Here’s a dirty secret about website monitoring: a site can return HTTP 200 OK and still be completely broken.
A fatal PHP error can output inside a template, a critical CSS file can fail to load, or an expired API token can leave a blank white section right in the middle of a client’s homepage. An HTTP uptime probe sees a 200 status code and says, “Everything looks great!” Meanwhile, the client is looking at a scrambled website.
When you’re managing 50, 100, or 200 client WordPress sites, scrolling through dense tabular lists makes it almost impossible to catch visual defacements or broken layouts.
In Clockwork Control v1.4.0, we built the Visual Fleet Grid View and an automated site screenshot engine to solve this.
1. The Visual Fleet Grid View
The Sites screen now features a view switcher: Dense Table vs Visual Grid.
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ [ Client Site Screenshot] │ │ [ Client Site Screenshot] │
│ ───────────────────────── │ │ ───────────────────────── │
│ Acme Corp │ │ Bright Horizons │
│ acme.com • PHP 8.3 │ │ brighthorizons.org │
│ [99.9% Up] [3 Updates] │ │ [100% Up] [All Clean] │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘Instead of reading text rows, you can scan your entire fleet visually in about ten seconds:
- Headless Worker Captures: A background worker periodically renders high-resolution viewport screenshots of each client’s homepage.
- Instant Visual Spot-Checks: If an agency client accidentally unhooks their theme stylesheet, or a WordPress update throws a fatal error into the footer, you spot it immediately.
- Snappy WebP Optimization: We convert and compress every capture into WebP format on the fly, so even fleets with hundreds of sites load smoothly without lagging your browser.
2. Command Center or Modern Studio: Work How You Work
Different people in an agency need different views:
- DevOps & Sysadmins: They want the Command Center. Dense rows, monospace server metrics, IP addresses, memory curves, and direct links to diagnostic logs.
- Account Managers & Client Leads: They want the Modern Studio. Big visual screenshot cards, care plan badges, plugin update counts, and quick links to monthly reports.
In v1.4.0, you can toggle between both interfaces with a single click. Your preference is saved directly to your user profile so the dashboard always opens the way you like it.
3. Draggable, Per-Site Dashboard Cards
Every client site overview screen in Clockwork Control is now modular and customizable.
If you have an e-commerce client where uptime and caching are the only things you care about, you can drag the Uptime and Cache cards right to the top. If another client has a complex plugin stack with frequent vulnerabilities, you can drag Security Scans and Plugin Inventory to the front.
Your card ordering persists automatically in your browser and user database settings.
4. Native Local Email/Password Auth
Google OAuth is great for quick single sign-on, but a lot of agency operators requested native, self-contained authentication without relying on third-party identity providers.
v1.4.0 adds native email and password authentication:
- Bcrypt-hashed credentials.
- Rate-limited login throttling to protect against brute-force attacks.
- Runs side-by-side with Google OAuth, so team members can log in whichever way they prefer.
How to Update
To update your self-hosted Clockwork Control instance:
php artisan clockwork:updateGive the visual grid a spin and let me know if it helps your team spot layout bugs faster!
