WordPress Multisite development and network setup

If you run several websites, for example branches, brands, language versions or client sites, and each one is a separate WordPress, you repeat updates, plugin management and user administration everywhere. WordPress Multisite puts them under one installation where the theme and plugins are shared and the content belongs to each site.

We set the network up for your needs, bring your existing sites into it, and check that every plugin also works in the new environment.

What the work includes

• Choice of structure. Subdomains (branch.yoursite.com), subdirectories (yoursite.com/branch) or entirely separate domains through domain mapping. We recommend one after looking at your case.
• Network installation. Enabling Multisite, wp-config.php and server configuration (wildcard DNS and vhost for subdomains), SSL for every site.
• Shared theme. One theme (or child theme) for the whole network, with small per-site differences where needed and no copied code.
• Plugins. Plugins activated network-wide or chosen per site, and a compatibility check for each.
• Network admin and roles. Super Admin, site administrators and editors: who may change what across the network and who only on their own site.
• Per-site content. Each site has its own pages, posts, menus and settings.
• Multilingual by site. Where it fits, one language per site, as an alternative to a single multilingual site. We decide this together.
• Migrating existing sites. Import of a standalone WordPress site’s content, media and users into the network, with redirects from the old address.

Caveats worth knowing

Not every plugin is multisite-safe or works at all in a network, especially those that write files or create database tables. A shared server also means shared resources: a slow or crashing site can affect the others. Backing up and restoring a network is also more involved than for a single site, which is why we always take a backup before changes.

What we need from you

• A list of the sites that should belong to the network and their domains.
• Access to the server and domain DNS, and administrator accounts of the existing sites.
• A decision on who manages the network and who gets which permissions.

What is not included

• New design or building a brand new theme; see Figma to WordPress.
• Translating content and writing new pages.
• Changing the server if the current one cannot carry a network; for that see server migration.

Who it fits

Multisite fits when the sites are similar and managed by the same team: branches, franchises, campaign sites or departments of an institution. If the sites are technically very different or need their own server and plugins, it is better to keep them separate. We go through that with you.