Title: How does MultiSite work?
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# How does MultiSite work?

 *  [dbunit16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dbunit16/)
 * (@dbunit16)
 * [15 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-does-multisite-work/)
 * I was reviewing the multi-site/network documentation but I’ve got some questions
   for clarification.
 * I understand that you can use directories. I am hosting with BlueHost and the
   way they “addon domains” creates directories. For example, [http://www.mainsite.com/addondomain](http://www.mainsite.com/addondomain)
   where the directory represents the add on domain.
 * So my question is this, I would install WordPress MultiSite in the main home 
   directory of the server. Then, would my WordPress network consist of the other
   domains, or only the subdirectories? Would I be able to accesss the network then
   on [http://www.mainsite.com](http://www.mainsite.com) (netowrk home) and [http://www.addondomain.com](http://www.addondomain.com)?
 * I guess I’m asking really if the network/multisite supports multiple domains,
   so long as they map to sub-directories.
 * Thanks,
 * Jon

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

 *  [Andrea Rennick](https://wordpress.org/support/users/andrea_r/)
 * (@andrea_r)
 * [15 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-does-multisite-work/#post-1845556)
 * The sub directories do not exist on the server, they are virtual.
 * You *can* map domain to the blog though, with this plugin:
    [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/)
 * And you’d park your other domains on top of the original wordpress install. That’s
   how it works.
 *  [alxvallejo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alxvallejo/)
 * (@alxvallejo)
 * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-does-multisite-work/#post-1845830)
 * When you say “virtual”, do you basically mean that both sites exist on one WPDB
   and that the only separation is a simply website ID # that identifies which site
   each post points to? etc?
 *  Moderator [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/)
 * (@ipstenu)
 * 🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist
 * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-does-multisite-work/#post-1845831)
 * That but also this: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_folder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_folder)

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

The topic ‘How does MultiSite work?’ is closed to new replies.

 * In: [Networking WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/multisite/)
 * 3 replies
 * 4 participants
 * Last reply from: [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/)
 * Last activity: [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-does-multisite-work/#post-1845831)
 * Status: not resolved

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