2023 Review and Staq Roadmap
Hello Everyone!
It’s been a while since we’ve shared our roadmap and upcoming features. Before we dive in, I wanted to share our vision and value proposition as this sets the stage with our current and future feature releases.
Vision and value proposition
The purpose of Staq is to be the all in one WordPress toolkit for digital agencies where you merge multiple tools and plugins in one platform. The end result? Save time and money.
Below, are the features we’ve already released in 2023 along with the roadmap moving forward.
Already Released in 2023:
1. Staq Firewall V2 (improvement)
We’ve taken a giant leap in security with the Staq Firewall V2. Our own database of malicious IP addresses now synchronizes with the CleanTalk and Quality Score IP’s APIs. Traffic requests made to PHP-FPM are validated against this database to protect your websites from malicious attacks. KB on how it works.
2. Redis Object Caching (new feature)
With our free 25MB Redis Object Caching, expect a considerable boost in the backend performance and AJAX requests of WordPress. Stay tuned for larger plans coming soon. KB on how to enable Redis
3. PHP 8.2 (new feature)
The introduction of PHP 8.2 on Staq required a comprehensive upgrade of our infrastructure. This addition significantly improves backend speed. We now support multiple PHP versions and we will continue to allow PHP 7.4. Without creating a staging site to test if the site is compatible, we’ve created a feature that tests the PHP8 compatibility of the site. KB on how to upgrade to php8
4. Changes to our backup system (improvement)
We’ve upgraded our backup system for efficiency, including one comprehensive backup each month with daily incremental backups for new changes. This update enhances the backup restore process, and will allow us to develop new features in the future such as offloading backup files to your private accounts and allowing 1-click cloning/staging sites.
5. Backup Restore (improvement)
Our improved backup and restore feature will provide customizable backup options to individually backing up and/or restore individually, or collectively, the database, plugin and/or theme. The feature also allows downloading the backup as a zip folder.
6. Staq Global Plugins Converter (new feature)
Working with our existing Global Plugins repository, the Global Plugins Converter can convert “website managed” plugins into Staq Global Plugins so that you can release 1 plugin update and in theory, that updates gets rolled across every single website in minutes. This provides significant time savings. KB on how to convert to Global Plugins.
7. Staq Plugin Manager (new feature)
You can set plugins/themes to automatically update themselves or manually update plugins/theme in bulk using regression testing for website integrity and safety reasons. KB on how to setup automatic plugin updates
8. Infrastructure Optimization (improvement)
We’ve made significant improvement to our infrastructure which results in faster backend speed improvements for both php7.4 and php8.2.
Roadmap Features
Below are the enhanced management, white label and security features that are on our roadmap.
Improved UI
We are moments away from releasing our new user interface. It will modernize our platform moving forward without changing the user experience. Rest assured, there’s no learning curve.
Client PDF Reports (new feature)
Perfect for digital agencies, our new feature will automatically generate PDF reports containing useful data such as backups performed, plugins updated, and attacks blocked by Staq Firewall plus more! These reports can be sent to your clients to demonstrate the value of your managed services.
White Label (new feature)
The new White Label feature will allow you to white label the Staq interface and the Staq Hosting plugin inside WordPress.
Cloning/Staging Site (new feature)
We’ve heard you loud and clear! Soon you’ll be able to create a staging/clone site with a single click, making the creation of staging sites FAST and simple without using the Staq Migrator plugin.
Switch Staging/Production (improvement)
The new feature will enable easy toggling between production and staging sites, offering seamless site navigation and management along syncing data across as well.
Staging:
Production:
Malware Scanner (new feature)
Our new malware scanner will quarantine any updated or added PHP file for review. If the file passes, it will be added or updated.
Database (new feature)
Rather than using third-party tools, provide phpmyadmin to access the database along with the ability to upload SQL files.
Outcome
Since our mission is to consolidate your entire WordPress experience in one dashboard, as you can see, this will eliminate many third-party subscriptions and costs.
Timelines
We’d like to emphasize that the features and improvements outlined in our roadmap are not listed in a specific order of implementation. Our primary focus is on enhancing our platform and ensuring the best user experience. To achieve this, we have adopted a flexible approach to our development process. We will be incorporating these changes into the platform as they are completed, using a ‘mini sprint’ methodology. This method allows us to be responsive and adaptive, consistently delivering improvements and new features to our users. Rest assured, every single update is purposeful and thoughtfully designed to make your Staq experience better.
Please reach out
We are excited about these enhancements and what’s coming next in 2023. We’re grateful for your support and trust in Staq and look forward to delivering these improvements and more in the near future.
If you have any feedback or suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me directly.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Best,
Emmanuel Khoury
