its own if the site got worse. Plugins from the WP plugin directory only, the free plugins at wordpress.org | Safe Updates: a restore point first, before-and-after screenshots, and puts the site back on its own if a page returns an error (4xx or 5xx). Needs the paid Backup add-on, or GoDaddy hosting1, 3 |
| Themes and WP itself | No. Before a WP update it checks your plugins and theme and says if the update looks safe. You run it yourself | Yes: Safe Updates covers plugin, theme and core updates3 |
| Changing words, header, footer | Yes, by asking. Header and footer on block themes, the newer kind of WP theme: your dashboard has Appearance › Editor | Not listed on managewp.com/pricing, read Oct 11, 2026 |
| Backups | None. It keeps the plugin's old files, which is how Loco Translate 2.8.8 went back in our test. That isn't a copy of your site | A monthly cloud backup, free. The paid Backup add-on is $2 a site a month1 |
| Uptime checks | A daily check on the free plan, and one straight away if the site crashes | Uptime Monitor add-on, $1 a site a month1 |
| Many sites in one place | No: one site per install | Yes2 |
| Price | Free to start: 3 changes, then 10 a month with your email. A paid plan is coming | Core free. Add-ons $1 to $2 a site a month each, billed for what you used. All add-ons for up to 100 sites, $150 a month1 |
- 1. https://managewp.com/pricing, 2026-10-11
- 2. https://managewp.com/, 2026-10-11
- 3. https://managewp.com/features/safe-updates, 2026-10-11
- 4. https://wordpress.org/plugins/worker/, 2026-10-11
ManageWP is a trademark of its owner. CMSHands is not affiliated with ManageWP.
Can you use both?
Yes. You can keep ManageWP for backups and client reports, and ask the chat for the one site you run yourself. We haven't tested the two side by side on our test site yet, so update your plugins from one of them, not both, or you won't know which one changed what.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
What it won't do here
Premium plugins
WP itself and themes
Backups
One plugin per card
Only switched-on plugins get the check
Questions
Is CMSHands made by ManageWP?
No. CMSHands is a separate product from a separate company, and it isn't affiliated with ManageWP. If you use ManageWP and you're looking for your dashboard or your account, go to managewp.com.
Is there a free ManageWP alternative for one site?
For plugin updates on one site, yes. CMSHands is a free plugin: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month once you add your email. Each plugin update you approve is one change. Questions are free, up to 30 a day. It doesn't make backups, and it doesn't look after many sites from one place.
What does ManageWP cost?
The core is free, with a monthly cloud backup. Add-ons cost $1 to $2 a site a month each, and you're billed at the end of the month for what you used. All add-ons for up to 100 sites cost $150 a month. We read these prices on managewp.com/pricing on Oct 11, 2026, so check there for today's.
Does it put the old version back without a paid backup add-on?
Yes, on the free plan. After the update it checks your home page, login page and dashboard. If they got worse, it checks once more, then puts the old version back on its own. On our test site we broke Loco Translate 2.8.9 on purpose, and it said: “Loco Translate 2.8.9 broke your site when I checked it, so I put 2.8.8 back straight away.” That second check is why the home page showed an error for about 20 seconds.
ManageWP or MainWP?
Both are for people who look after many sites. ManageWP is a service you sign in to. MainWP is a dashboard you install on a WP site of your own (mainwp.com, read Oct 11, 2026). If you run one site, you may need neither: CMSHands works inside that site, from a chat. See the MainWP alternative page.
What is the ManageWP Worker plugin?
It's the plugin that links a site to ManageWP's dashboard. On wordpress.org it's called ManageWP Worker, and it shows 1+ million active installs (read Oct 11, 2026). CMSHands doesn't need it. It's one plugin, with its chat inside your WP dashboard.
Written by CMSHands team. Checked on WP 7.1, Oct 11, 2026.
Try it on your own site
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Download the plugin.
It's free: 3 changes to try it. No account, no card.
Upload and activate it.
In your dashboard: Plugins › Add Plugin › Upload Plugin (Add New Plugin on older WP). Choose the file, press Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
Press Turn on.
Press Turn on CMSHands. No account, no key, no password.