WordPress to the nth Power: Multisite & Beyond

WORDPRES

S MULT

I-

NETW

ORK

WO

RD

PR

ES

S M

ULT

I SI T

E S

QU

AR

ED

#aim

2

HighEdWeb

2012

A LAY

MAN’S

EXPLA

NATION

#aim

2

SINGLE WORDPRESS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwthompson2/139445633/

#aim

2

SINGLE WORDPRESS

A S I N G L E - F A M I LY H O M E

Paint your siding & shutters

Install climate control, hot water heater, alarm system, etc.

Responsible for snow & trash removal, upkeep, etc.

Fires, break-ins, burglaries are your problem

A S I N G L E W P S I T E

Install your own WP theme

Install plugins for podcasting, caching, security, etc.

Responsible for keeping WP updated & clear of spam

Website & server problems are your problem

#aim

2

WORDPRESS MULTISITE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenm_61/5087629050/

#aim

2

WORDPRESS MULTISITE

T O W N H O M E

Painting , climate control, alarms, etc. probably require approval

Might have to use contractor specified by property manager

Not responsible for trash/snow removal, upkeep, etc.

W P M U LT I S I T E

Plugins and themes must be installed by Super Admin before you can activate

Some plugins will be network-active, so you have no control over them

Not responsible for keeping WP updated

#aim

2

WORDPRESS MULTI-NETWORK

#aim

2

WORDPRESS MULTI-NETWORK

S U B D I V I S I O N

Same basic responsibilities as a townhome

Property managers probably oversee superintendents for each group of houses

M U LT I - N E T W O R K

Same responsibilities as site owner in multisite

Normal Super Admins only control own network, each network has its own Super Admin

#aim

2

HOW D

OES IT

WORK?

#aim

2

In Multisite, there will only be 1 network, so the site ID will be 1

Multi-Network uses multiple “site IDs”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

#aim

2

HOW D

O YOU T

URN IT O

N?

#aim

2

HOW DO YOU TURN IT ON?

Install and activate a single plugin.

You have three choices:

1. Networks for WordPress by David Dean (Current versions of WordPress)

2. WP Multi Network by John James Jacoby (Versions 3.0-3.1 of WordPress)

3. Networks+ by Ron and Andrea Rennick (All versions of WordPress)

Make sure you follow the instructions!

#aim

2

WHAT

DOES IT

DO?

#aim

2

Networks as subdomains, sites within those networks as subdirectory sites

Nested subdomains (single subdomains as the networks, second-level subdomains as the sites)

YOU CAN CONFIGURE IT IN TWO BASIC WAYS:

#aim

2

BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE!

#aim

2

SIDE EFFECTS OF WORDPRESS MULTI-NETWORK INCLUDE…There are some disadvantages to running WordPress in a multi-

network set up.

• New level of uncertainty with add-on compatibility

• If a plugin can’t be network-activated, it can’t be multi-network-activated

• Potential conflicts

• Serious issues with plugins & themes that are coded poorly

• MU-Plugins will be active everywhere

#aim

2

Be diligent about themes & plugins

Pay attention to setup and updates

WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

#aim

2

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Twitter: @cgrymalaWebsite(s): http://umw.edu/ (Multi-Network Setup)

http://ten-321.com/http://svn.ten-321.com/ (SVN

Repo)Email: [email protected]

[email protected]: http://spkr8.com/s/10608

http://about.me/cgrymala

#aim

2