Update Brief for MainWP

Description

Your client opens their monthly maintenance report and sees “WooCommerce updated from 10.4.3 to 10.5.3.” That tells them very litle. It doesn’t explain the security fix that prevented guest orders being read without authorisation, the REST API caching improvements that speed up their store, or the new Point of Sale product visibility controls they now have access to.

A simple list of plugin names and version numbers makes your maintenance work invisible. Your clients don’t understand what you did, they can’t see why it matters, and when it comes time to renew, they question whether they’re getting value for money.

Update Brief for MainWP changes that.

Update Brief for MainWP is an extension that enhances simple version update lists in your MainWP Pro Reports with concise, professionally written summaries that explain what each update actually did — the new features, the security patches, the critical bug fixes. Your clients finally see the full picture of the work you’re doing on their behalf.

Try it free for 14 days — no payment required. Start your free trial at Update Brief.

Why Update Brief?

Show clients your value. Your clients are paying for ongoing maintenance and updates. Our update summaries turn every client report into proof that your services improve and secure their website — not just a list of updated version numbers.

Increase trust. You told your clients that an ongoing maintenance plan was essential for their website’s success. Update Brief demonstrates exactly why, with clear explanations of security patches, performance improvements, and feature additions in every report.

Grow your business. When clients understand the value of your maintenance and update work, they renew. When they trust your expertise, they refer others. Update Brief helps you build the recurring revenue that sustains a WordPress care and maintenance business.

How It Works

  1. Install Update Brief for MainWP alongside your MainWP Dashboard and Pro Reports extension
  2. Add your MainWP API key and Update Brief API key in the settings
  3. Generate your client reports as normal
  4. Your client reports now include clear, concise summaries instead of just version numbers — showing your clients exactly what each update delivered

Coverage

60,000+ WordPress plugins — Update Brief provides summaries for the vast majority of the WordPress plugin ecosystem, including the free plugins listed on the WordPress.org repository.

Popular premium plugins — Update Brief also provides summaries for widely-used premium plugins including Gravity Forms, Elementor Pro, MemberPress, WooCommerce Bookings, WooCommerce Subscriptions, WP Rocket, and many others.

WordPress Core updates — Update Brief provides full summaries for both major and minor WordPress core version updates, covering new features, security patches, and bug fixes.

Multi-version summaries — If you update a plugin across multiple versions at once — say WooCommerce from 10.4.3 to 10.5.3 — Update Brief combines the key changes from all intermediate releases into a single, easy-to-read summary. No gaps, no duplication.

Requirements

Update Brief for MainWP requires the MainWP Dashboard plugin and the MainWP Pro Reports extension to be installed and activated.

A subscription is required to access the Update Brief API. There is a 14-day free trial available for all new Update Brief customers — no payment is taken during the trial, and you can cancel at any time.

External Services

This plugin connects to an API to obtain the brief update summaries for WordPress plugins and core updates. This API connection is required to show the brief update summaries in the MainWP client reports.

For plugin updates, the API request will send the plugin slug, the old and the updated version of the plugin, along with the Update Brief API token.
For WordPress core updates, the API request will send the old and the updated version of WordPress, along with the Update Brief API token.

This service is provided by “UpdateBrief.com”: Terms of Use, Terms of Sale, Privacy Policy

Website

Update Brief

Documentation

Update Brief for MainWP

Screenshots

  • The Update Brief settings page
  • The Update Brief logs page
  • An example of client reports with Update Brief summaries, using the agency-dark template
  • Another example of client reports with Update Brief summaries, using the modern template

Installation

  1. Install and activate the “MainWP Dashboard” plugin
  2. Install and activate the “MainWP Pro Reports” extension
  3. Upload the ‘update-brief-mainwp’ folder to the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
  4. Activate the Update Brief for MainWP plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
  5. Add your MainWP API key and Update Brief API key on the Update Brief settings page

A full installation and setup guide is available at Update Brief for MainWP.

FAQ

What are the update summaries from Update Brief?

Update Brief produces brief update summaries of both WordPress Core updates, and WordPress plugin updates. Each summary is a concise, plain-language explanation of what changed in a plugin or WordPress core update. These summaries describe the main new features of the updates, essential information, as well as any security and critical aspects of the update — all written so that non-technical clients can understand the value of the work you’ve done.

Are premium plugins supported?

Yes. Update Brief generates summaries for many of the most popular premium WordPress plugins, including Gravity Forms, Elementor Pro, MemberPress, WooCommerce Bookings, WooCommerce Subscriptions, WP Rocket, and others. Coverage for premium plugins continues to grow.

Do summaries cover multiple version updates?

Yes. If you update a plugin across multiple versions at once — WooCommerce from 10.4.3 to 10.5.3 — for example, Update Brief combines the security fixes, performance improvements, and new features from all those releases into a single summary. Your client sees one clear explanation covering everything that changed, not a fragmented list of individual point releases.

How does the 14-day free trial work?

You get full access to the Update Brief API and all features of your selected plan for 14 days. No payment is taken when you start, and if you cancel before the trial ends, you won’t be charged. A reminder email is sent 7 days before the trial expires.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Update Brief for MainWP” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.0.3 – 03-04-2026

  • Changed Update Brief API to return null for empty summaries

1.0.2 – 02-13-2026

  • Increased timeout for MainWP API calls to get client site update information

1.0.1 – 02-10-2026

  • Improvements for coding standards

1.0.0 – 12-08-2025

  • Initial release