Overview
Cron jobs handle scheduled, recurring tasks on your site, from automated backups to plugin-triggered actions. By default, WordPress relies on WP-Cron, which only checks for pending tasks when someone visits your site. Levamo lets you manage cron jobs at the server level instead, giving you more control and more consistent timing.
Running cron at the server level is optional but often preferable. WP-Cron triggers on every page load by default, which adds a small amount of overhead to each visit. Offloading it to Levamo lets the Linux server handle scheduling instead, which is typically more efficient and more precise, particularly for sites with irregular traffic. For a deeper comparison of the two approaches, see WordPress Cron vs. Linux Cron.
In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions for adding a custom cron job and for switching WP-Cron to run at the server level.
How to add a cron job
Step 1: Go to your site
Log in to the dashboard, go to the Sites page, and click Manage site for the site you want to manage.
Step 2: Open Cron jobs
In the left-hand menu, click Manage, then click Cron jobs. This page lists any cron jobs already configured for the site.
Step 3: Add a new job
Click New. In the popup, fill in the following:
Job name: A label to help you identify the job
Command: The bash command or script path to run
Time to run: How often the job should execute, selected from the dropdown
Step 4: Save the job
Click Save. The job appears in the cron jobs table along with its command and schedule.
How to switch WP-Cron to server-side cron
Step 1: Open Cron jobs
From the site's Manage menu, click Cron jobs.
Step 2: Open the WP-Cron settings
Click WP-Cron near the top of the page.
Step 3: Select where WP-Cron should run
Choose Levamo. Selecting this option means your WordPress cron jobs will run through the Linux server instead of on page load, and WP-Cron will be disabled within WordPress itself.
Step 4: Save your changes
Click Save changes.
Important information
Switching WP-Cron to Levamo adds a job named add-wp-cron to the cron jobs table, set to run every minute. This job uses a curl command pointed at your site's own wp-cron.php file, and it replaces the default page-load trigger WordPress normally relies on.
If you switch back to WordPress from the WP-Cron settings, this job is removed and WP-Cron reverts to running on page load as usual.
Conclusion
Managing cron jobs through the Levamo dashboard gives you a reliable way to run scheduled tasks without depending on site traffic. If you run into any issues setting up or switching your cron jobs, our support team is available 24/7.