Naturally if you’re reading this on iControlWP.com you’ll assume there’s a some bias in here.
That’s fair to expect, but honestly, we’d like to just say that we love WP Remote!
What’s so good about WP Remote?
Well there isn’t just one thing, but in a nutshell, here are some of the main pros of WP Remote …
1. First up, WP Remote is free (as is iControlWP)
They offer a completely free service for as many WordPress sites as you like.
Pretty sweet – it’s hard to compete with that at any price!
2. Integrated backup service
This is a nice feature – they kindly allow you to use their Amazon S3 storage to store your sites’ backup files.
I think this is great to have as a standby backup option.
3. Smooth and intuitive interface
The WP Remote interface is nice one to use. It just works. It has a couple of quirks, but nothing that’ll upset your day.
They make it easy to review what state all your websites are in, at any given moment. Available updates are obvious and they lead you to perform admin tasks with ease.
iControlWP vs WP Remote – how does iControlWP compare?
iControlWP is a slightly different product to WP Remote. iControlWP‘s approach to WordPress site management is to allow you to do lots of management actions in bulk, all at once.WP Remote’s focus is on providing you an overview of your WordPress network as a whole, allowing you to monitor it and perform certain tasks as you need.
With iControlWP, you can either review a single site, update its plugins/themes, perform some optimizations, or, do the same across all your WordPress sites in one go.
1. iControlWP WordPress manager is free too
There is no distinction between standard/premium versions of iControlWP, the only difference is number of sites you can manage.
We feel a 30 day trial is enough to see if iControlWP will serve your needs. If you only have 1 site, it’s free.
If you’re a professional user that manages many WordPress sites for your clients, it’s only fair to pay for such a WordPress management tool.
2. WorpDrive backup and recovery service
We have opted to change the way backups are performed for websites in general. We strongly believe current backup methodologies are out-dated and intrinsically flawed.
This is where WorpDrive Backup and Recovery comes in. It will be a premium addon to iControlWP when it is released and doesn’t fall under normal iControlWP WordPress management.
We will also eventually put in a free backup function for downloading zip and database backups.
3. iControlWP‘s User Interface is Clean and Simple
WP Remote is a great example to lead… we’ve tried to keep the interface to iControlWP as simple and user-friendly as possible. The approach is “no clutter”.
iControlWP uses the concept of “Focus” to help you concentrate your WordPress management tasks. Currently, there is 1 Focus: the “Site Focus”.You can review all your WordPress sites at once, and also manage them individually as required without ever having to leave iControlWP.
Next week, we’ll release the “Plugin Focus” – a dedicated view on all your plugins and their updates.
And soon we’ll have the ‘WorpDrive‘ Focus, ‘Themes‘, ‘Comments‘, ‘Optimization‘… there’s no limit as far as iControlWP is concerned.
iControlWP vs WP Remote vs … – the conclusion?
They’re different products with some overlap. There are people for whom WP Remote is a perfect addon in their WordPress management toolkit, for others, iControlWP.
Why would iControlWP put a positive spin on WP Remote? It’s simple – one size doesn’t fit all.
The Internet and WordPress is all about providing choice and options – iControlWP is another WordPress management option.
iControlWP provides most of the same options as WP Remote, but aims to make performing the same tasks in bulk easier and quicker across your whole WordPress network.We have a long way to go to catch up to the likes of ManageWP, which is itself another fantastic option.
There are other products out there that have received a lot of attention lately, but it’s worth noting that some have simply taken the ManageWP plugin code and used it in their own product.
If you just need to monitor a few sites and you want a mature, reliable interface to do so, we recommend you take a closer look at WP Remote.
Of course, we also recommend you take a look at iControlWP WordPress Manager too – it’s free, with no commitments or short-term trials. Use it free for life when you sign-up today.
Remember next week, we’ll release the “Plugin Focus” – a dedicated view on all your plugins and their updates.
Go on, give it a go! 🙂
