Best Friend || Worst Enemy: WordPress Multisite

@Taylor4484 #multisite #WCTO

Best Friend ||Worst Enemy

Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts

presented by Taylor McCaslin at WordCamp Toronto

on October 3, 2015


@Taylor4484 #multisite

(follow me for the link to these slides & tweet your photos!)


Technical Product ManagerUX Designer

Interaction Designer

BA, Theatre & DanceCertificates in Business, Computer Science, Digital Art & Media

Taylor McCaslin


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


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”


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

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Multisite

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Best Friend || Worst Enemy


What is Multisite?

● A multisite network is a collection of site that all share the same single WordPress installation

● Terminology ○ Install: an instance or installation of WordPress

○ Network: a set of subsites that operate within the single WordPress install configured for multisite

○ Site: one of the subsites in the multisite network


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○ trust me, modifying serialized data is not fun

● A set of sites that can have different IP addresses○ see the first point


A big happy multisite apartment

Multisite networks are like apartment complexes.

● Shared roof (hosting)● Common spaces (filesystem)● Private apartments (sites)

Be a good neighborDon’t trust strangers! Always Lock your apartment door


The Network Admin /wp-admin/network


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

● Concerns:○ 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○ or none at all○ code changes affect all sites!


Subfolders, Subdomains, & 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○ Github.com/humanmade/Mercator

■ sunrise.php

○ Premium plugins exist for selling domains to users (wpmudev.org)


ALWAYS use CNAMES


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


Shared Users

● All blogs have central user management

● Users login once to access all sites on the network○ Doesn’t play well with 2FA plugins

■ You’ll login for every site

■ Duo2, Google Auth, Two Factor Auth, etc


Shared Users

● Caution: User profiles are the same for all sites


Individual Multisite Author


Shared Themes

● Add a theme○ Network Enable (all sites)○ Restrict themes available to use

per site■ Done through the Site -> Edit Site

menu in network admin

● Changes to one theme WILL affect all sites using it


Child Themes on Multisite

https://wordpress.org/plugins/one-click-child-theme/


Shared Plugins

● Install plugins on the network (for your site admins)○ Activate per site (wp-admin)

○ Network Activate (network admin)

● Must Use Plugins○ Can’t be deactivated through the admin


Settings in two places...


File Structure Differences

❏ wp-config.php has extra lines

❏ .htaccess has extra lines

❏ wp-content/sunrise.php if you are using domain mapping

❏ wp-content has extra subfolders


File Structure Differences

Pro tip: rely on host to allow you to grant your site admins access to only specific site directories


DB Structure Differences

Normal WordPress (10)

wp_optionswp_postswp_postmetawp_commentswp_commentmetawp_termswp_term_taxonomywp_term_relationshipswp_users*wp_usermeta*

Multisite Specific (10 + 6)

wp_blogswp_blog_versionswp_registration_logwp_signupswp_sitewp_sitemeta

PER Multisite (10 + 6 + (N * 8))

wp_2_optionswp_2_postswp_2_postmetawp_2_commentswp_2_commentmetawp_2_termswp_2_term_taxonomywp_2_term_relationships


Tables in ONE multisite DB

(10 + 6 + (N * 8)) where n is number of sites 1 site = 24 tables 10 sites = 96 tables

100 sites = 816 tables 1,000 sites = 8,016 tables 10,000 sites = 80,016 tables

95,000,000 sites = 296,000,016 tables WordPress.com, July 2015


Choosing the right 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 (like 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


Pro Dev Do’s

● define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);○ disable the Admin File Editor

● define( 'DO_NOT_UPGRADE_GLOBAL_TABLES', true );

○ For large sites: prevents dbDelta() and the upgrade functions from

doing expensive queries against global tables


Multisite Plugin Developer Do’s

● Consider your Network and WP-Admin settings○ Split out these settings if needed

● Cleanup site options on delete○ delete_site_option( $option_name );○ can be expensive

● Cleanup custom site tables on delete● Consider how licensing will work for Networks


Pro Dev Do’s

● add_action( ‘network_admin_menu’, ‘my-settings’ );

○ add extra submenus and menu options to the network admin panel'


Multisite Theme Developers Do’s

● Create Child Themes for your Themes● Consider how licensing will work for Networks


Pro Dev Dont’s

● current_user_can(‘unfiltered_html’)

○ “Allows user to post HTML markup or even JavaScript code in pages, posts, comments and widgets.”

○ 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.


Multisite Use Cases


To multisite or not?

“I want to allow users to create their own sites within a network with some constraints”



“I want to allow users to create their own sites within a network with 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


Happy Tables Custom WP Admin



“I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites”



“I want to centrally manage all my client’s sites”

● Don’t use Multisite● Alternatives:

○ Jetpack Site Management (update plugins across your site)○ WP Remote (free, hosted)○ Manage WP (premium, hosted)○ Infinite WP (free, self-hosted with paid addons)○ WP-CLI (script your way to site nirvana)



“I want to have a multisite network where each site is in a different language”



“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



“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 content”



“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”

● Most likely not Multisite, but maybe● Map domains to categories and tags● Create custom templates for custom posts types, and

category archives


Best Friend ||Worst Enemy

Multisite Network Do’s & Don’ts

presented by Taylor McCaslin at WordCamp Toronto

on October 3, 2015

Technology

Best Friend || Worst Enemy: WordPress Multisite