Can WordPress multisite have distinct databases?

  • IoClaudio

    (@ioclaudio)


    3 years, 9 months ago

    Hi,
    we are considering the use of WordPress to implement the sites of the departments of our public administration.
    I’ve implemented multisite solutions in the past with Drupal but not with WordPress.
    It would be nice if the sites share the code, the themes, and the plugins but have distinct databases.
    Is it possible?
    How this solution is called in the WordPress literature?
    Thank you very much for helping me.

    Claudio

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Robert Anderson

    (@noisysocks)

    3 years, 9 months ago

    Hi @ioclaudio. Check out the Multisite feature in WordPress. This lets you create a network of virtual sites. All of the sites will use the same WordPress code, plugins, and themes.

    Here’s a guide on setting this up:

    Create A Network

    Thread Starter IoClaudio

    (@ioclaudio)

    3 years, 9 months ago

    Thank you for the link.
    I’ve tried it and I don’t like two things:
    – each child instance uses the same database as the father, adding its own tables.
    – the administrator of a site can’t activate or deactivate a plugin, only the network administrator can do this.

    I would prefer that each instance has its own database and that the plugin are shared but each instance can activate or not activate them.
    However, it is good that the network administrator has an interface to manage all the other instances.
    We should evaluate the pros and the cons and make a decision.
    Thank you.

    cld

    • This reply was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by IoClaudio.
    Robert Anderson

    (@noisysocks)

    3 years, 9 months ago

    – the administrator of a site can’t activate or deactivate a plugin, only the network administrator can do this.

    To address this you could give site admins (in addition to network admins) the activate_plugins, edit_plugins, and install_plugins capability.

    https://wordpress.org/support/article/roles-and-capabilities/#activate_plugins

    The database issue I’m not sure is solvable. It’s a design choice made by WordPress.

    Hope that helps, and all the best.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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