Beginners Guide How to Set Up WordPress Multisite

WordPress Multisite is a powerful tool that enables you to manage multiple websites efficiently – hence its name. However, many WordPress users dont know what WordPress Multisite is, let alone how to activate it on their site. Thats why a tutorial on how to set up WordPress Multisite can come in handy.In this article, were going to guide you through the process of activating Multisite for both new and existing WordPress sites. Then well teach you how to add new websites to your fledgling Multisite network, manage your plugins and themes, and administrate your users.If you still arent sure what WordPress Multisite is, though, we recommend that you read this article before continuing on. Multisite is an excellent tool for managing multiple WordPress websites easily.There are two main ways to set up WordPress Multisite, depending on your exact situation and the tools that your host offers. Lets start with the easiest method before moving on to the manual method.Activate Multisite for new WordPress websitesIf your web host enables you to set up WordPress using the Softaculous Auto Installer, you can enable Multisite right off the bat.  If your host doesnt offer it dont worry. Well show you another way in a second.To activate Multisite via Softaculous, youll need to visit  your cPanel  dashboard and look  for the WordPress option under the Softaculous section (you can see that on the left in the screenshot below):Click on the icon and go to the  Install  tab. There, youll find a number of fields you need to fill out in order to set up your site, such as its name  and your admin credentials. If you scroll down to the  Site Settings  section, you should find an option called  Enable Multisite:Enable this setting, fill out the rest of the fields on the  page, and click on the  Install  button. Softaculous will set up WordPress Multisite for you, and the next time you access your dashboard youll be able to use the new features. Well tal k about those in a minute, but first, lets discuss what to do if you already have a working WordPress website (or if your host doesnt offer the Softaculous installer).Manually activate Multisite for new or existing WordPress websitesTo manually enable Multisite on a new or existing WordPress site, youll have to alter one of WordPress core files. Fortunately, this is much easier than it sounds. Youll need to use an FTP client to access your website (we recommend FileZilla) and look for the  wp-config.php  file in your WordPress root folder:Once youve located it, right-click on the file and choose the View/Edit option.  This will open  wp-config.php  using your default text editor. Next, add the following line of code near the bottom of the file:define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );Keep in mind  that you need to paste this code before  the line that reads /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */, since that sentence marks the end of the file.Afterward, save your c hanges and close your text editor. Now  you can access your dashboard as you usually would, and look for the new  Network Setup  option under the  Tools  tab:Before wrapping up, youll have to configure a couple of simple options for your network. First up, theres the matter of your sites URL structure – you can choose to use subdomains or directories for each site in your network. The decision is up to you, but were partial to subdomains since they appear more professional:The only downside with choosing the  subdomains option is that youll need to also configure something called  wildcard domains. Its not too difficult (heres a tutorial for how to do it), but it is an added step compared to using  sub-directories.Second, youll have to set a title for your network and enter your email address so you can receive notifications:Once these settings are taken care of, WordPress will present you with two code snippets that you need to add to  wp-config.php  andà ‚  .htaccess  (which you can also find in your root folder). Access these files via FTP (the same way you did a moment ago), add the lines of code, and save your changes on both files. After that, your Multisite network will be ready to go!Go to topHow to manage your WordPress websites using Multisite (in three steps)Once youve set up WordPress Multisite using either of the methods outlined above, youll notice a few changes on your dashboard. Namely, Multisite replaces your default tabs with some new ones that youll use to manage your network. Lets check out the new  Sites  tab first.Step #1: Add new WordPress websites to your networkRight now, your network should be empty aside from the site where you just set up Multisite. Lets fix that by going to the  Sites → Add New  tab:Set a name for your subdomain, as well as a title, language, and administrator email for your new site:When youre done, click on  Add Site  to make the new site a part of your network. Its as simple as that!Step #2: Manage themes and plugins for your networkThe process of installing plugins using Multisite works just the same as with a regular WordPress site. However, when you install a plugin, youll now see an option to activate it for your entire network:As soon as you activate the plugin using this button, it  will be enabled for every site on your network. Individual site administrators wont be able to set up their own plugins, so youll need to repeat this process for any plugins that you want to use on your network.The process for adding WordPress themes to your network works in exactly the same way. However, individual site administrators can choose which of the available themes they want to use for their sites.Step #3: Manage your sites users and contributorsWhen you add new sites to your network, Multisite will automatically create admin users for each one. However, if you want to put someone else in charge of these sites, all you have to do is go to the   Sites  tab, click on the  Edit  button for the site you want to modify, and find the  Users  tab:Now, scroll down to the section called  Add New User. Here you can choose a  username, enter a corresponding email, and select a user role from the  drop-down menu:Then, simply repeat this process for as many users as youd like to add. The choice of which roles to assign is up to you, but we do recommend that you limit the number of administrators for security purposes.ConclusionManaging several WordPress websites can be complicated. There  are a ton of tasks you need to keep track of, including installing updates, setting up new plugins, and more. Even if youre a WordPress veteran, these responsibilities can take up a lot of time unless you use a management tool such as Multisite.