Changelog

What's new in Netkeel.

New features, improvements and fixes in the Netkeel platform, newest first.

Version 1.13.2

Improvements

  • New Netkeel logo across the panel and the sign-in pages.
  • The customer panel and the admin console now share the same typeface.
  • Moving a site between servers now handles recently cloned or changed sites more reliably.

Bug fixes

  • Connecting your own domain to a site that started on its preview address can no longer get stuck redirecting.
  • A failed domain connection now rolls back cleanly, so you can simply try again.
  • Staging pushes and pulls on the same site now wait for each other instead of running at the same time.

Version 1.13.1

Bug fixes

  • Preview addresses now send visitors on to your domain as soon as it is connected.

Version 1.13.0

Preview addresses

New features

  • Every new site gets its own HTTPS preview address the moment it is created.
  • Create a site with just a name: no domain needed to get started.
  • Connect your own domain later. Netkeel issues the certificate and moves WordPress onto it.
  • Staging copies get a preview address of their own.

Improvements

  • Preview addresses are hidden from search engines.
  • Existing sites receive a preview address automatically.
  • Once your domain is live, visitors to the preview address are sent on to it.

Bug fixes

  • Preview addresses are now assigned reliably to every new site.

Version 1.12.1

Improvements

  • Per-site SSH logins are more locked down, so each login can only reach its own site.

Bug fixes

  • Deleting a website that takes longer than usual now finishes on its own in the background.
  • Add website now keeps the server you picked.

Version 1.12.0

A home for each server

New features

  • Every server now has its own page.
  • Resource charts and uptime history for each server.
  • Restart individual services from the panel.
  • A memory breakdown shows which services use your server's RAM.

Improvements

  • Backups, security settings and activity for a server are now in one place.

Version 1.11.1

Bug fixes

  • Fixed a brief error that could appear in an open panel tab right after an update. Open tabs now pick up the new version quietly.
  • Turning on the Redis object cache no longer fails with a permissions error on new sites.

Version 1.11.0

Off-site backups to your own bucket

New features

  • Connect your own Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Wasabi or Cloudflare R2 bucket for off-site backups.
  • Off-site copies are encrypted with a password you hold, so they stay readable without Netkeel.
  • Turn off-site backups on or off per server.

Improvements

  • Failed off-site copies raise an alert in the panel.

Bug fixes

  • Reconnecting a storage bucket keeps access to the backups already stored in it.

Read more: Why your website needs off-site backups

Version 1.10.3

Improvements

  • Cloned sites now keep their SMTP email settings, so contact forms keep working on the copy.

Version 1.10.2

Bug fixes

  • Fixed pretty permalinks after moving a site to a server that uses Nginx with Apache.

Version 1.10.1

Bug fixes

  • A move now waits if a backup or restore of the site is still running, instead of starting at the same time.

Version 1.10.0

Move sites between servers

New features

  • Move a site to a bigger server, or one closer to its visitors.
  • Netkeel copies the site, waits for you to point your domain, then switches over.

Improvements

  • Redirects, cron jobs, SSH keys, cache and security settings come along with the move.
  • The move dialog shows which web server each destination uses.
  • Off-site backups now follow a site when it moves to another server.

Bug fixes

  • A move can now be finished or cancelled even when the old server is offline.

Read more: How to move a WordPress site to a new host without downtime

Version 1.9.1

Improvements

  • Plugin, theme and settings pages for WordPress sites now load in a single step on the server, noticeably faster.

Bug fixes

  • One slow site no longer holds up scheduled updates for the other sites on its server.

Version 1.9.0

Safe WordPress updates

New features

  • WordPress core can update itself every week: security and minor releases, or every release.
  • A restore point is taken before every update.
  • The site is checked after each update, and rolled back automatically if a check fails.

Improvements

  • Turn automatic updates on per plugin and per theme.
  • One-click updates use the same safety net.

Bug fixes

  • Scheduled updates no longer roll a site back just because a health check was slow to answer.

Version 1.8.1

Improvements

  • Server offline alerts are now confirmed before they are sent, so a brief network blip no longer raises an alarm.

Bug fixes

  • Servers deleted at the cloud provider are now shown as deleted, instead of looking stuck while starting up.

Version 1.8.0

A safer account

New features

  • Two-factor sign-in with an authenticator app, with recovery codes.
  • A list of the devices signed in to your account, with where they signed in from.
  • Sign out any device in one click.

Improvements

  • Changing your email address now asks for your password.
  • Add a profile photo and update your name in My account.

Bug fixes

  • Signing out another device now keeps your current session signed in.
  • Changing to an email address that is already in use now shows a clear message.

Version 1.7.1

Improvements

  • Updated the Let's Encrypt client used for SSL certificates.
  • Certificate renewals now retry automatically if a domain is briefly unreachable.

Version 1.7.0

Night mode

New features

  • The panel now has a dark theme.
  • Follow your system setting, or choose light or dark yourself.

Bug fixes

  • Your chosen theme now applies instantly, without a brief flash of the other theme.

Version 1.6.1

Improvements

  • Tested with WordPress 6.9.

Bug fixes

  • Fixed an issue that could stop restores of larger sites from completing.
  • Restoring a backup no longer fails on databases that contain views or triggers.
  • A backup that is being restored can no longer be removed by backup retention at the same moment.

Version 1.6.0

PHP 8.5

New features

  • PHP 8.5 is now available for every site.
  • Switch a site to PHP 8.5 from its PHP settings, and back again at any time.

Version 1.5.0

Loading speed scores

New features

  • Each site's overview shows its Google PageSpeed scores for desktop and mobile.
  • See the Core Web Vitals that matter for search.
  • Run a fresh test whenever you make a change.

Version 1.4.1

Improvements

  • Servers with 1 or 2 GB of memory now use less of it for the database and system services, leaving more room for your sites.

Bug fixes

  • PHP keeps running smoothly after the server installs system updates.

Version 1.4.0

Password protection and maintenance mode

New features

  • Put any site behind a login while you work on it. The username and password are visible and changeable in the panel.
  • Maintenance mode shows visitors a holding page while you and your team still see the site as normal.

Bug fixes

  • WordPress login and single sign-on keep working while maintenance mode is on.

Version 1.3.4

Bug fixes

  • Fixed WP-CLI commands for plugins and themes with dashes in their names.
  • The wp-config.php editor is reachable again under WordPress settings.

Version 1.3.3

Live activity

Improvements

  • Backups, restores, deployments and other tasks now update in the panel the moment they change, without refreshing.
  • Background tasks show their progress as they run.

Bug fixes

  • Long tasks such as restores and imports no longer time out in the browser; they carry on in the background.
  • Confirmation messages no longer say "Done" when an action actually failed.

Version 1.3.2

Improvements

  • Servers now install operating system security updates automatically.

Version 1.3.1

Improvements

  • Pages in the panel now respond faster, especially for accounts with many servers.

Bug fixes

  • Pages no longer load twice when you first open them.
  • An expired sign-in now takes you straight back to the sign-in screen.

Version 1.3.0

Visitor analytics

New features

  • Visits, pages, referrers and countries for each site, built from the server's own logs.
  • Nothing to install: no tracking scripts and no cookies.

Version 1.2.1

Improvements

  • Updated WP-CLI to the latest version.
  • Clearer error message when a domain does not point to your server yet.

Version 1.2.0

File manager and per-site SSH

New features

  • Browse, edit, upload and download files right in the panel.
  • Upload whole folders and download folders as ZIP files.
  • Each site has its own SSH and SFTP login with your keys, isolated from the other sites on the server.

Bug fixes

  • File names with accents and other non-English characters now upload with the right name.
  • SSH and SFTP logins stay available while the server's management software updates itself.

Version 1.1.4

Improvements

  • New WordPress sites now have XML-RPC switched off, closing a common route for login attacks. You can turn it back on per site.

Bug fixes

  • The web server's upload size and timeout limits now follow your PHP settings.

Version 1.1.3

Stronger security on every server

Improvements

  • Attackers are blocked automatically after repeated failed logins or request floods.
  • Traffic from known bad networks on the Spamhaus DROP list is dropped before it reaches your sites.
  • Tested with WordPress 6.8.

Bug fixes

  • Redirects now match both /page and /page/.

Read more: Seven ways to keep your WordPress site secure

Version 1.1.2

Bug fixes

  • Fixed an issue where scheduled tasks (cron) on some sites did not run on time.
  • Cron commands containing the % character now run correctly.
  • Long cron commands are no longer dropped without warning.

Version 1.1.1

Bug fixes

  • Staging copies are now hidden from search engines from the moment they are created, not only after the first push.

Version 1.1.0

Staging

New features

  • Create a private staging copy of any site.
  • Push files, the database or selected tables to live, or refresh staging from live.
  • A backup is taken before every push, so a push can be undone in one click.
  • A deployment history shows what was pushed, when and by whom.

Bug fixes

  • Creating a staging copy now checks for free disk space first, instead of failing halfway.

Read more: Staging sites explained

Version 1.0.1

Improvements

  • Stricter web server defaults on every server.
  • Per-site access controls for Redis.

Bug fixes

  • Backups no longer pause your site: they are taken while the site keeps serving visitors.
  • A busy PHP process on one site no longer delays changes to other sites on the same server.

Version 1.0.0

Introducing Netkeel

New features

  • Managed hosting on a private cloud server, in the region you choose.
  • Pay for each server by the hour, never more than its monthly price.
  • One-click WordPress with a secure admin login.
  • Daily backups with one-click restore.
  • Free SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt, renewed automatically.
  • Redis object caching and a firewall on every server.
  • Every site isolated with its own system user.

Read more: What is managed WordPress hosting?

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