2014 WordCamp Austin: Do's and Don'ts of WordPress Multisite

Do’s and Don’ts of

#wcatx April 26, 2014

WordPress Multisite

Who We AreAaron Edwards

CTO/Lead DeveloperTwitter: @UglyRobotDev

Ronnie Burt

Product ManagerTwitter: @ronnieburt

, , and CAMPUSPRESS

What is WordPress Multisite?

• A multisite network is a collection of sites that all share the same WordPress installation, plugins/themes, and users.

• The red-headed stepchild of WordPress

Two Types of Networks

1. Open Registration – anyone can signup and create sites. (Like WordPress.com)

2. Closed or Trusted Networks – sites and user registration is limited.

Example NetworksOpen Registration (often with paid upgrades)• WordPress.com • Edublogs.org• HappyTables.com• MissionsPlace.com

Example NetworksClosed Registration• WordCamp.org• u.osu.edu• bbcamerica.com

The Network Admin

Plugins and Themes• Only Super Admin can add/edit• Update on all sites at once• Can choose to limit a theme to

certain site(s)• Plugins vs. Themes Network

Activation

Use Multisite If…• Sharing users across multiple sites• Want users to create blogs/sites on-demand• Intranet or internal company sites• Need to aggregate content from network• Development and test sites in one network• Multiple personal or client sites in one

network*

Don’t Use If…• Users shouldn’t all be shared • Need Public registration on each sub

site• Categories or tags will do• Each site should look the same• Admins on each site need FTP, etc.• Users need to install plugins/themes

Subdomain vs SubdirectorySubdomain

• mysite.com• blogname.mysite.com• username.mysite.comSubdirectory• mysite.com• mysite.com/blogname• mysite.com/username

Hosting• Shared hosting NOT recommended• Small networks can start with

managed hosting (WP Engine) or a VPS (DigitalOcean, etc)

• Large networks – hire (or become) a sysadmin!

Security• Public means untrusted users!

– File types/uploads– Embedding/scripts– Content (copyright, DMCA, etc.)

• Plugins and Themes are OFTEN insecure in multisite, be careful what you install!

Backups

• Do NOT use a plugin for backups (BackupBuddy, Snapshot, etc.)

• Use host’s backup solution, or server side scripts

• Large databases

Upgrades and Updates• Auto-updates not recommended for

large networks– define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true );– define( 'DO_NOT_UPGRADE_GLOBAL_TABLES', true );

• Code changes affect ALL sites!• Use version control

Recommended Plugins

• Free Plugins– http://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/multisi

te

• 25 Plugins We Recommend – http://wp.mu/8uu

Anti-Splog

• http://wordpress.org/plugins/anti-splog/

The ultimate plugin and service to stop and kill splogs in WordPress Multisite

Domain Mapping

• Free– http://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/

• Premium– https://premium.wpmudev.org/project/domain-mapping/

Use a custom domain name for a subsite in your multisite install.

New Blog Templates

• Free– http://wordpress.org/plugins/wpmu-new-blog-defaults

• Premium– https://premium.wpmudev.org/project/new-blog-template/

Choose default content, settings, plugins, theme and more for all new sites.

Multisite Plugin Manager• Select what plugins sites have access

to– All sites– Override for specific sites

• Auto-activate specific plugins on new sites

Manage plugin access permissions across your entire multisite network.

http://wordpress.org/plugins/multisite-plugin-manager/

Coding Pitfalls

• current_user_can(‘unfiltered_html’)• NEVER loop through blogs!• add_action( ‘network_admin_menu’, ‘my-settings’ );

• Capabilities– Super Admin capabilities – manage_network_options– Special admin capabilities

Multisite Roadmap

• Domain mapping in core?• Multi-networks?• Better Jetpack?

Questions?

Thank you #wcatx!@UglyRobotDev

@ronnieburt

Security?

Scaling?

Recommended Plugins/Themes?