WordPress Multisite Network Do’s and Don’ts – Experience from Some Enterprise Solutions

We’ve all built a ton of WordPress sites. We’ve also managed them all too. You’ve probably heard about WordPress Multisite Networks, and all the awesome things it can (and can’t) allow you to do.

With great power, comes great responsibility. During this talk, Taylor will step through the do’s and don’ts of Multisite Networks. He will share how WordPress Multisite can be your best friend or worst enemy… but usually both… at the same time.

Expect pro-tips, eureka moments, and hard lessons learned from his experience setting up and running multisite networks for small private company intranets, all the way to global enterprise brands.

By the end of this talk you will know the pros and cons of WordPress Multisite Networks, best practices for setting up and running a multisite, and know about alternatives if multisite isn’t a fit for your next project.

http://seattle.wordcamp.org/2015-experienced/session/multisite-network-dos-and-donts-experience-from-an-enterprise-solution/

Transcript

1. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts Experiences From Some Enterprise Solutions presented by Taylor McCaslin at WordCamp Seattle March 28, 2015
2. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Product Manager UX Designer Interaction Designer BA Theatre & Dance Certificates in Business, Computer Science, Digital Art & Media Taylor McCaslin
3. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Disclaimer • My advice is based on my experience with what has worked for me in the past • Every project is unique • There is an exception to every rule I makeup • Plugins will do everything I say multisite won’t or shouldn’t
4. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA What people are saying • “I tried to use multisite to manage multiple sites and just got myself confused” • “Multisite is amazing, why would anyone not use it?” • “Multisite is hard” • “We had a project that was running multisite and we converted it to a standard wordpress install” • “I don’t use anything but multisite”
5. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA How it’s being used “multisite is now a utility for managing multiple sites using one installation, where as the original vision was to enable blogging networks“ @jjj on make.wordpress.org/core
7. • ◦ Multisite
8. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA What is Multisite? • A multisite network is a collection of sub-sites that all share the same single WordPress installation • Terminology ◦ Install: an instance or installation of WordPress ◦ Network: a set of websites that operate within the single WordPress install configured for multisite ◦ Site: one of the subsites on the multisite network
9. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA What ISN’T Multisite? • A network of sites that can be moved to separate hosts ◦ 1 host. 1 install of WordPress. Many sites. • A set of sites that can easily be separated into their own WordPress installs ◦ just trust me here. modifying serialized data is not fun • A set of sites that can have different IP addresses ◦ see the first point
10. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA The Network Admin
11. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Open or Closed Site? • Terminology is hard…. and confusing. Public Network / Untrusted • Anyone can signup and create a site (sometimes paid) ◦ WordPress.com ◦ Happytables.com ◦ University Student Blogs • Concerts: ◦ file types / uploads ◦ scripts/embeds ◦ copyright ◦ DMCA Private Network / Trusted • Limited site and user creation ◦ Wordcamp.org ◦ Company intranets ◦ University network ▪ colleges ,department, etc • Concerns: ◦ too many cooks (wanting super admin) ◦ or none at all (no one to manage network) ◦ code changes affect all sites!
12. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Subfolders, Subdomains and Domain Mapping • 1 primary network domain ◦ sub-domain (I prefer this one) ▪ mysite.com ▪ site2.mysite.com ▪ site3.mysite.com ◦ sub-folder ▪ mysite.com/site1 ▪ mysite.com/site2 ▪ mysite.com/site3 • Domain Mapping ◦ wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/ ▪ sunrise.php ◦ Pro-tip: Always use CNAMES! ◦ Premium plugins exist for selling domains to users (wpmudev.org)
13. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Unified Site Management • Super Admin Role • manage_network • manage_sites • manage_network_users • manage_network_plugins • manage_network_themes • manage_network_options • unfiltered_html codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities
14. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Shared Users • All blogs have central user management • Users login once to access all sites on the network ◦ Doesn’t play well with alternative login plugins (Duo2, 2FA, Google Auth) - you’ll login for every site • Caution: User profiles are the same for all sites
15. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Shared Themes • Add a theme ◦ Network Enable (all sites) ◦ Restrict themes available to use per site ▪ Done through the Site -> Edit Site menu • Remember to add Child Themes!
16. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Shared Plugins • Install plugin on the network ◦ Activate per site ◦ Network Activate • Must Use Plugins ◦ Can’t be deactivated through the admin • Caution: Some plugins have their own network settings!
17. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA File Structure Differences ❏ / root of WordPress Install ❏ wp-config.php has extra lines ❏ .htaccess has extra lines ❏ wp-content has extra subfolders
18. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA ❏ /wp-content/uploads ❏ /2015/ ❏ /2014/ ❏ /sites/ your primary (first site) site’s media directories File Structure Differences ❏ 2 ← site ids (second site you made) ❏ /2015/ ❏ /2014/ ❏ 3 /2015/ /2014/ ❏ ... Pro tip: rely on host to allow you to grant your site admins access to only specific site directories
19. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA DB Structure Differences • 17 tables instead of 11 • 6 extra tables: ◦ wp_blogs ◦ wp_blogs_versions ◦ wp_sitemeta ◦ wp_site ◦ wp_signups ◦ wp_registration_log • 9 prefixed tables per every new site!!! ◦ wp_6_posts ← prefixed with site id ◦ wp_posts ← first site isn’t prefixed
20. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Tables in ONE multisite DB 8 + (9 * n) where n is number of sites 1 site = 17 tables 10 sites = 98 tables 100 sites = 908 tables 1,000 sites = 9,008 tables 10,000 sites = 90,008 tables
21. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Hosting • Use a managed host • Pro-Tips: ◦ automatic backups with 1 click restore (ability to download backup) ◦ built in staging sites (that magically with the networked sites) ◦ granular deploy to production controls (deploy only specific tables) ◦ look for extra security features (automatic ip blacklisting) ◦ know limitations (some hosts don’t allow subdomains or subfolders) ◦ use version control • MMSN (massive multisite network) ◦ plan to spend $$$$ or hire a sysadmin
22. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Pro Dev Tips • define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true ); ◦ disable the Admin File Editor • define( 'DO_NOT_UPGRADE_GLOBAL_TABLES', true ); ◦ Prevents upgrade functions from doing expensive database queries on global tables • add_action( ‘network_admin_menu’, ‘my-settings’ ); ◦ add extra submenus and menu options to the network admin panel'
23. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Pro Dev Don'ts • current_user_can(‘unfiltered_html’) ◦ Just don’t. You will regret this. • loop through your network sites ◦ Unless you know what you’re doing, you’ll cripple your site performance, if not crashing your site altogether.
24. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Use Cases Experiences From Some Enterprise Solutions
25. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to allow users to create their own sites within some constraints”
26. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to allow users to create their own sites within some constraints” • Use Multisite! ◦ This is what multisite was made to do, and it does it well! • Pro-Tip: customize the admin! ◦ WordPress.com ◦ Happytables.com
27. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites”
28. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites” • Don’t use Multisite • Alternatives: ◦ Jetpack Site Management (update plugins across your site) ◦ Manage WP (premium) ◦ Infinite WP (free with paid addons) ◦ WP-CLI (script your way to site nirvana)
29. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to have a multisite network where each site is in a different language”
30. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I want to have a multisite network where each site is in a different language” • Maybe Multisite, Maybe Not • SEO optimization can be difficult when similar content is across a network of sites ◦ Pro-tip: hreflang tags and canonical links are your friend • Plugins like WPML are built specifically to do this
31. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I have a lot of content that is very different, and I want all my sites to look different, but it’s still all my stuff”
32. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA To multisite or not? “I have a lot of content that is very different, and I want all my sites to look different, but it’s still all my stuff” • Maybe Multisite, Maybe Not • Why not map domains to categories and tags and create custom templates for theme archives and categories
33. @taylor4484 #multisite #WCSEA Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts Experiences From Some Enterprise Solutions presented by Taylor McCaslin at WordCamp Seattle March 28, 2015