WordPress Multisite for beginners: Step-by-step

How to set up WordPress Multisite in 5 steps

Setting up WordPress Multisite can be done on a new installation or added to an existing WordPress site. Be sure to back up your site before starting, especially if you’re enabling Multisite on an existing site. Further details can be found through our full guide to setting up a WordPress multisite network.

1. Understand multisite requirements

Make sure you have everything you need in place to set up WordPress Multisite and manage it effectively. Here are a few basics:

• You’ll need a robust hosting solution using VPS hosting or a dedicated server. Dedicated WordPress hosting could be a good option.   
• You’ll also want to know that your WordPress web hosting provider can handle multiple domains on a single web hosting plan — not all hosting providers can support a Multisite network. 
• You’ll need FTP access to your website and the know-how to edit files with FTP. 
• Knowledge of DNS zones and editing settings, as it may be needed for subdomain configuration.

2. Create a Multisite network

Many WordPress web hosts simplify multisite setup through one-click installations, so check with your provider before proceeding.

Enable the Multisite feature

1. Install WordPress. (If you’re already running an installation of WordPress, you can skip this step. But before moving forward, be sure to back up your site and deactivate existing plugins.)

2. Access your website’s files using FTP. Navigate to your WordPress directory (often named public_html or www).

3. Inside the root directory, look for wp-config.php. Download a copy of this file to your computer as a backup measure.

4. Right click to edit the wp-config.php file. You’ll see a line that says:

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. *

5. Above that line, add the following line:

define('WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);

6. Save and upload the wp-config.php file back to the server.

Set up your network

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Tools >> Network Setup. 
2. Choose your sub-site domain structure. Each site in your network will either be: 
   • A subdomain (subsite.domain.com)
   • A subdirectory (domain.com/subsite)
3. Add a title for the whole network.
4. Click Install.
5. After choosing your preferred network structure, you’ll see additional code snippets that need to be added to both wp-config.php and .htaccess. It’s a good idea to copy these to Notepad or TextEdit — you’ll need them later.

Edit the .htaccess file

1. Locate your WordPress root directory and find your .htaccess file.

2. Download a backup of the .htaccess file to your computer.

3. Replace existing WordPress rules with the new code provided by WordPress in the Tools >> Network Setup screen. Here’s an example of what that may look like.

# BEGIN WordPress RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]  # add a trailing slash to /wp-admin RewriteRule ^wp-admin$ wp-admin/ [R=301,L]  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d RewriteRule ^ - [L] RewriteRule ^(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $1 [L] RewriteRule ^(.*\.php)$ $1 [L] RewriteRule . index.php [L] # END WordPress

4. Save and upload the modified .htaccess file to your server.

Edit wp-config.php again

1. Return to wp-config.php in your FTP client.

2. Add the new lines of code generated from Tools >> Network Setup. Here’s an example of what that may look like (your codes may look different):

define('MULTISITE', true); define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', true); define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'yourdomain.com');  define('PATH_CURRENT_SITE', '/'); define('SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1); define('BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);

3. Save and re-upload the wp-config.php file back to the server.

3. Verify your configuration

If you see a My Sites and Network Admin option in your WordPress dashboard, multisite is now active. But there are a few additional steps to ensure everything is running as intended.

1. Navigate to My Sites >> Network Admin >> Dashboard. Confirm your network details.
2. Go to Sites >> Add New to create a test site using a subdomain (test.example.com) or subdirectory name (example.com/test/). Give this site a title and enter the email for the site’s admin. Click Add Site.
3. After creating the test site, navigate to Sites >> All Sites in your Network Admin Dashboard. Find the test URL and click Visit to open the website. Confirm the URL structure is correct and the page loads correctly.
4. Go back to Network Admin >> Dashboard and try enabling a theme and plugin on the test site. Check that you can add new users to the network and assign them to individual sites.

4. Complete domain mapping

Mapping the default URL to a custom domain is called domain mapping, and it’s now a native feature of WordPress.

Domain mapping provides an additional option aside from subdomains or subdirectories. You can create custom domains for each website in your network. This will make it look like a standalone website, and users can’t tell it’s connected to the WordPress Multisite network.

Whether you choose to use this feature likely depends on your use case. If you’re creating a network for a hotel chain, for example, then you probably want to stick with your location.hotelbrand.com nomenclature.

On the other hand, if you’re an ecommerce webmaster managing dozens of brands with different inventories and distinct websites, then it might be useful to give them unique domain names. So, for example, keychains.mainsite.com or mainsite.com/keychains becomes bestkeychains.com. 

5. Configure settings

Now, you’ll want to step into your role as super admin and configure the settings for your network of sites.

Start by opening the menu for My Sites in the admin toolbar and accessing the Network Admin Dashboard. Go to the Settings option. Here, you’ll need to make some important decisions about how you and others will manage the network.

• Will users be able to register? Will users be able to create new sites? The default is “no,” but depending on how you’re using your multisite network, you might want to change this.
• Do you want to be notified when someone registers a new account or a new site?
• Can individual site admins add users to their sites?
• Do you want to limit site registration to specific domains?
• What restrictions will you place on uploads? You can limit size and file types, which is handy for preserving server space.