How to enable WordPress Multisite

What is a WordPress multisite?

WordPress gives you the option to set up a network of sites using a primary domain name. Multisite has replaced WordPress MU, developed in 2010. The ability to host different websites with a single installation is one of many changes made in Multisite. You could have the leading site that shows off your brand but add a shop that has a unique URL. Customers could navigate from the main website to your store seamlessly.

Pros

You can manage multiple sites from one super master administrator.
The super master administrator controls all plugins and themes.
You only need one backup for all the sites in the network.
You spend less money purchasing resources for only one site instead of multiple websites.
You can create multiple language sites that all reflect the same brand.

Cons

Too many resources used by one site can affect all other sites.
Individual site administrators have no control over themes and plugins.
If there are plugin and hosting issues, they will affect all sites.
Data breaches will cause problems for all the sites in the network.

Structure

Types of Uses

Multisite is excellent If you create a network of sites that will share the same functionality.
Universities use multisite for their teaching staff. Teachers can create blogs within their departments and give access to their students.
Real estate companies can provide their agents with an essential website. The design for all of these websites is the same, but the information for each realtor is different.
If you have departments, they can have their website.
A restaurant with several locations can have a website dedicated to each location.

How to Enable Multisite

There are two ways to enable multisite in WordPress. One is if you have a new installation. The second way is on a currently installed WordPress site. I will go through both of them.

First, it’s a good idea to have reliable hosting services. If you build a small network, two to three sites, you should be good with shared hosting. You may need a virtual private server or a dedicated server as your site grows.

Make sure you backup your website in case something goes wrong. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

How to install and enable multisite on a new WordPress installation.

Navigate to your client area by clicking on the tab in the above right-hand corner.

Now login to your account.

You will see your product and services page. Click on the services tab.

You will see all your active products and services. Click on your account.

You should now see your shared hosting package specifics. In the left panel, under Actions, click on Login to cPanel.

Your cPanel (control panel) for your domain will appear. We have placed the Softaculous WordPress installer link in the upper left-hand corner for your convenience. Click on Softaculous to go to your WordPress one-click installer.

Welcome to your WordPress one-click installer.

As you go through the steps to install your WordPress website, you will come to an option to enable Multisite. All you need to do is check that before clicking install.

How to install and enable multisite on an already installed WordPress site.

We will begin from your cPanel.

You will need to scroll down to the files section and click on your file manager.

The file manager is where you control all the files that make up your website. We can make changes and additions to specific files that will enable multisite. As a reminder, it is a great idea to back up your website!

You will need to go to your public_html file. Click on the plus sign to show all the files.

Once you are there, you will need to find the wp-config.php file.

You will need to right-click on the wp-config.php file to reveal your options. Click on edit to add the snippet of code.

When you click edit, you will need to confirm editing your file. You will see a warning to make sure you back up your file. Click on the edit button.

Once you click on the edit button, you should see the page below. It’s intimidating when you first see it.

Copy the code in red and paste it just above the line of code in green.

/* Multisite */

define( ‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true );

Just above this line of code:

/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */

Once you save the file, it will enable multisite. Now you are ready to configure your multisite network.

Go to your WordPress dashboard, and in the left column, click on tools.

You will see a list of tools. Click on Network Setup.

You will get a friendly warning to deactivate all your plugins first. So go to your plugins section and deactivate your plugins before moving forward.

In the plugins section, click on the select all plugins box.

Now click on bulk actions and select Deactivate. After setting up your multisite network, you can go back to plugins and reactivate them.

Now that you have deactivated all your plugins, go back to the Network Setup page.

For this example, we will use the sub-domain example. In the Network title section, you can name your network. You will need an administrator email, then click install.

After you click on install, you should see the following screen.

You will need to follow the instructions to complete your multisite configuration. We have just a few more steps.

Add the following to your wp-config.php file in /home/hostingd/public_html/ above the line that reads the following.

/*That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing.*/

Copy the below code in red.

define( ‘MULTISITE’, true );

define( ‘SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL’, true );

define( ‘DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE’, ‘hostingdemoaccount.com’ );

define( ‘PATH_CURRENT_SITE’, ‘/’ );

define( ‘SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE’, 1 );

define( ‘BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE’, 1 );

In the public_html you will need the .htaccess file. If you do not see the .htaccess file go to the upper right-hand corner. You will see the settings gear. Click on it.

Go to preferences and click on Show Hidden Files. You should now be able to see the .htaccess file. Right-click on it and choose edit.

You should now be able to see the .htaccess file. Right-click on it and choose edit.

You should now see the following page.

Copy all the code in red and replace the all the current code between # BEGIN WordPress and # END WordPress.

# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule .* – [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]

RewriteBase /

RewriteRule ^index\.php$ – [L]

# add a trailing slash to /wp-admin

RewriteRule ^wp-admin$ wp-admin/ [R=301,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d

RewriteRule ^ – [L]

RewriteRule ^(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 [L]

RewriteRule ^(.*\.php)$ $1 [L]

RewriteRule . index.php [L]

# END WordPress

Now that you have completed all the steps, you must log out and log back into your WordPress site.

You will now see that we have some changes to your WordPress site. You will see a new My Sites network button. You will see the Network Administrator, you, and the current websites in the network.

That’s it! You have enabled the WordPress Multisite function. Have Fun!