What Everybody Ought to Know about a Multisite WordPress Network

Easily Manage Many Blogs with a Multisite WordPress Network

As I am writing this, there are over 53 million websites using the WordPress content management system (CMS) all across the web. If you are like me, you are happily one of them. If not, you can easily get started by following me here at Online.WithSLee and by getting your own free copy of this world-famous CMS.

But what if (also like me) you aren’t satisfied with just one awesome blog and you want to make a bunch. In this case, there are essentially two ways to go. You can either (1) install a new copy of the WordPress code base for every blog or site you have in separate directories on your server or (2) install one copy of the WordPress code base and enable a multisite WordPress Network. If you are self-hosting your site, which you should be, the second option is far better, and here’s why.

What’s Wrong with What I’ve Got?

Sure, it’s possible to install a new copy of WordPress for each of your sites, but it is terribly inefficient.

If your web host has a limit on how much disk space you can use or if you are charged based on disk space usage, this option is either a waste of your limited resources or a waste of your money. As a thrifty webmaster, I’m sure you want to avoid both of those things.

Also, if all of your WordPress installs are separate, you will have to repeat the same mundane tasks for each site. This may not sound so bad at first, but imagine this: The developers of your favorite plugin (you know, the one you use on all your sites, the one that gives you hot dreams at night) have just released an update that will make your sites 10 times faster, 10 times more aesthetically pleasing, and make you 10 times richer. Instead of updating it once and calling it a day, you have to login to each of your sites and update this plugin one site at a time. If you are a cautious webmaster, this means that you will also backup your sites’ databases before you update, just in case something goes wrong. This is enough of a chore with one site, but consider how much time it will take to do it on 20.

Get Rid of Waste and Repetition Once and For All with a Multisite WordPress Network

With a Multisite WordPress Network, you can easily avoid both of those problems. After installing your WordPress code base once you can easily install other sites through the same code base, minimizing your the amount of storage space you need. Updating the WordPress core, plugins, and themes is also greatly simplified because instead of doing it for each individual site, you can do it once for your whole network and be done. No more waste; no more repetition of mundane tasks.

Multisite WordPress Networks can Help Your SEO

By default, the WordPress Network allows you to install new sites into either sub-domains or sub-directories of the main site’s domain name. Either option should help you with your search engine optimization (SEO), but I have a feeling the sub-domain option will benefit the most. If you want to start a new blog about the hottest new keyword on the IP block, just make a few clicks and your keyword will be right there at the beginning of your URL, ready for search engines to find it.

The search engines also put stock in the value of the the domain as a whole, so if you are doing well with your other sites in your network, that success can give some extra credibility to your new sites right out of the gate.

If You’re Entrepreneurial, You Can Make a Business

Managing your own websites is a lot easier with a Network, but if you have the gumption you can also make a business out of it. With the Multisite WordPress Network feature, you can make your own version of WordPress.com and help other bloggers manage their websites. A shrewd enough webmaster can make some extra bucks this way, or if you are of more of an Open Source spirit, you can do it for free. It’s up to you.

Now that You Know

As the WordPress CMS continues to evolve and its features become more robust and easier to use, I doubt it will be long before those 53 million sites double in number, and you can add to that by building your own Multisite WordPress Network.

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