What is WordPress Network ?
One of the most important features in WordPress today is the great multi-site WordPress feature. With this feature, you can launch many other sites and assign them to different users just by installing one WordPress. WordPress Network has many applications, and it is used for blogging systems, school sites, store systems, and so on.
What is WordPress Network?
Multi-site WordPress network, or in other words, multi-site, is a very useful feature that allows you to install a large number of other sites by installing one WordPress. In fact, in Network WordPress, you can manage several sites on one domain as a subdomain or subfolder. This feature, which has many applications, makes it easy for you to create one or more new sites in a very short time through your admin panel and access the new site with your username and password.
In this way, other people can register on your network and create a new site or blog for themselves. With this feature, users who are not familiar enough with WordPress can start the site without hassle. This method is very suitable for setting up blogging systems. Previously, Network WordPress was completely separate from the original WordPress, but the two became one in the third version of WordPress.
Advantages and Disadvantages of WordPress Networking
Using the WordPress network feature has advantages and disadvantages, some of which we will briefly mention. The most important advantages of using WordPress Network are the following:
Ability to install templates and plugins on the network and activate them for users instead of activating them on individual sites
· Sites have managers who can manage their site.
Ability to manage multiple sites for the network administrator from the counter
The WordPress network also has disadvantages, the most important of which are the following:
Several plugins created for WordPress may not work for WordPress Network.
If the main website is hacked, all network sites will be hacked.
Managing server resources will be difficult for novice users if there is an accidental change in site traffic.
WordPress Network Applications
There are several ways to have a multi-site network, and WordPress Networking is not the only option. Network WordPress is commonly used when multiple sites need to be created from the same domain. The most important applications of WordPress Network are:
Ability to set up multilingual websites
Suitable for companies restaurants, and that have several branches.
Ability to create store systems under one domain
Launching blogging systems and school sites
· Launching template demo sites
Normal WordPress installation
The most important decision to consider before installing WordPress Network is to choose the type of site we are launching. We have to choose whether the sites created by users are subdomains or subfolders. To install WordPress Network, more settings will be required than regular WordPress. In the first step of installing WordPress Network, we must first install regular WordPress. Note that you should make a backup copy of your database and check the unique link to ensure it is on the text name. You also need to disable all plugins that are enabled. Of course, you can reactivate them later.
How to activate and set up WordPress Network
To activate WordPress Network, you first need to open the wp-config.php file and look for the following text inside it:
/ * That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. * /
Once you find this text inside the file, you need to write the following code at the top of that text:
/ * Multisite * /
define (‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true);
With this code, you are allowing WordPress to activate. In the next step, you need to launch WordPress Network. To do this, first, disable all plugins in the plugins section of the admin panel. Then go to the Tools section in the admin panel and select Network Setup. On the page that will open, you have to enter the title and email of the network administrator and choose one of the sub-domain or sub-folder options.
You must create wildcard DNS records if you select a subdomain. To do this, you need to create a subdomain named *. Note that you need changes from the admin in Direct Admin, and if you are using the Direct Admin control panel, you should ask your hosting support to enable WildCard. You will not need any special settings if you have selected the subfolder type. After going through these steps, you need to click on install to continue. A new page will open for you, and you will need to put the code inside the first box in the wp-config.php file before the following line:
/ * That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. * /
Then put the code in the second box inside the .htaccess file.
After this, your WordPress installation will be completed successfully.
Permission to register and create a site for users
To allow users to create and launch their sites, you must first go to the Network Manager dashboard and select Settings from the menu. After that, under the Network Settings menu, apply your settings in the User Registration section. All network settings are in this section, and you can check and save them.
Tips on WordPress Network
WordPress Network is more suitable for business sites, blog networks, and magazine websites. When activating WordPress Network, if you are using localhost, you can not choose the installation method of the site, and by default, the sites are created for you on the folder. WordPress Network makes managing updates much easier, and you can easily update plugins and skins for all sites by updating them in Mother WordPress. To have a multi-site network, you will need a dedicated WordPress host.
