Do you want to know how to install and setup WordPress multisite network and create multiple websites using the same WordPress installation? This article helps you to setup a wordpress multisite?
Various blogs, schools, and businesses utilize a WordPress multisite network, allowing them to manage separate websites under one dashboard.
What is wordpress multisite?
A WordPress Multisite network facilitates the operation and management of multiple WordPress blogs or sites from a single WordPress installation.
It allows for instant creation of new sites and their management using the same username and password. Additionally, it permits other users to register and create their own blogs on your domain.
The WordPress multisite network has advanced settings for customizing each website/blog on your network.
Merits of Using a WordPress Multisite Network
In many scenarios, a WordPress multisite network can be more advantageous than managing multiple separate WordPress sites. Below are some benefits of utilizing a WordPress multisite network:
- Effortlessly manage multiple sites from a single dashboard as the network administrator.
- Each site on the network can have its individual administrators who manage only their respective websites.
- You can install plugins/themes and activate them for multiple sites using a single download.
- Managing updates becomes easier. Updates for WordPress, plugins, or themes are only required on the “master” install.
Demerits of Using a WordPress Multisite Network
Creating a WordPress multisite network may not always be beneficial for managing multiple sites. Below are some drawbacks to consider before setting up a multisite network.
- All sites on the network share the same resources. Consequently, if your network goes down, all other sites are affected as well.
- Beginner-level users may find it challenging to manage traffic and server resources. Unexpected traffic to one website can impact all other websites on the network.
- If one of your websites gets hacked, all sites on your network are compromised.
- Some WordPress plugins may not function optimally on a multisite network.
- Not all web hosting providers adequately support the WordPress multisite network, restricting your options. Further details will be discussed later in this article.
Who requires a WordPress multisite network?
Simply because you manage multiple WordPress websites does not imply that it is necessary to begin using a network of multiple sites.
You can find third-party solutions for managing multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard. Tools such as InfiniteWP or SolidWP make it simpler to maintain multiple WordPress sites under one roof without the need to switch back and forth between different sites.
Below are some scenarios where establishing a network of multiple sites makes sense:
- A publication website with various segments managed by separate teams.
- A business website with subsidiary sites for various locations and branches.
- Government or non-profit websites can utilize WordPress multisite for various departments, locations, and regions.
- Your personal assortment of blogs operates on multiple subdomains.
- Schools and colleges enable students to create their own blogs on school servers.
Wordpress multisite installation
All websites on a WordPress multisite network share the same server resources. Hence, the most crucial requirement will be solid WordPress hosting.
If you intend to have only a couple of websites with low traffic, then shared hosting might suffice.
Nevertheless, as the multisite network expands, you would require VPS hosting or dedicated hosting.
We suggest using Bluehost as they offer both shared hosting and VPS/Dedicated servers and are also one of the official WordPress hosting partners.
If you seek an alternative, then Hostinger, InMotion, and WP Engine deliver exceptional service for WordPress multisite networks.
Other than web hosting, you will require fundamental knowledge of installing WordPress and modifying files using FTP.
Selecting a Domain Structure for Your Multisite Network
Within a WordPress multisite network, you can include new sites using either subdomains or sub-directories.
Example of a subdomain:
http://site1.example.com
Example of sub-directory:
http://example.com/site1/
If you opt for subdomains, then you will need to configure wildcard subdomains on your server. The upcoming step will guide you through this setup.
Conversely, if you choose sub-directories or path-based URLs for sites on your network, then you can proceed without the next step.
Establishing Wildcard Subdomains
If you opt for subdomains for websites on your multisite network, then setting up wildcard subdomains is essential.
To initiate this, you should first login to your WordPress hosting account’s cPanel dashboard. Subsequently, navigate to the ‘Domains’ section and click on ‘Subdomains’.
Note: The appearance of your cPanel dashboard may slightly differ based on your web hosting service. The displayed screenshot is from the cPanel on Bluehost.
Next, on the ensuing page, insert the * sign in the subdomain field and select your main domain from the drop-down menu.
Cpanel will automatically identify the document root and display it in the field below. Click on the ‘Create’ button to add your wildcard subdomain.
Configuring Custom Domains for Every Site
WordPress multisite also permits the setup of distinct domains for each site in your multisite system.
If you want to configure custom domains, you will have to utilize the domain mapping feature and modify nameserver records in your domain registrar account.
Activating WordPress Multisite System Feature
The Multisite System feature is inherent in every WordPress installation. You simply need to install and configure WordPress as usual. Afterward, you just need to activate the multisite feature.
You can also activate the multisite feature on an existing WordPress site. Before enabling multisite, don’t overlook creating a full backup of your WordPress site.
To enable Multisite, connect to your site using an FTP client or cPanel file manager, and access the wp-config.php file for editing.
You should append the following code to your wp-config.php file just before the /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */ line.
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Once you are done, you can save and upload your wp-config.php file back to the server.
This code essentially activates the multisite feature on your WordPress site. After activation, you will still need to establish the multisite network.
Establishing Your WordPress Multisite Network
Now that you have successfully turned on the Multisite Network feature on your WordPress site, it is time to configure your network.
If you are configuring a multisite network on an existing WordPress website, then you will have to deactivate all plugins on your site.
Simply go to the Plugins » Installed Plugins page and choose all plugins. You should select ‘Deactivate’ from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown menu and then click on the ‘Apply’ button.
You can then proceed to the Tools » Network Setup page to configure your multisite network.
On the network setup screen, you will receive a notification that Apache’s mod_rewrite module needs to be installed on your server. This module is already installed and enabled on all the top WordPress hosting providers.
Next, you need to inform WordPress about the type of domain structure you will be using for sites in your network, e.g. Subdomains or Sub-directories.
Subsequently, you would need to designate a title for your network and ensure that the email address in the Network admin email is accurate.
Click on the install button to proceed.
WordPress will then display some code that you need to add to your wp-config.php and .htaccess file respectively.
Employ an FTP client or file manager in the cPanel to duplicate and insert the code in these two files.
Subsequently, you will have to re-sign into your WordPress site to access the multisite network.
Wordpress multisite configuration and setting up wordpress multisite
After configuring the multisite network, it is now time to adjust network settings.
Switch to the ‘Network Dashboard’ to modify network settings, incorporate new sites, and adjust additional settings.
Hover the mouse over the ‘My Sites’ menu in the admin toolbar, and a pop-up will appear. Select the Network Admin » Dashboard.
To set network settings, click the ‘Settings’ link in the admin sidebar.
The initial option on the network settings page is to define your site title and admin email address. These fields will be automatically filled with the network title and admin email you provided during setup.
Opening Your Multisite Network for Registrations
The ‘Registration Settings’ section on the network settings page is probably the most crucial setting in your network setup.
By default, both user and site registrations are disabled on the network.
You can opt to unlock your site for user registration permit existing users to create new sites, or allow both user and site registration.
If you are opening your multisite network to register, then you can tick the box next to the ‘Registration Notification’ option to receive email notifications every time a new user or site is registered.
If you want to permit individual site administrators to add new users to their sites, then you can tick the box next to the ‘Add New Users’ option.
The limited Email Registration option enables you to restrict site or user registration to email addresses from specific domains. This is especially useful if you only desire to allow people from your own organization to register and create users or sites.
Similarly, you can also prohibit specific domains from registration.
New Site Configuration
The ‘New Site Configuration’ segment empowers you to set default options for new sites formed on your multisite network.
You can adjust the greeting emails and the contents of the initial default post, page, and comment in these settings.
You can change these settings whenever you want as a network overseer.
Customize Settings for Your Multisite Network’s Uploads
It’s crucial to monitor your server resource usage. In the ‘Upload Settings‘ section, you can restrict the total space that a site can utilize for file uploads.
The set value is 100 MB, which should be sufficient for approximately 100 photo uploads. Depending on your disk space, you can raise or lower this limit.
The default upload file types include images, audio, video, and pdf files. You have the option to add extra file types like doc, docx, odt, and others.
Subsequently, you can define a file size limitation to prevent users from uploading excessively large files to the server.
Menu Settings for Plugins
Then, proceed to the menu settings. This will enable you to activate the administrative menu for the plugins section across your network sites.
Enabling this feature will display the plugin’s menu to respective site administrators. They can activate or deactivate a plugin on their individual sites but cannot install new plugins.
Once you’ve completed all the configuration settings, remember to click on the ‘Save Changes‘ button.
Wordpress multisite domain mapping and setup of Default Content, Theme, and Plugins
Adding New Sites to Your WordPress Multisite Network
To append a new site to your WordPress multisite network, simply access ‘Sites‘ under My Sites » Network Admin in the admin toolbar.
This will present a list of sites in your existing multisite installation. Your primary site is showcased by default as the sole site in your WordPress multisite network.
To add a new site, simply click on the ‘Add New‘ button at the top.
On the ‘Add New Site‘ page, you need to input the site’s address. No need to enter the entire address, just the part you want to use as a subdomain or sub-directory.
Following that, input a site title and the site admin’s email address.
You can include an admin email address different from the one you are currently using to manage your multisite network.
If the email address is not currently associated with another user, WordPress will generate a new user and dispatch the username and password to the provided email address.
Upon completion, click on the ‘Add Site’ button.
A new site will be integrated into your WordPress multisite network. As the network administrator, you will also receive an email regarding the new site registration.
If you add a new user, that user will receive an email containing instructions to create a new password and log in.
Incorporating Themes and Plugins into Your Multisite Network
By default, individual site administrators in a multisite network are unable to set up themes and add-ons by themselves.
As the network administrator, you can set up the relevant plugins and themes, making them accessible across all sites within your network.
Installation of themes for your multisite network
To incorporate themes, navigate to the My Sites » Network Admin » Themes page.
On this page, you will find a selection of currently installed themes on your WordPress multisite.
To make a theme available to other sites, select the ‘Network Enable’ option below that theme. Moreover, you can deactivate a theme by opting for the ‘Network Disable’ link under the theme. Please note that the ‘Network Disable’ option will only appear when the theme is enabled.
To introduce a new theme, click on the ‘Add New’ button at the top of your screen and then proceed to install a WordPress theme as you would typically do.
Once the new theme is set up, you can enable it for other sites on your network using the ‘Network Enable’ option.
If you require suggestions for themes to make accessible in your network, take a look at our recommendations for the best WordPress themes that you can utilize.
- TOP 8 WORDPRESS THEMES FOR CROWDFUNDING TO BOOST DONATIONS
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- TOP 10 WORDPRESS RESTAURANT THEMES TO UTILIZE IN 2024
- COMPARING THE TOP 10 WORDPRESS PODCAST THEMES FOR 2023
Configuring a default theme for your Multisite Network
Even after adding multiple themes, WordPress will continue to activate the default WordPress theme for each new site.
If you wish to designate another theme as the default for new sites, you must insert the following code into your wp-config.php file.
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// Setting default theme for new sitesdefine( 'WP_DEFAULT_THEME', 'your-theme' ); |
Replace ‘your theme’ with the name of your theme. The name of the theme’s folder must be used, which can be found in the /wp-content/themes/ directory.
Installing plugins for your multisite network
Similarly, you can head to the My Sites » Network Admin » Plugins page to set up plugins and select the ‘Network Activate’ link below each plugin to enable them on your multisite network.
Here are some essential WordPress plugins that we recommend for every website:
- WPForms – This is the finest WordPress contact form plugin enabling you to swiftly create attractive forms using a simple drag-and-drop form builder.
- Rank Math SEO – The most comprehensive WordPress SEO plugin
- MonsterInsights – The top Google Analytics solution for WordPress allowing you to view traffic data and other useful reports in your WordPress dashboard.
- SeedProd – Site administrators may want to display a coming soon page while they work on their sites. SeedProd lets them incorporate attractive coming soon and maintenance mode landing pages.
- WP Mail SMTP – WP Mail SMTP assists you to infix WordPress not sending email issues by utilizing an SMTP server to distribute critical multisite registration and notification emails.
For additional plugin suggestions, view our compilation of the top 5 WordPress plugins for all websites.
Note: In case you have previously enabled the Plugins Menu option for site administrators in the ‘Network Settings’, then the site administrators can activate or deactivate installed plugins on their own. Site administrators do not have the authority to delete or install a new plugin independently.
Incorporating Default Content to Multisite Sites
By default, WordPress enables you to alter some default content for each site on your multisite network. You can proceed to the Settings » Network Settings page and input them under the section ‘New site settings’.
You can modify the content for the default post, page, and comment. We suggest substituting the default content with something more valuable for your site administrators
What if you wished to include supplementary default content to be appended to each new site?
By default, WordPress does not offer you an option to produce additional default content for new sites. If you prefer to execute that, then you will have to integrate custom code into your WordPress multisite.
In this instance, we will append a new default page to be generated for each new site.
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add_action('wpmu_new_blog', 'wpb_create_my_pages', 10, 2); function wpb_create_my_pages($blog_id, $user_id){ switch_to_blog($blog_id); // create a new page $page_id = wp_insert_post(array( 'post_title' => 'About', 'post_name' => 'about', 'post_content' => 'This is an about page. You can use it to introduce yourself to your readers or you can simply delete it.', 'post_status' => 'publish', 'post_author' => $user_id, // or "1" (super-admin?) 'post_type' => 'page', 'menu_order' => 1, 'comment_status' => 'closed', 'ping_status' => 'closed', )); restore_current_blog();} |
To create default posts for new sites, the same code can be used with minor adjustments. Please see the code below:
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add_action('wpmu_new_blog', 'wpb_create_my_pages', 10, 2); function wpb_create_my_pages($blog_id, $user_id){ switch_to_blog($blog_id); // create a new page $page_id = wp_insert_post(array( 'post_title' => 'A sample blog post', 'post_name' => 'sample-blog-post', 'post_content' => 'This is just another sample blog post. Feel free to delete it.', 'post_status' => 'publish', 'post_author' => $user_id, // or "1" (super-admin?) 'post_type' => 'post', )); restore_current_blog();} |
Resolving WordPress Multisite Issues
Frequently encountered challenges in WordPress multisite network setup result from incorrect wildcard subdomain configuration and domain mapping problems. Ensure that your web host supports wildcard subdomains before initiating multisite setup.
Here are some other common issues and their immediate resolutions.
Solving login problems on multisite installations
Another prevalent issue arises when utilizing WordPress multisite with sub-directories, where some users face challenges logging into the admin area of their websites after adding the necessary code in the wp-config.php file.
To address this, consider replacing
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define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', false); |
line in the wp-config.php file with
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define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', 'false'); |
Locating unconfirmed users
Another issue that may be encountered is the inability to find users who registered on your network but did not receive the activation email. To resolve this, refer to our guide on how to find pending unconfirmed users in WordPress.
FAQs About WordPress Multisite Network
We have received numerous inquiries from our users regarding the WordPress multisite network and methods for its more effective utilization. Below, you will find the most commonly asked questions along with our responses.
1. Is it possible to enhance website management efficiency with a multisite network?
The answer to this question largely depends on your specific usage scenario.
For instance, if your websites are unrelated, it would be more advisable to use a tool for managing multiple sites, such as InifiteWP.
Conversely, if you manage multiple sites for a restaurant chain, university, or online magazine, WordPress multisite would prove to be more efficient.
2. Will WordPress multisite contribute to faster website loading times?
Once again, this is contingent upon several factors. Better WordPress hosting, alongside adequate server resources, can result in faster multisite functioning. Conversely, with these resources, individual WordPress sites will also experience improved speed.
However, on a shared hosting plan, traffic increases may lead to heightened memory usage and subsequently decelerate the performance of all websites within the multisite network. For boosting the speed of a multisite, please refer to our guide on WordPress performance and speed optimization.
3. Can an online store be integrated into a WordPress Multisite Website?
Absolutely, it is feasible to incorporate an online store within a WordPress multisite network. Most likely, an eCommerce plugin such as WooCommerce would be utilized for this purpose, as it is compatible with WordPress multisite.
4. Is it possible to install the ‘x plugin’ on my WordPress multisite?
Certain WordPress plugins may not be compatible with WordPress multisite. Typically, the authors of plugins mention this on the respective plugin website, enabling users to steer clear of installing a plugin that may not function correctly within a multisite setup. However, in cases where this information is not provided, it is safe to assume that the plugin is multisite compatible.
5. How can user logins and roles be shared across the multisite network?
By default, a user who is registered on one site cannot register with or be added to another site within the same network. This is due to their existing registration in the shared WordPress database. However, they do not possess any user role privileges on other sites.
Third-party plugins such as WP Multisite User Sync can be employed to synchronize users throughout the network. It is, however, imperative to exercise caution as this could inadvertently confer admin privileges to a user on a site.
We trust that this article has equipped you with the necessary knowledge to install and configure a WordPress multisite network. Additionally, you might find our step-by-step WordPress security guide useful for safeguarding and preserving the security of your WordPress multisite, as well as our expert compilation of the best AI chatbot software for your website.
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