When we sat down to prioritize our tasks in early July, the entire team agreed that the user experience needed extra attention. Plus, we thought it was time to give you an additional way to earn through InstaWP. So here we are, rolling out a series of significant feature updates along with a revamped referral program. 
Let’s give you a detailed walkthrough of InstaWP v2.39.0.
InstaWP Release 2.39.0 in a minute
- Manage Users for Connected Sites: Add & assign roles via InstaWP.
- Extend Shared Template Sites’ Lifetime: We achieved it using a webhook.
- No Plugin Pre-Selection: Yes, it’s for our free account holders.
- Revamped Referral Program: Earn $25 for each successful referral. Read more →
- Donut-Style Tracker: Visually track staging site expiry with it now.
- Import Sites Faster: Importing UpdraftPlus and Duplicator backups is now simpler.
- WaaS Site Deletion: Added a user-friendly confirmation modal to prevent accidents.
- Billing Emails: An option to add a separate billing email address.
- Fixed Slack App Issue: Resolved the problem with site creation via the Slack app.
- 2-Way Sync API: Enabled the API to link two connected sites.
- Disable Blog Plugin Support: Added support within the File & DB manager.
- Theme Install Event Recording: Via the InstaWP Connect plugin for 2-way sync.
- WaaS Enhancements: Various UI and functionality improvements to our WaaS.
Note: If interested, you can read about our previous product update (v2.38.0) too.
Noteworthy Updates from InstaWP v2.39.0 Changelog
We know you’re eager for a deeper look at all the updates we’ve covered. After all, InstaWP product updates can really transform your WordPress workflow. So, here we go:
#1 – Ability to Manage Users for Connected Sites
Creating users for WordPress sites from the admin dashboard isn’t exactly a thrilling adventure, especially when you’re managing dozens of client sites.
Guess what? We’ve got a better idea.
Go to your Connected site’s settings > Manage > Users.
You can now add users and designate their roles across all your sites connected to InstaWP. Choose from the default and custom user roles while doing so. This enhancement makes managing your sites simpler and more secure.
After adding users, just copy the temporary access URL with credentials and share it as needed!
Remember – To remove a user, you will have to make modifications from the WP admin dashboard only.
#2 – Separate billing email address is now supported
Do you feel frustrated by the fact that you need to forward your InstaWP subscription invoice to your finance department every month? We’ve got to tell you a secret, we have plenty of forgetful customers who think we should allow them to send invoices from our dashboard.
Though it’s not exactly what we meant while saying ‘manage everything with InstaWP,’ our team has come up with a solution for you. No, it’s not about upgrading to the yearly plan. 
Navigate to My Account > Plan & Billing > Subscription and add a billing email address to your account. This ensures that all billing-related emails will be sent directly to both you and the person responsible for your team’s billing.
For instance, if you manage a small WordPress agency, you can set up your account so that the monthly subscription invoice is automatically sent to both your email and your accountant’s email.
This eliminates the hassle of manually forwarding invoices every month, ensuring that your finance department stays up-to-date without any extra effort on your part.
#3 – Provision to extend Shared template sites’ lifetime via webhook
Do you use our sandbox tool to demo your WordPress plugins and themes? This feature is very important for you.
Now, you can extend the lifetime of shared template sites via webhook, ensuring your customers have more time to explore your products.
The functionality is perfect for plugin and theme owners who want to provide extended demo periods, leading to better user experiences and increased conversions.
For example, if a demo site typically expires in 48 hours, you can now allow users to extend this period easily, giving them more time to evaluate your product thoroughly.
To set the duration for the template site’s lifetime extension, simply go to Advanced Options when creating or editing a template.
Edit the Extend Site Lifetime setting from here. Once you’ll save it, your prospects will see a link upon site expiry. If they click the link, the demo won’t expire. So, no more rushed demos!
#4 – Way to show the expiry date of a staging site is changed
You can now easily track the expiration of your staging site with our new progress tracker feature. This feature ensures you can keep track of your staging sites effortlessly, preventing unexpected expirations.
Our new donut-style progress tracker (
) fills up as your staging site approaches its expiration date, changing color once it expires. With these immediately visible indicators, it’s easy to identify staging sites that need your attention.
It’s more useful when you’re managing multiple projects for your clients.
You just have to quickly glance at the progress tracker to see which sites are nearing their expiry and take action accordingly. This makes managing your staging environments more efficient and stress-free, doesn’t it?
#5 – No pre-selection of popular plugins for free account holders
We initially believed that including a few essential plugins by default would be beneficial.
After conducting some analysis and interviewing our users, we discovered that most of you prefer to choose your plugins manually. And your preference really matters to us!
As of today, we will no longer pre-select plugins for our free account users. Enjoy a cleaner, more customizable start with InstaWP. 
#6 – Importing sites via UpdraftPlus and Duplicator is now Simpler
Previously, importing an UpdraftPlus backup was a bit of a chore. You had to add your site’s name, server location, WP version, and PHP version. You remember this screen, right?
We’ve streamlined this process, not just for Updraft but Duplicator backup as well.
Now, when you import your WordPress site from an Updraft site or database backup, we detect the site’s details for you.
In fact, we do the same for the Duplicator WordPress backup files too.
It’s quick and straightforward. So, we hope you’ll love importing sites to InstaWP going forward.
#7 – Delete site confirmation in WaaS
We’ve added a user-friendly confirmation step to the site deletion process in WaaS.
This extra step ensures you won’t accidentally delete anything important. When you go to delete a site, you’ll now see a confirmation prompt, giving you peace of mind and an extra layer of protection.
#8 – Our Referral Program is Revamped
We know you love InstaWP and promote our product all the time. Now, it’s time to turn your love for our platform into some extra cash. You heard it right – the InstaWP Referral Program is revamped (and the referral reward is higher too).
When someone signs up using your unique referral link, you’ll pocket $25, not just once but every single time you send us a successful referral. All you have to do is to promote your referral, privately or publicly.
InstaWP Referral Program, Summarized in 5 Points
- Go to My Account > Referral Program to find your referral link.
- Get credits ($25/referral) once your referral tosses in their first dime.
- Your friend’s credits will expire in 30 days.
- Spend InstaWP Credits to buy/upgrade a plan, hosting, or add-ons.
- Monitor the status of your referrals from the Recent Referrals section.
Learn everything about the InstaWP’s Referral Program here →
Tiny Updates from InstaWP Changelog 2.39.0
While we’ve covered the major updates from changelog v2.39.0 above, there’s even more to explore. This release is packed with UI enhancements, fixes, and API updates. Here are five additional updates that might interest you:
- Site creation via Slack app not working issue
- API to link two connected sites for 2-way sync
- Support for the Disable Blog plugin for the File & DB manager
- Added the ability to record events for theme install event
- Several WaaS improvements
Find the complete InstaWP changelog v2.39.0 here →
What’s Next?
Curious about what’s on the horizon? Our team is working really hard on further enhancing WaaS to provide you with even more features and improvements. Actually, user experience is among the most important things for us in Q3. Additionally, we’ve got more innovations in the pipeline that will enhance your WordPress workflow and keep things running smoothly.
Stay tuned and keep watching our roadmap.