Adding a Site — Step by Step

This guide walks you through the complete Add Site wizard in WPGrip. Adding a site is a two-step process: first you provide connection details, then you assign a client and server. Before you begin, you must set up SSH access — this is the single most important step.

Prerequisites

• A WPGrip account with an active subscription
• SSH access to the server hosting your WordPress site
• WP-CLI installed on the server
• The WordPress installation path on the server

SSH Key Setup Is Non-Negotiable

WPGrip connects to your servers exclusively over SSH. If the SSH key is not installed correctly, nothing will work — no syncing, no monitoring, no backups, no deployments. Complete the SSH key setup below before filling in any other field.

Understanding the WPGrip SSH Key

Every WPGrip workspace has a unique SSH key pair:

Key	Location	Purpose
Private key	Stored encrypted on WPGrip's servers	Used by WPGrip to authenticate with your server
Public key	Displayed in the Add Site form and in Settings → SSH Keys	You copy this to your server

This is not the same as your server's own SSH host key, and it is not the same as a Git deploy key. The WPGrip workspace key is used solely for WPGrip to log in to your server as the SSH user you specify.

WPGrip key vs. server key vs. deploy key

• WPGrip workspace key → authorises WPGrip to SSH into your server
• Server host key → your server's identity (you don't manage this)
• Git deploy key → authorises your server to pull from a Git repository (covered in the Repositories guide)

Don't mix these up — each serves a different purpose.

Step 1: Main Info

Navigate to Sites → Add Site. The first screen of the wizard collects connection details.

SSH Key Callout

At the very top of the form you'll see a prominent amber box:

SSH Key Setup

Copy the key below and add it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your server for the SSH user.

Below the message is your workspace's public key in a copyable block, followed by a one-liner command:

echo "ssh-rsa AAAA...your-workspace-public-key..." >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Run this as the correct user

The command must be run as the SSH user you intend to enter in the form — not as root (unless root is your SSH user). If you add the key to root's authorized_keys but enter deploy as the SSH user, the connection will fail.

Installing the Key — By Environment

Standard Ubuntu / Debian Server

# SSH into your server as the user that owns the WordPress files
ssh [email protected]

# Create the .ssh directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.ssh

# Append the WPGrip public key
echo "ssh-rsa AAAA...your-workspace-public-key..." >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

# Fix permissions (SSH is strict about this)
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Permissions matter

OpenSSH refuses to use authorized_keys if the file or directory permissions are too open. Always set 700 on ~/.ssh and 600 on ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. The home directory itself should be 755 or stricter.

cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel for the account that owns the WordPress installation
2. Navigate to Security → SSH Access → Manage SSH Keys
3. Click Import Key
4. Leave the key name as default
5. Paste the WPGrip public key into the Public Key field
6. Click Import
7. Back on the key list, click Manage next to the imported key and then Authorize

cPanel authorization step

cPanel imports keys in a disabled state. You must click Authorize after importing — this is the most common mistake on cPanel servers.

Plesk

1. Log in to Plesk
2. Go to Server Management → Tools & Settings → SSH Keys
3. Click Add Key
4. Paste the WPGrip public key
5. Save and ensure the key is associated with the correct system user

RunCloud

1. Log in to RunCloud
2. Go to Servers → (your server) → System Users
3. Click the user that owns the WordPress site
4. Scroll to SSH Keys and click Add SSH Key
5. Paste the WPGrip public key and save

GridPane / SpinupWP / CloudPanel

Most modern server panels have an SSH Keys section under system user settings. Add the WPGrip public key there. Consult your panel's documentation if you can't find it.

Common SSH Key Mistakes

Mistake	Symptom	Fix
Key added to wrong user	Permission denied (publickey)	Add the key to the authorized_keys of the SSH user entered in WPGrip
Missing Authorize step (cPanel)	Permission denied (publickey)	Go to SSH Access → Manage → Authorize
Wrong file permissions	Permission denied (publickey)	chmod 700 ~/.ssh && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Key pasted with line breaks	Permission denied (publickey)	The entire key must be on one line — no wrapping
SELinux blocking access	Permission denied (publickey)	Run restorecon -Rv ~/.ssh
Firewall blocks WPGrip IPs	Connection timeout	Allow inbound SSH from WPGrip's IP ranges

Form Fields

After the SSH key callout, fill in these fields:

Field	Required	Description	Example
Staging site toggle	No	"Will this be a staging site?" — if enabled, a dropdown appears to select the parent production site	—
Name	Yes	Friendly name to help you identify this site in the dashboard	My Blog
URL	Yes	Full URL of the website including https://	https://myblog.com
SSH User	Yes	The Unix user who owns the WordPress directory and can log in via SSH	deploy
Dir Path	Yes	Absolute filesystem path to the WordPress installation	/var/www/html

Finding the Dir Path

SSH into your server and run:

wp option get siteurl --path=/var/www/html

If it returns your site's URL, that's the correct path. You can also run pwd in the directory that contains wp-config.php.

Staging sites

If you enable the staging toggle, the site is flagged as staging and linked to a production site. Staging sites are excluded from certain features like scheduled backups. Only toggle this if the site is genuinely a staging/dev copy.

Click Next to proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Client and Server

The second screen associates the site with a client and a server.

Client

Select an existing client from the dropdown, or click Create New Client to open an inline form:

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Client's name or company name
Email	No	Contact email
Country	No	Client's country
Notes	No	Free-text notes about this client

For freelancers and solo users

If you manage your own sites, just create a single client record for yourself. The client field is required but designed for agency workflows.

Server

Select an existing server from the dropdown, or click Create New Server to open an inline form:

Field	Required	Description	Example
Name	Yes	Friendly server name	Production DO Droplet
IP	Yes	Server IP address	167.71.45.123
SSH Port	Yes	SSH port number	22
Notes	No	Free-text notes	8GB RAM, NYC datacenter
Hosting Provider	No	Where the server is hosted	DigitalOcean
Server Type	No	Server category	VPS

Reuse servers across sites

If you host multiple WordPress sites on one server, create the server record once and reuse it. This keeps your infrastructure view clean and accurate.

Finishing Up

Click Create to save the site. WPGrip will:

1. Test the SSH connection — authenticates using your workspace key
2. Verify WP-CLI — runs a quick WP-CLI check on the server
3. Run the first sync — pulls WordPress version, plugins, themes, and configuration
4. Start uptime monitoring — begins checking every 60 seconds immediately
5. Check SSL certificate — reads certificate expiry and validity

You'll be redirected to the new site's overview page. If any step fails, you'll see an error message with specific guidance.

After Adding Your Site

Once connected, explore these next steps:

• Set up database backups to protect your data
• Connect a Git repository for code deployment
• Review monitoring data as it accumulates

Troubleshooting

"Connection failed" on save

Double-check every field — the most common causes are:

1. SSH key not installed (or installed for the wrong user)
2. Incorrect SSH port (some hosts use 2222, 7822, or other non-standard ports)
3. IP address is wrong or the server is behind a firewall
4. The Dir Path doesn't contain a WordPress installation

"WP-CLI not found"

WPGrip requires WP-CLI on the server. Install it:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
wp --info  # verify installation

Site shows as "Disconnected" after initial success

This usually means the SSH key was removed, the server was rebooted with new firewall rules, or the SSH user was modified. Re-add the WPGrip public key and verify the connection from the site's settings page.