will I still be able to run these three blogs as structured?
Yes you will.
as long as the multisite install doesn’t have any sites in them with the same names, there won’t be any interference.
Putting it in the root is to make sure it runs smoothly and gives you the URL structure that you want. Also, some hosts require it if you’re using wildcard subdomains.
In the instructions at http://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network
It says:
You are given the choice between sub-domains or sub-directories (if none of the above applies). This means each additional site in your network will be created as a new virtual subdomain or subdirectory. you have to pick one or the other, and you cannot change this unless you reconfigure your install. See also Before you Begin.
* Sub-domains — like site1.example.com and site2.example.com
* Sub-directories — like example.com/site1 and example.com/site2
If I have to choose one or the other, I don’t see how I can keep my structure. I have both a sub-domain blog and a sub-directory blog. They are all located in sub-directories but one of the urls is a subdomain.
Export/backup ALL your blogs
Install your blog in mydomain.com
Create Sub-Domains and make subdomain.mydomain.com
THEN use the multi-domain plugin to make anotherdomain.com
WordPress will no longer user the fashion subfolder.
I guess I’ll just have to try it out. I’m waiting for my host to tell me how to get access to the root. Right now, it’s pointed to public_html.
public_html *is* the root of your website.
I initially installed it in public_html. When I went to create a network, I was only offered the option to install a subdirectory option. At some point after installation, it told me I could not continue because I was installed in a subdirectory and I needed to be installed in the root.
It may have been when i tried to activate the multi domain plugin.
If public_html is the root, the problem may be the way I’m accessing the site. I’m using a temporary url (ie: http://www.lunarpages.com/~myaccount/) assigned by the web host instead of the actual domain name. I can’t use the domain name because this is a test.
I’m not sure how to get around that. I can’t really afford to test with my real site. I have another little used domain I can test with that gets no traffic. If I install that, I’ll have to then go through whatever steps are required to change it later.
Yep, it;s the temporary URL.
Anyone know a solution? Migrating multiple blogs to multisite seems fairly complex. How are popular sites handling this? If you have to have the dns and domain in place during installation, that means you effectively have to disrupt your site for a day or more. And what if something goes wrong? I’m trying to get all my blogs setup in a separate account and test it before switching over.
Migrating multiple blogs to multisite seems fairly complex.
running a network is fairly complex. 😉 that’s why it’s not a one-click in the backend.
Also, a LOT depends on how your current sites are setup.
How are popular sites handling this?
Carefully? I don’t know of any huge popular sites that are doing this. Many of then that needed multiple sites in one install have been using mu.
If you have to have the dns and domain in place during installation, that means you effectively have to disrupt your site for a day or more.
No, you don’t You can set up the sub-blogs in your install, make sure they work then flip the DNS over. With domain mapping there are a few steps you don’t need to do in any particular order, depending on results.
And what if something goes wrong?
Backups. 🙂 And if you’re worried about down time, then you do them during as low traffic time.
I’m trying to get all my blogs setup in a separate account and test it before switching over.
And that’s exactly what a lot of people do. If you’ve got it all tested, got a plan in place, and have super sys admin skills, I;ve seen it run smooth in maybe a half hour or so.
Thanks for the answers. I’ve abandoned my plans to run multisite and just stick with running three separate blogs. My host informed me multisite is not supported in shared servers. I thought it would have been more efficient in terms of resources to run multisite instead of duplicate blogs.
It is – when you have a lot of blogs.
it scares many a shared host though.
