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Why MainWP Uses Add-ons Instead of Building Everything In

Your MainWP Dashboard lives on your own server and runs only the features you choose to install.

MainWP ships many of its features as add-ons: separate plugins you install on your MainWP Dashboard when you need them. There are over 60 to choose from. The two core plugins, MainWP Dashboard and MainWP Child, come from WordPress.org and are the same for every install. Each add-on adds a feature to your Dashboard or connects it to a third-party tool. MainWP is self-hosted, so your add-ons run on your own server next to your Dashboard, and you decide which ones are there.

Why isn’t everything built into MainWP?

You run only what you use

An agency that doesn’t build WooCommerce stores has no use for MainWP WooCommerce Status. A freelancer working alone doesn’t need MainWP Team Control. With add-ons, a feature you don’t use is a plugin you never install, and its menus and settings never show up in your MainWP Dashboard.

Your MainWP Dashboard stays lighter

Each add-on is a separate WordPress plugin, so one you don’t install adds no code to your Dashboard site. It’s the same reason you keep a client site’s plugin list short.

Each add-on updates on its own schedule

MainWP add-ons have their own version numbers, so an add-on update doesn’t wait for a MainWP Dashboard release. If an add-on causes trouble, you can disable it without touching the other add-ons or the core plugins.

You keep the tools you already use

Backups, security scanning and caching are full products, built by companies that specialize in them. MainWP Integrations let you keep tools such as BackWPup, Wordfence and WP Rocket, and work with them across your sites from your MainWP Dashboard.

What’s the difference between a MainWP Extension and an Integration?

MainWP add-ons come in two types:

  • Extensions add features to your MainWP Dashboard without relying on a third-party product. Examples are MainWP White Label, MainWP Code Snippets and MainWP Dashboard Lock.
  • Integrations connect your MainWP Dashboard to third-party tools. Examples are Wordfence, WP Rocket, BackWPup and Google Search Console.
MainWP Manage Add-ons page filtered with Show Integrations, listing Integration cards such as BackWPup Integration, Google Analytics and Google Search Console, next to the Show All Add-ons and Show Extensions filters

Do MainWP add-ons need a plugin on my child sites?

Some do. When a MainWP add-on needs a third-party plugin on your child sites, your MainWP Dashboard checks for it when you open the add-on’s page and offers to install and activate it where it’s missing. Other add-ons connect to an outside service instead: Google Search Console, for example, or Lighthouse, which uses Google PageSpeed Insights. Each add-on’s documentation lists what it needs.

Are MainWP add-ons free?

Some MainWP add-ons are free. The add-on installer in your MainWP Dashboard, under MainWP > Add-ons > Manage Add-ons, labels each one:

  • FREE: free add-ons built by MainWP, such as MainWP Advanced Uptime Monitor, MainWP Vulnerability Checker and Jetpack Protect. On mainwp.com these are listed as Essential.
  • PRO: premium add-ons built by MainWP, included with MainWP Pro.
  • .ORG: free add-ons built by third parties and listed on WordPress.org.

MainWP Pro is one flat plan, billed monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase. It includes every premium add-on MainWP builds, over 30 of them, and the price doesn’t change with the number of sites you manage. Third-party add-ons come from their own developers, who also provide their support.

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