Getting Started with StretchWP

What StretchWP is

StretchWP is StretchSuite's managed WordPress hosting and control panel. Instead of logging into a hosting cPanel and a separate WordPress admin, you manage every WordPress site your team owns from one place inside your StretchSuite workspace — under Sites.

StretchWP handles the hosting, SSL, backups, and platform-level plugin updates for you. Your job is to run your website; StretchWP keeps the infrastructure healthy and gives you a clear window into it. Nothing here requires server administration on your part.

Key concepts

• Site — a managed WordPress installation. Each site has a status (for example provisioning, live, suspended, archived), a primary hostname, and an owner.
• Site Control Panel — the per-site screen with tabs for Overview, Login, Domains, Credentials, Plugins, Backups, Health, and Events.
• Paired site — a site running the StretchWP dashboard plugin. Pairing is what lets your site report live telemetry (WordPress/PHP versions, plugin inventory, backups, health) back to your workspace and receive one-click login and signed managed updates.
• Starter site — a new WordPress site provisioned under sites.stretchmedia.ca (for example acme-studio.sites.stretchmedia.ca) while you get set up. You can attach your own domain later.
• Approval — new starter-site requests are reviewed by the Stretch team before a site is created. Nothing is provisioned until a request is approved.
• Managed vs. self-service — you can request sites, log in, attach domains, and request removals yourself. Provisioning, migrations, staging, and restores are performed for you by the Stretch team.

The first things to do

1. Open Sites in your workspace. In the left navigation choose Sites. You land on the StretchWP launcher — "What will you launch today?" — with a search bar, a rail of quick actions, and a grid of every site attached to your workspace.
2. Request a starter site (if you don't have one yet). Pick a professional site name, confirm it's available, and submit the request. See Requesting your starter WordPress site for the step-by-step. Your request goes to the Stretch team for approval and you'll get a confirmation email.
3. Open a site to see its control panel. Click any site card to open its Site Control Panel. The Overview tab shows uptime, WordPress and PHP versions, SSL status, the last backup, and how many plugin updates are waiting.
4. Log in to WordPress with one click. From the Login tab (or the Log in button at the top of the panel), StretchWP issues a short-lived login link straight into wp-admin — no password needed for paired sites.
5. Attach your own domain (when ready). On the Domains tab, add your domain, publish the ownership TXT record, verify it, and point your DNS at StretchWP. See Connecting your custom domain.
6. Review Health and Events. Check the Health tab for the latest probe (HTTP status, response time, TLS) and Events for the site's full timeline.

Tip: If a tab shows an empty state like "No plugin inventory yet", the site simply hasn't reported that data yet. Tabs fill in automatically once the StretchWP dashboard plugin sends its next heartbeat — usually within a few minutes of pairing.

What StretchWP takes care of for you

• Server, SSL certificate, and backup infrastructure
• Pairing your site so it reports telemetry and receives signed managed plugin updates
• Health probes and uptime monitoring
• One-click, passwordless login into wp-admin
• Migrations and staging copies, performed on request

You focus on content and your business; StretchWP keeps the platform underneath it healthy.

A realistic first hour

Maya runs a small design studio. She opens Sites, requests the starter name bright-studio, and gets a request received email. A few hours later the Stretch team approves it and bright-studio.sites.stretchmedia.ca appears on her launcher. She opens the site, clicks Log in, lands in wp-admin, and installs her theme. That afternoon she attaches brightstudio.ca from the Domains tab, verifies ownership, and points her DNS — SSL is issued automatically once the cutover completes.

Where to go next

• Understanding the Sites launcher — find and organize your sites.
• Requesting your starter WordPress site — get your first site created.
• Using the Site Control Panel — read every tab at a glance.
• One-click WordPress login and credentials — get into wp-admin instantly.
• Connecting your custom domain — go live on your own domain with SSL.
• The StretchWP dashboard plugin and pairing — understand the telemetry link.
• StretchWP FAQ and troubleshooting — quick answers when something looks off.

Tip: Bookmark your most-used site's control panel. The URL is stable, so you can jump straight to a site's Overview without going through the launcher each time.