Slow Updates Pages on Large Site Networks

This guide is for administrators managing hundreds of child sites who are already experiencing slow or unresponsive Updates pages. If your Updates pages load and respond normally, keep the default behavior. A large site count alone is not a reason to add this snippet. The Updates lists can contain many plugin, theme, and site rows, including rows inside collapsed sections. Rendering those rows can put substantial load on the browser. This workaround limits the sites loaded into each Updates list and adds page controls so you can work through smaller batches.

Built-in pagination for the Updates pages is planned, but there is no ETA. The snippet below is an optional temporary workaround.

What You’ll Learn

Decide whether this workaround fits the problem you are seeing
Add the complete pagination snippet through the Custom Dashboard Add-on
Choose a site count per page and understand the scope of update actions
Remove the workaround when you no longer need it

Prerequisites

A MainWP Dashboard managing hundreds of connected child sites
Noticeable slowness or browser unresponsiveness on the Updates pages
Administrator access and permission to edit custom PHP on the Dashboard site
The Custom Dashboard Add-on installed and activated on the Dashboard site

When This Workaround Helps

Consider this workaround if an Updates page takes a long time to load, becomes difficult to interact with, or causes high browser CPU usage while displaying a large update list. It reduces how many sites contribute rows to the current list. It does not diagnose every cause of a slow Dashboard or guarantee a particular loading time. Server errors, connection problems, and data loading in other Add-ons need separate troubleshooting. The page size counts sites, not plugins, themes, or update rows. With 100 sites per page, one page can still contain hundreds of individual updates. Sites without available updates also count toward the batch.

Add the Pagination Snippet

Open the Custom Dashboard PHP editor

Go to Add-ons > Administrative > Custom Dashboard > PHP.Direct Dashboard path: /wp-admin/admin.php?page=Extensions-Mainwp-Custom-Dashboard-Extension&tab=php.Keep a copy of any existing PHP before editing it.

Paste the complete snippet

Copy the entire code block below into the PHP editor. It is ready to paste without opening or closing PHP tags.Keep unrelated snippets already in the editor. Add this pagination snippet only once; replace an earlier version of the same snippet instead of adding a second copy. All of the code is needed for this implementation, including the navigation controls.

// MainWP Updates: load sites in pages. Paste WITHOUT an opening PHP tag.
// Start with 100 sites/page; reduce to 50 if needed. Use a positive whole number.
( static function () {
    $per_page = 100;
    if ( ! is_admin() || wp_doing_ajax() ||
        'updatesmanage' !== ( isset( $_GET['page'] ) ? sanitize_key( wp_unslash( $_GET['page'] ) ) : '' ) ) {
        return;
    }

    $tab = isset( $_GET['tab'] ) ? sanitize_key( wp_unslash( $_GET['tab'] ) ) : 'plugins-updates';
    if ( ! in_array( $tab, array( 'plugins-updates', 'themes-updates', 'wordpress-updates', 'translations-updates' ), true ) ) {
        return;
    }

    $state = null;
    $get_state = static function () use ( &$state, $per_page ) {
        if ( null !== $state ) {
            return $state;
        }
        $db = \MainWP\Dashboard\MainWP_DB::instance();
        $is_staging = 'no';
        if ( ( is_plugin_active( 'mainwp-staging-extension/mainwp-staging-extension.php' ) ||
            is_plugin_active( 'mainwp-timecapsule-extension/mainwp-timecapsule-extension.php' ) ) &&
            'staging' === \MainWP\Dashboard\MainWP_System_Utility::get_select_staging_view_sites() ) {
            $is_staging = 'yes';
        }
        // Count the connected, accessible sites without fetching update JSON.
        $params = array( 'connected' => 'yes', 'is_staging' => $is_staging, 'count_sql' => true, 'others_fields' => array() );
        if ( \MainWP\Dashboard\MainWP_System::instance()->is_multi_user() ) {
            $params['where'] = 'wp.userid = ' . (int) get_current_user_id();
        }
        $total = (int) $db->get_var_field( $db->get_sql_websites_for_current_user_by_params( $params ) );
        $pages = max( 1, (int) ceil( $total / $per_page ) );
        $current = 1;
        if ( isset( $_GET['current_page'], $_GET['_opennonce'] ) &&
            wp_verify_nonce( sanitize_key( wp_unslash( $_GET['_opennonce'] ) ), 'mainwp-admin-nonce' ) ) {
            $current = max( 1, (int) $_GET['current_page'] );
        }
        $state = array( 'total' => $total, 'pages' => $pages, 'current' => min( $current, $pages ) );
        return $state;
    };

    add_filter( 'mainwp_manage_updates_limit_loading', static function ( $limit, $context ) use ( $per_page ) {
        return 'updates' === $context ? $per_page : $limit;
    }, 10, 2 );

    // Keep this request's page stable even if another admin opens a different page.
    add_filter( 'mainwp_get_sql_websites', static function ( $params ) use ( $per_page, $get_state ) {
        if ( ! empty( $params['limit_sites'] ) && isset( $params['connected'] ) && 'yes' === $params['connected'] ) {
            $state = $get_state();
            $params['per_page'] = $per_page;
            $params['page'] = $state['current'];
        }
        return $params;
    }, 100 );

    add_action( 'mainwp_updates_after_nav_tabs', static function () use ( $per_page, $get_state, $tab ) {
        $state = $get_state();
        $first = $state['total'] ? ( $state['current'] - 1 ) * $per_page + 1 : 0;
        $last = min( $state['total'], $state['current'] * $per_page );
        echo '<div id="bk-updates-site-pages" class="ui segment" style="margin:1em 0">';
        echo '<strong>' . esc_html( sprintf( 'Sites %d-%d of %d | Page %d of %d', $first, $last, $state['total'], $state['current'], $state['pages'] ) ) . '</strong>';
        if ( $state['pages'] > 1 ) {
            $base = add_query_arg( array(
                'page' => 'UpdatesManage', 'tab' => $tab,
                'current_page' => 999999999, '_opennonce' => wp_create_nonce( 'mainwp-admin-nonce' ),
            ), admin_url( 'admin.php' ) );
            $links = paginate_links( array(
                'base' => str_replace( '999999999', '%#%', $base ), 'format' => '',
                'current' => $state['current'], 'total' => $state['pages'],
                'type' => 'array', 'prev_text' => 'Previous', 'next_text' => 'Next',
                'add_args' => false,
            ) );
            echo '<nav aria-label="Updates site pages" style="display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:.5em">';
            foreach ( $links as $link ) {
                echo '<span class="ui small basic label">' . wp_kses_post( $link ) . '</span>';
            }
            echo '</nav>';
        }
        echo '</div>';
    } );
} )();

Save the snippet

Click Save Changes. If the editor reports a syntax error, check that you copied the complete block without adding PHP tags or Markdown code fences.

Open the Updates list

Go to Updates > Plugins.Direct Dashboard path: /wp-admin/admin.php?page=UpdatesManage&tab=plugins-updates.The site range and page number appear above the list. Use the numbered pages, Previous, or Next to move between batches. The snippet also applies to the Themes, WordPress, and Translation Updates pages when those pages are available.

Updates page showing the site range, current page, and numbered pagination controls above the plugin list

This example uses five sites per page to make the controls visible on a small demonstration Dashboard. The snippet above starts at 100 sites per page.

Choose the Number of Sites per Page

Start with the default line near the top of the snippet:

$per_page = 100;

If the list still feels heavy, change that line to:

$per_page = 50;

Save the snippet and reopen Updates > Plugins at /wp-admin/admin.php?page=UpdatesManage&tab=plugins-updates to start from the first page. Use a positive whole number. Smaller batches reduce the rows loaded at once but require more page changes. The best value depends on how many updates each site has and how responsive the list feels.

Understand the Limitations

Item	Behavior with the snippet
Update list and its counts	Include updates from the sites on the current page.
Bulk update actions in the list	Apply to the loaded page of sites. Work through each page to cover the network.
Sidebar update totals	Continue to show totals across the network and can be higher than the current list’s counts.
Global ignore actions	Still apply globally. Pagination does not narrow their scope.
Item, Site, and Tag views	Group the updates from the currently loaded batch. Changing the grouping does not load the rest of the network.
Automatic updates and sync schedules	Are not configured or changed by this snippet.
Other Dashboard pages and Add-ons	Do not receive pagination from this snippet. It does not address Lighthouse report data loading.

The snippet adds custom PHP through existing MainWP hooks. It does not edit MainWP plugin files. Those hooks and the surrounding page behavior can change in future releases; remove the workaround when you adopt built-in pagination.

Troubleshoot the Page Controls

No Next or Previous Link

The controls appear only when the eligible connected sites span more than one page. If all eligible sites fit within the configured limit, the site range still appears, but there is no second page to open.

A Page Has No Available Updates

A batch can contain sites that have no updates in the selected category. Use the page controls to continue. An empty batch does not mean the whole network is up to date.

An Old Page Link Returns to the First Page

Pagination links include a time-limited WordPress nonce. Reopen Updates > Plugins at /wp-admin/admin.php?page=UpdatesManage&tab=plugins-updates and use the fresh page controls instead of a saved pagination URL.

The Page Is Still Slow

Reduce the site count per page and compare responsiveness. If there is little improvement, remove the snippet using the steps below and contact MainWP Support with the affected Updates tab, approximate site count, and whether the delay occurs while loading the page or interacting with the list.

Remove the Workaround

Open Add-ons > Administrative > Custom Dashboard > PHP at /wp-admin/admin.php?page=Extensions-Mainwp-Custom-Dashboard-Extension&tab=php.
Remove only this pagination snippet and click Save Changes. Keep any unrelated PHP.
Reload Updates > Plugins at /wp-admin/admin.php?page=UpdatesManage&tab=plugins-updates. MainWP returns to its normal full-list loading.

Custom Dashboard Add-on - Manage custom PHP on your Dashboard
Manage Updates - Update actions, ignored updates, and automatic updates
Simultaneous Update Requests - Control concurrent update operations, a separate setting from list pagination

Getting Started

Understanding MainWP

Dashboard

Sites

Users

Updates

Plugins

Themes

Content Operations

Clients

MCP Server

API Reference

Troubleshooting

Customization

Advanced

Resources

Slow Updates Pages on Large Site Networks

What You’ll Learn

Prerequisites

When This Workaround Helps

Choose the Number of Sites per Page

Understand the Limitations

Troubleshoot the Page Controls

No Next or Previous Link

A Page Has No Available Updates

An Old Page Link Returns to the First Page

The Page Is Still Slow

Remove the Workaround

​What You’ll Learn

​Prerequisites

​When This Workaround Helps

​Add the Pagination Snippet

​Choose the Number of Sites per Page

​Understand the Limitations

​Troubleshoot the Page Controls

​No Next or Previous Link

​A Page Has No Available Updates

​An Old Page Link Returns to the First Page

​The Page Is Still Slow

​Remove the Workaround

​Related Resources

What You’ll Learn

Prerequisites

When This Workaround Helps

Add the Pagination Snippet

Choose the Number of Sites per Page

Understand the Limitations

Troubleshoot the Page Controls

No Next or Previous Link

A Page Has No Available Updates

An Old Page Link Returns to the First Page

The Page Is Still Slow

Remove the Workaround

Related Resources