What is Multisite?
WordPress Multisite is a version of WordPress that allows you to run multiple sites off a single installation of WordPress. It makes it possible to run a network of sites under a single WordPress dashboard. You can manage everything including the number of sites, features, themes, and user roles. It is possible to manage hundreds, thousands, and even millions of sites this way. The best example of WordPress Multisite is WordPress.com.
Advantages:
- It shares one installation of the core code.
- Its common user base is shared across the network; one login profile grants access to all sites on the network.
Disadvantages:
- Migrations are exceedingly complex as each site shares one database. Migrating one site off your network is very difficult.
- You cannot truly separate users; each one will still have access to the entire network. You cannot create separate system users for SFTP uploads.
- A plugin cannot be installed on only a single site in the network. Once the network administrator installs the plugin, it will be available for all sites on the network.
Who should Use WordPress Multisite
- When you want single sign-on access to and management of all your sites from a single dashboard.
- When you want to outsource the day-to-day management of your network’s websites to other admins, leaving you to focus on the bigger picture.
- When you have a related network of WordPress sites you can manage from the same WordPress installation and server. This usually means websites belonging to a single client.
- When you want to create different branches of a website and allow them to use their own unique subdomain, theme, management team, etc.
- When you want to monetize or just incrementally grow a website by enabling others to create their own websites on the network.
- When you want to streamline the updates process for all your WordPress sites as the core, plugins, and themes will only need to be updated for the network, not for the individual sites.
Who Should Not Use WordPress Multisite
- When you only have one or a small handful of websites to manage.
- When you’re uncomfortable updating WordPress files.
- When you can’t afford the kind of web hosting or the amount of bandwidth and storage necessary to host that many websites on a single plan.
- When all the websites you’re developing and managing belong to different clients.
- When all the websites you’re developing and managing belong to the same client, but they are for completely different brands and are unrelated.
- When your client wants each website to have its own web hosting account and IP address (usually for security reasons).
- When you can’t afford to compromise uptime if the main network site should go down or one of the other sites experiences a traffic surge.
- When your site admins need full control over their sites and want limitless customization capabilities.
Conclusion:
WordPress is one of the most popular CMS worldwide. With the introduction of WordPress VIP, it has catered to the enterprise level requirements of the organization. It has helped them to develop robust solutions to take their organization to the next level of progress.