We’ll share our experience of building and managing large Multisite networks to provide tips and tricks for all levels including: - minimum hosting requirements - recommended free plugins - coding for Multisite basics (common pitfalls) - creative ways to leverage Multisite - advice on painless backups, development environments, and upgrades - a preview of the Multisite roadmap

1. Do’s and Don’ts of
#wcatx April 26, 2014
WordPress Multisite

2. WhoWe Are
Aaron Edwards
CTO/Lead Developer
Twitter: @UglyRobotDev
Ronnie Burt
Product Manager
Twitter: @ronnieburt
, , and CAMPUSPRESS

3. What is WordPress Multisite?
• A multisite network is a collection
of sites that all share the same
WordPress installation,
plugins/themes, and users.
• The red-headed stepchild of
WordPress

4. Two Types of Networks
1. Open Registration – anyone can signup and
create sites. (Like WordPress.com)
2. Closed or Trusted Networks – sites and user
registration is limited.

5. Example Networks
Open Registration (often with paid upgrades)
• WordPress.com
• Edublogs.org
• HappyTables.com
• MissionsPlace.com

6. Example Networks
Closed Registration
• WordCamp.org
• u.osu.edu
• bbcamerica.com

7. The Network Admin

8. Plugins andThemes
• Only Super Admin can add/edit
• Update on all sites at once
• Can choose to limit a theme to certain site(s)
• Plugins vs.Themes Network Activation

9. Use Multisite If…
• Sharing users across multiple sites
• Want users to create blogs/sites on-demand
• Intranet or internal company sites
• Need to aggregate content from network
• Development and test sites in one network
• Multiple personal or client sites in one network*

10. Don’t Use If…
• Users shouldn’t all be shared
• Need Public registration on each sub site
• Categories or tags will do
• Each site should look the same
• Admins on each site need FTP, etc.
• Users need to install plugins/themes

11. Subdomain vs Subdirectory
Subdomain
• mysite.com
• blogname.mysite.com
• username.mysite.com
Subdirectory
• mysite.com
• mysite.com/blogname
• mysite.com/username

12. Hosting
• Shared hosting NOT recommended
• Small networks can start with managed
hosting (WP Engine) or aVPS (DigitalOcean,
etc)
• Large networks – hire (or become) a
sysadmin!

13. Security
• Public means untrusted users!
– File types/uploads
– Embedding/scripts
– Content (copyright, DMCA, etc.)
• Plugins andThemes are OFTEN insecure in multisite,
be careful what you install!

14. Backups
• Do NOT use a plugin for backups (BackupBuddy,
Snapshot, etc.)
• Use host’s backup solution, or server side
scripts
• Large databases

15. Upgrades and Updates
• Auto-updates not recommended for large
networks
– define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true );
– define( 'DO_NOT_UPGRADE_GLOBAL_TABLES', true );
• Code changes affect ALL sites!
• Use version control

16. Recommended Plugins
• Free Plugins
– http://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/multisite
• 25 PluginsWe Recommend
– http://wp.mu/8uu

17. Anti-Splog
• http://wordpress.org/plugins/anti-splog/
The ultimate plugin and service to stop and kill splogs
inWordPress Multisite

18. Domain Mapping
• Free
– http://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/
• Premium
– https://premium.wpmudev.org/project/domain-mapping/
Use a custom domain
name for a subsite in
your multisite install.

19. New Blog Templates
• Free
– http://wordpress.org/plugins/wpmu-new-blog-defaults
• Premium
– https://premium.wpmudev.org/project/new-blog-template/
Choose default content,
settings, plugins, theme
and more for all new
sites.

20. Multisite Plugin Manager
• Select what plugins sites have access to
– All sites
– Override for specific sites
• Auto-activate specific plugins on new sites
Manage plugin access permissions across your entire multisite network.
http://wordpress.org/plugins/multisite-plugin-manager/

21. Coding Pitfalls
• current_user_can(‘unfiltered_html’)
• NEVER loop through blogs!
• add_action( ‘network_admin_menu’, ‘my-settings’ );
• Capabilities
– Super Admin capabilities – manage_network_options
– Special admin capabilities

22. Multisite Roadmap
• Domain mapping in core?
• Multi-networks?
• Better Jetpack?

23. Questions?
Thank you #wcatx!
@UglyRobotDev
@ronnieburt
Security?
Scaling?
Recommended Plugins/Themes?