How to install or update Plugins/Themes across all sites (globally)

Growing your agency is exciting, manually updating hundreds of plugins across hundreds of sites isn’t.

Easily update sites on a global level within the Staq dashboard.

Staq Global Plugins

Global Plugins is a centralized plugin repository managed by Staq and hosted on AWS S3. Global Themes follow the same structure. When you install a plugin or theme from this repository, it is copied and installed locally on the selected website.

With the Propagate Updates feature, you can easily sync that plugin across all sites where it already exists.

Step 1: Add or Update a Global Plugin

Manual Upload

To manually update or upload a new version of a plugin or theme:

• Navigate to Global Plugins/Themes
• Click the three-dot menu next to the desired plugin/theme
• Choose Upload New

Automatic Updates

Enable automatic updates by toggling the Auto Update switch for any plugin or theme.

Note: Premium plugins not hosted on the WordPress.org repository may not update automatically. In such cases, use the Manual Upload option.

Step 2: Upload a Plugin

Visit the plugin’s page on the WordPress repository. You can either:

• Click Download and save the ZIP file on your local computer; or
• Right-click Download and select Copy Link Address as per the screenshot below

Then, in the Staq dashboard, either upload the ZIP file or paste the download URL:

💡 Tip: Use the Must-Use option for plugins you always want installed on all current and future websites. You can still deactivate the plugin per site from the Staq Panel — your preference will be respected.

Step 3: Propagate Updates

After uploading or updating a Global Plugin, use the Propagate Updates feature to sync that version across all your websites where the plugin is already installed.

For example, updating WP Mail SMTP in Global Plugins and clicking Propagate Update will ensure all instances of that plugin across your sites are updated automatically.

Global Configurator to update all standalone plugins

This is different to the Staq Global Plugins system. Visit heading, Hands off: Automated Plugin/Theme Updates for all sites to understand more.

Outcome

If you’re updating an existing plugin, Staq will go ahead and update this plugin across your entire network of websites. Whether you have 10 sites or 1,000 sites, it updates across everything across your Staq account. The catch is that the management of the plugin has to be listed as Global. If you have installed the same plugin inside the website itself, it will be considered as a Website plugin and this process will not interfere.