Just in time for the release of WordPress 4.1 few hours ago (which you can now bulk install to all your sites from within your account) we are happy to announce a major update to CMS Commander just saw the light of the day as well.

This is the second year in a row with a big “Christmas update” for CMS Commander – maybe it will become a tradition! This update focuses on the Dashboard, making it easier and faster to use while adding several powerful new features at the same time!

You have no CMS Commander account yet? Then now is a good time to sign up for free and start managing all your blogs for free!

What’s New?

• Add new sites to CMS Commander with one click
  Adding your blogs to your account has just become even easier! We can now install the CMS Commander client plugin for you during the process, allowing you to add sites with one click and no need to log in or install something. This is how the new form looks:

  

  To add a new site to CMS Commander simply enter its URL as well as your admin username and password. After pressing the button we will install our client plugin to your site and establish a secure connection with CMS Commander.

  Note that as before it is also still possible to add and manage sites in CMS Commander without entering your password. For that you just need to install the client plugin yourself before adding a site. In any case we do never store your admin password and it is not required to use our service.

• Backlink count tracking for all your websites
  While some SEOs might fight over how important no one will deny that backlinks are very important for a site to build traffic. Because of that we are now keeping track of the backlink counts of all your sites for you. The data is coming from SEMrush, one of the biggest SEO tracking companies. For each of your sites you can view the total number of backlinks as well as details on how many of them are dofollow or nofollow and from how many different IPs they come.

  It gets even better: Soon you will also be able to view historical backlink stats to see how many new links your sites have gained over time! Why not now already? Because we have just started to track the data! Link stats will be refreshed for your sites on a weekly basis, so the comparisons will start to show up in 1 to 2 weeks.

  Please note: We are still in the process of loading backlink and pagespeed stats for all sites in CMS Commander. Thousands have been loaded already but if your sites show no stats yet please be patient for a few days (or you can load them manually). Also note this feature is available to premium users only.

• PageSpeed scores for all your websites
  Just like backlinks your dashboard will now also show the Google PageSpeed score for each of your sites. Since Google factors page loading time into their search rankings this is an important metric to keep track of. CMS Commander will recheck your score on a weekly basis so that you can keep on top of any changes. To learn how to improve your score and speed up your website simply hover over the reported number and click the link to Google.
• Improved dashboard design
  Your “Dashboard” page is like the heart of CMS Commander, putting all your sites right below your fingertips. That’s why in this update it did not only get loads of new features (see above) but also received a makeover to make it prettier and easier to use.

  While most of the changes are cosmetic a few things have been moved around. Here is a quick list to help you find them in their new place:

  • The structure of the dashboard table has been changed. Plugin, theme and WP updates have been merged into an “Updates” column. The new backlink and pagespeed scores can be found in the “Metrics” column along with uptime monitoring and your traffic stats.
  • The “Automatic Updates” settings have moved. You can now find them by clicking on the “Your Sites” link.
  • The “Display Options” have been removed. The dashboard will now automatically hide certain parts that are not required, for example if no draft posts are found on your sites.
  • The “Refresh All” button is now smaller – look for the double arrow icon. In addition you can now also refresh the data for a single site by hovering over its URL and pressing the “Refresh Site” link.
  • The bulk optimization and cleanup features have been moved. They now have their own trashcan icon above your list of sites.
• Other new features and fixes
  • A small addition to the post editor: When creating pages you can now select a parent page ID.
  • An incompatibility with Ninja Forms and a few other plugins has been fixed.
  • Error reporting has been improved. Empty responses should happen less often and error messages will make more sense.

What’s Next?

A few weeks ago we ran a survey and asked you, our users, what features you would like to see added to CMS Commander next. We got lots of great responses with very helpful comments and got to work not long after the results were in!

Guess which feature was among the top 3 requested: The ability to automatically install our client plugin when adding new sites. So, with this update that is officially taken care of! And backlink tracking was also a popular feature request.

But of course we will not stop there! Another update is more or less around the corner and will add another top feature request. You can expect it to arrive… well, next year. :)

Until then we wish you a relaxing holiday season and a good start into the new year!

Are you having any problems with the new version? Please get in touch so we can look into that as fast as possible!

Enjoy the new update? Please consider leaving a review for us on WordPress.org to help us out. Thanks!