What is the WP Toolkit?
It is a management interface that includes a unique set of tools that allow you to manage WordPress websites. This operational from both cPanel’s that is Plesk and Control Panel.
To operate it, you need to have either cPanel hosting or Plesk hosting services. WP Toolkit comes in two versions: free WordPress Toolkit Lite and WordPress Toolkit Deluxe (paid).
It supports various features like updating plugins, themes, and WordPress core functionalities. It aims to protect the website. In addition, you can run a security scan and locate any plugin vulnerabilities if they exist.
The centralized hub of the WP Toolkit highlights all the relevant information like PHP updates, website management, and others. The latest feature that is available in smart PHP updates is to clone the website and run it on various PHP versions. It also helps to test the functionality of the website’s issues.
Who is eligible to use the WP Toolkit?
It is free to operate for all web hosting users without any terms and conditions. The web hosting provider strives to offer the best WordPress management interface. In the domain section of your cPanel, you will get an option called “Toolkit”.
Steps to Use the WP Toolkit to secure and update WordPress
Step 1
To understand the functioning of each hardening option, you have to click the tooltip (the symbol to the right of the name), and a window with an explanation will be shown. Automatically, no security options are selected.
Now, you have to tap on the checkbox next to all the hardening options that you want for your website and click the Secure button to save it.
Click the Check Security button to make sure the correct security hardening settings are applied.
Step 2:
It is said to verify the checksums of WordPress core. This will allow you to locate the files in WordPress core on your website that have been updated and files that are added but don’t exist on the WordPress site. You are allowed to reinstall WordPress core files from within the WP Toolkit portal.
You’ll get a notification of WordPress vulnerabilities present in the WordPress vulnerability tab, which is located in the WP Toolkit under the Security Status section.
Updating WordPress With the WP Toolkit
Step 1:
The WordPress core is the important part of the website and it should be kept updated. Hence, WordPress has multiple major releases per year. Additionally, small core WP releases are done for bug and security fixes.
Therefore, it is all-time suggested to install minor WordPress core releases.
Whether creating a new WordPress website or updating an existing one, you are allowed to set which major and minor updates for WordPress core are automatically updated. You can also learn how plugins and themes are installed on the website. You can try to update the plugins and themes as well.
Step 2:
The plugins and themes installed as other parts of your WordPress website should be kept updated. However, many of users still use outdated versions, that leads to causes security issues and is one of the most significant sources of malware infection. Updating plugins sooner will protect your website rather than not updating for a longer time.
To keep updated plugins on the website using the smart update feature in WP Toolkit since this feature will develop a test version of the website and monitor that the site is not broken after the plugin has been updated.
Once the process is done, you can confirm the updating of the plugin, which has been updated on the production website.
You can update the plugins in the portal of the WP Toolkit, and you can on the auto-updated for auto-updating of plugins.
Step 3:
In the WP Toolkit portal, you can control the themes. For example, you can add or delete the themes and set on auto-updated.
Other WP Toolkit Considerations
The WP Toolkit allows us to check what number of tools are enabled and their status. To improve the performance, you can set the replacement for a server–side Cron to run WP Cron on your website.
WP Toolkit comes with hotlink protection and an easy-to-use backup and restore feature to develop a backup before updating plugins and themes. The backups developed that is accessible from the cPanel control panel.
Final Verdict
WP Toolkit is robustly integrated by solution within the Plesk and cPanel control panel. This will automatically update minor and major versions of the WordPress website to keep safe and protected.
It makes WordPress core files clean and uncompromised, or if you want to reinstall files then it can be done using the same UI of the WP Toolkit. You can take backups directly from the WP Toolkit interface, that are the same as those offered by cPanel, and restore them as well.
Plugin and theme setting controls for automatic and smart updates will not break your website. A safe WordPress website is easy to apply. Setting those protections will work with security plugins, edge WAF protection like CloudFlare, or server–run security solutions like Imunify360.