I believe the key is that under “Types of multisite network” the statement that WP does not need to be installed in the root folder includes the following: “if you choose to run WordPress from it’s own directory.”
If you want to use a sub-domain install, you must install WordPress in the root of your webpath (i.e. domain.com) however it does not need to be installed in the root (i.e. /public_html/) if you choose to run WordPress from it’s own directory.
As karpstrucking noted, that means if you do this – https://codex.wordpress.org/Giving_WordPress_Its_Own_Directory – before you activate Multisite, you’re fine.
The section under “Types of multisite network” is correct and perfectly fine. The problem lies in a different section, further down at “Domain-based”. There, in the fifth paragraph it says:
WordPress must be installed in the root of your webfolder (i.e. public_html) for subdomains to work correctly. They will not work from within a subdirectory.
Which is totally opposed to what is said in “Types of multisite network”.
From my experience I can say that MS works fine with WP being in a subfolder so I thing that paragraph on “Domain-based” is misleading.
Two things.
1) The codex is editable by anyone (so you can log in and fix it, hint hint 😉 )
2) It helps if you link to the section so we don’t have to guess which one: https://codex.wordpress.org/Before_You_Create_A_Network#Domain-based
See? Cool right 🙂
I’ve changed it to “WordPress must run from…” because that’s actually what it means. We didn’t update the whole thing. It happens.
You are awesome.
But why did you left it with the meaning that it won’t work otherwise when it actually works perfectly from a subfolder as well?
Am I missing something?
