Learn how a WordPress Multisite Network can benefit your organization and how to install it. Publishers frequently find themselves managing multiple WordPress-based website installations for structural reasons and sometimes for search engine optimization reasons. For example, one might run an informational blog-style site, an information product sales site and a services sales and support site. Managing multiple WordPress sites can result in a lot of duplicate work, and time lost on website maintenance. But that process can be streamlined and the administrative workflow optimized by installing a WordPress Multisite Network instead.

3. • Founded web design and hosting company in 2002
• Started using WordPress with version 1.0.2-Blakey in
2004 on personal sites
– Previously used Greymatter and pMachine for blogging
purposes
• Began using WordPress commercially in 2006 on my
business sites and client sites
• Purchased Revolution themes in 2008, then
StudioPress developer’s license
• Began using Multisite in 2012
• Owner of TechGeekMinistries.com and
DiscipleWebs.com

5. • Multisite allows you to setup a network of
sites in one installationof WordPress
• Sites share the same plugins and themes

6. • Started as a major WordPress plugin called
WordPress Multi User, hence WPMU
• It’s features were rolled into the WP core with
version 3.0 in 2010
• Various sites catering to this functionality still
refer to it as WPMU, though officially it is
referenced as WordPress Network or
WordPress Multisite.

8. • Manage all sites from a central location,
thereby reducing your maintenance overhead
• Quick access to all your blogs
• Shared plugins and themes
• Shared users and manageable permissions
• Only one WordPress to upgrade. Need I say
more?

10. • Install WordPress as usual. I use Softaculous inside
cPanel
– Follow security procedures, including changing the admin
name, database name and database prefix
– Softaculous does NOT put a fantversion.php file on your
server like Fantastico.
• Check box to enable multisite
• Login to admin area and go to Network Setup
– Choose subdomains or subdirectories
• Edit Network Settings
• More information can be found at
http://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network

12. • Edublogs.org – Network of sites for educators
• SvilleBC.com – Network used to create
multiple sections on one site that can be
managed by several people

14. • WPMUdev.org – Provides themes and plugins
that can be used to create very powerful
Networks
– Edublogs.org built on WPMU with the plugins
created by their developers
– MarketPress Plugin can be used to build an Etsy-
like site
• Changing the domain name on Multisite