Is multisite for me? Please advise

  • meandmyhouse

    (@meandmyhouse)


    12 years, 11 months ago

    I currently have a website with a main section that has webpages that apply overall, and several divisions that cover specific areas. Each division also has its own blog/WP install. (And catalog pages which have been just webpages with paypal buttons, but I’ve been migrating them into the division’s WP/blog area with a store plugin.

    I’ve already converted 2 of these divisions to WP only, and bought domain names for them, with domain name pointing to the directory WP install is. The others are just in their own directories. (I have subdomains pointing to their entry webpages, which will be changed to point to the WP directory once I get all the webpages moved in?)

    I want to also install WP for the main area now (for site uniformity), and it will have a presentation page with direction to each of the divisions, as well as a few of its own overall pages. I plan to put it in a directory and point the root to it. (May not be worded right, but hopefully you understand what I mean.)

    Some of the blog/WP installs have been active for many years. I will be adding another division (and maybe more down the road.) Is multisite right for me? Is it going to be a huge hassle? Should I just install another (2) regular installs of WP (for the main area and the new division)? Should I install multisite and just have the main division and the new division connected there, rather than trying to connect the old ones to the multisite – does that work, to have other WP directories within the domain not connected to multisite, except by URL links?

    I have a few other questions, but they are mostly based upon this basic one being decided. I’d like to head the right direction for the future before making all the changes in this major remodel, so I don’t have to backtrack any further, and create a ton more work for myself, in the future. I’d like to move forward on this soon, so my site doesn’t look such a mess for much longer.

    Thank you for your help. My website, if you’d like to see what I’m talking about is: http://frommeandmyhouse.com

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Vadonis

    (@illusionstardev)

    12 years, 11 months ago

    Hi,

    I had to re-read this a few times but from what I understand, you want to have blogs set up for each of your divisions. WordPress Multisite allows you to create hundreds upon thousands of sites all on one install of WordPress using one Database.

    Here’s how you achieve that. If you are using frommeandmyhouse.com as your main site, install WordPress on that domain (if its the root domain), then activate WordPress Multisite and decide whether you want a sub-domain install division.frommeandmyhouse.com or sub-directory install frommeandmyhouse.com/divison. If you choose to use a sub-domain install you will need to set up a wildcard domain so that your sites will be accessible. Once you have your wildcard domain set up you can start adding you divisions. If you are using sub-directories, you don’t need a wildcard domain. You can just adding sites right away. If you have separate domain names for each division you can use Domain Mapping to map those domains to the sites on your sub-domain or sub-directory install.

    NOTE: Blogs/Sites on WordPress Multisite are individual sites all installed on one main site. They do not share user data, meaning users can’t log into the main site and gain access to the other sites. There is a plugin that will allow users to be able to log into the main site and be logged into all other sites. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/join-my-multisite

    Hope I didn’t confuse you, as I was just merely explaining. For a more detail on how to set up WordPress Multisite I’ll be happy to walk you through the process.

    Thread Starter meandmyhouse

    (@meandmyhouse)

    12 years, 11 months ago

    Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the confusion. I think I understand how they work, I’m just wondering if it is the right solution for me since I already have the divisions set up with blogs that have been there many, many years – so already large. They are in sub-directories, a couple I’ve given their own add-on domain. (I plan to use either add-on or sub-domain redirect for the others after I get everything that’s currently webpages moved into them.)

    So my question is basically, is converting to multi-site a good way to go for me, or a huge hassle with no real benefits? And if it isn’t worth converting the existing divisions into multi-site, should I get multisite and put my main area in it (it is currently just webpages), and any other divisions I would add on in the future?
    Thanks.

    Vadonis

    (@illusionstardev)

    12 years, 11 months ago

    If you already have blogs that has been in use for a long time, I suggest that you keep them separate like they are now, or you can install WordPress Multisite on you root domain, and set up your other sites.

    This should help you migrate to a Multisite without losing information. Remember to back up your entire site and each database so you won’t lose any information during the move, and can easily undo if any problems occur.

    http://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network
    http://codex.wordpress.org/Migrating_Multiple_Blogs_into_WordPress_3.0_Multisite

    Thread Starter meandmyhouse

    (@meandmyhouse)

    12 years, 11 months ago

    Thank you.

    Vadonis

    (@illusionstardev)

    12 years, 11 months ago

    Always a pleasure helping. If you need anything, come back. I’ll be more than happy to assist you further.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

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