Multisite WordPres Network Do’s & Don’ts

@taylor4484 #multisite @WPATX

Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts

Experiences From Some Enterprise Solutions

presented by Taylor McCaslin at The WordPress Austin Meetup on May 28th, 2015

@taylor4484 #multisite #WPATX

Technical Product ManagerUX Designer

Interaction Designer

BA Theatre & DanceCertificates in Business, Computer Science, Digital Art & Media

Taylor McCaslin


Disclaimer

● My advice is based on my experience with what has worked for me in the past

● Every project is unique

● There is an exception to every rule I makeup

● Plugins will do everything I say multisite won’t or shouldn’t


What people are saying

● “I tried to use multisite to manage multiple sites and just got myself confused”

● “Multisite is amazing, why would anyone not use it?”

● “Multisite is hard”

● “We had a project that was running multisite and we converted it to a standard wordpress install”

● “I don’t use anything but multisite”


How it’s being used

“multisite is now a utility for managing multiple sites using one installation, where as the original vision was to enable blogging networks“

@jjj on make.wordpress.org/core

●

○

Multisite


What is Multisite?

● A multisite network is a collection of sub-sites that all share the same single WordPress installation

● Terminology ○ Install: an instance or installation of WordPress

○ Network: a set of websites that operate within the single WordPress install configured for multisite

○ Site: one of the subsites on the multisite network


What ISN’T Multisite?

● A network of sites that can be moved to separate hosts○ 1 host. 1 install of WordPress. Many sites.

● A set of sites that can easily be separated into their own WordPress installs○ just trust me here. modifying serialized data is not fun

● A set of sites that can have different IP addresses○ see the first point


The Network Admin


Open or Closed Site?

● Terminology is hard…. and confusing.

Public Network / Untrusted● Anyone can signup and create a site

(sometimes paid)○ WordPress.com○ Happytables.com○ University Student Blogs

● Concerts: ○ file types / uploads○ scripts/embeds○ copyright○ DMCA

Private Network / Trusted● Limited site and user creation

○ Wordcamp.org○ Company intranets○ University network

■ colleges ,department, etc● Concerns:

○ too many cooks○ or none at all○ code changes affect all sites!


Subfolders, Subdomains and Domain Mapping

● 1 primary network domain○ sub-domain (I prefer this one)

■ mysite.com■ site2.mysite.com■ site3.mysite.com

○ sub-folder■ mysite.com/site1■ mysite.com/site2■ mysite.com/site3

● Domain Mapping○ wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/

■ sunrise.php

○ Pro-tip: Always use CNAMES! ○ Premium plugins exist for selling domains to users

(wpmudev.org)


Unified Site Management

● Super Admin Role● manage_network● manage_sites● manage_network_users● manage_network_plugins● manage_network_themes● manage_network_options● unfiltered_html

codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities


Shared Users

● All blogs have central user management

● Users login once to access all sites on the network

○ Doesn’t play well with alternative login plugins (Duo2, 2FA, Google Auth) - you’ll login for every site

● Caution: User profiles are the same for all sites


Shared Themes

● Add a theme○ Network Enable (all sites)

○ Restrict themes available to use per site

■ Done through the Site -> Edit Site

menu

● Pro Tip: Add Site Specific Child Themes (limit the shared nature of themes)


Shared Plugins

● Install plugin on the network○ Activate per site○ Network Activate

● Must Use Plugins○ Can’t be deactivated through the admin

● Caution: Some plugins have their own network settings!


File Structure Differences

❏ / root of WordPress Install

❏ wp-config.php has extra lines

❏ .htaccess has extra lines

❏ wp-content has extra subfolders


❏ /wp-content/uploads ❏ /2015/

❏ /2014/

❏ /sites/

your primary (first site) site’s media directories

File Structure Differences

❏ 2 ← site ids (second site you made)❏ /2015/❏ /2014/

❏ 3/2015//2014/

❏ ...

Pro tip: rely on host to allow you to grant your site admins access to only specific site directories


DB Structure Differences

● 17 tables instead of 11

● 6 extra tables:○ wp_blogs○ wp_blogs_versions○ wp_sitemeta

○ wp_site○ wp_signups○ wp_registration_log

● 9 prefixed tables per every new site!!! ○ wp_6_posts ← prefixed with site id

○ wp_posts ← first site isn’t prefixed


Tables in ONE multisite DB

8 + (9 * n) where n is number of sites

1 site = 17 tables

10 sites = 98 tables

100 sites = 908 tables

1,000 sites = 9,008 tables

10,000 sites = 90,008 tables


Hosting

● Use a managed host● Pro-Tips:

○ automatic backups with 1 click restore (ability to download backup)○ built in staging sites (that magically with the networked sites)○ granular deploy to production controls (deploy only specific tables)○ look for extra security features (automatic ip blacklisting)○ know limitations (some hosts don’t allow subdomains or subfolders)○ use version control

● MMSN (massive multisite network) ○ plan to spend $$$$ or hire a sysadmin


Pro Dev Tips

● define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true );○ disable the Admin File Editor

● define( 'DO_NOT_UPGRADE_GLOBAL_TABLES', true );○ Prevents upgrade functions from doing expensive database queries

on global tables

● add_action( ‘network_admin_menu’, ‘my-settings’ );○ add extra submenus and menu options to the network admin panel'


Pro Dev Dont’s

● current_user_can(‘unfiltered_html’)○ Just don’t. You will regret this.

● loop through your network sites○ Unless you know what you’re doing, you’ll cripple your site

performance, if not crashing your site altogether.


A big happy multisite family

Multisite networks are like families.

● Live under the same roof● Share a lot of things● Trust other members of the family

Don’t trust strangers!


Use CasesExperiences From Some

Enterprise Solutions


To multisite or not?

“I want to allow users to create their own sites within some constraints”



“I want to allow users to create their own sites within some constraints”

● Use Multisite!○ This is what multisite was made to do, and it does it well!

● Pro-Tip: customize the admin! ○ WordPress.com○ Happytables.com



“I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites”



“I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites”

● Don’t use Multisite● Alternatives:

○ Jetpack Site Management (update plugins across your site)○ Manage WP (premium)○ Infinite WP (free with paid addons)○ WP-CLI (script your way to site nirvana)



“I want to have a multisite network where each site is in a different language”



“I want to have a multisite network where each site is in a different language”

● Maybe Multisite, Maybe Not● SEO optimization can be difficult when similar content

is across a network of sites○ Pro-tip: hreflang tags and canonical links are your friend

● Plugins like WPML are built specifically to do this



“I have a lot of content that is very different, and I want all my sites to look different, but it’s still all my stuff”



“I have a lot of content that is very different, and I want all my sites to look different, but it’s still all my stuff”

● Maybe Multisite, Maybe Not● Why not map domains to categories and tags and

create custom templates for theme archives and categories


Slides & Links

Available at:

taylormccaslin.com/wpatx


Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts

Experiences From Some Enterprise Solutions

presented by Taylor McCaslin

Internet

Multisite WordPres Network Do’s & Don’ts