WP Multisite on Bluehost – best to choose subdirectories or subdomains?

  • Resolved jamiddy

    (@jamiddy)


    14 years, 6 months ago

    Hi Everyone, I’m a newbie and have two existing WP installations in subfolders for two separate existing blogs that are hosted on Bluehost. I intend to migrate these two blogs to a new install of WP 3.0 multisite which I’ve already installed in the root directory and activated to multisite status by inserting the one line of code as per many of the tutorials I’ve seen.

    However, in the next steps, I am confused whether to choose subdirectories or subdomains as I move forward in the installation. The various blogs within the multisite environment need to be completely separate from one another relative to URL addresses, identity, etc.

    Does anyone have any advice and/or pros and cons of whether to use subdirectories or subdomains moving forward in the multisite installation? Thanks!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)

  • (huh, I thought I answered this)

    Pick subfolders.

    Also, if you want them each to have their own domain names, get this:
    https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    (huh, I thought I answered this)

    You did ??

    https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/wordpress-30-multisite-on-bluehost?replies=15#post-1688000

    OooooOOOoooo… ??
    You are making a compelling case for being my assistant.

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    You are making a compelling case for being my assistant.

    If that’s an offer, I really do need a second job. Consulting is not what it used to be.

    Really? If you can get up to speed on multisite stuff – especially domain mapping – you’ll get plenty takers.

    Moderator James Huff

    (@macmanx)

    I’ve been steadily working on it. Trying balance my time between job hunting, writing for WLTC, and improving my multisite knowledge.

    Of course, I suppose I’d learn more if I spent less time volunteering here. It’s like a drug. ??

    Don’t I know it… ??

    Thread Starter jamiddy

    (@jamiddy)

    Thanks everyone for your great feedback — I’ll give you an update asap. If I’m able to finish up the multisite setup, I’m still a bit leery about the next steps of migrating my existing live sites to new folders within the new multisite installation; I’ll upload the domain mapping plugin as I definitely need to have separate domain names for each blog. I’ve seen a few fragmented tutorials, but does anyone have any recommendations as to the best and easiest way that works on Bluehost to accomplish this so I don’t inadvertently screw up my live sites? Thanks!

    Thread Starter jamiddy

    (@jamiddy)

    An update: I successfully enabled multisite mode and have the Superadmin panel! Thanks everyone.

    I then created a new * subdomain in Bluehost (although I’ve read conflicting info if that is the way to go)

    Then I downloaded the domain mapping plugin as per the link from Andrea_r — but now I’m stuck:

    I downloaded the domain mapping plug in and
    1) uploaded sunrise.php into the wp-content/ folder
    2) created a new wp-content/mu-plugins folder
    3) uploaded the domain_mapping.php into the wp-content/mu-plugins folder
    4) edited the wp-config.php file and added: define(‘SUNRISE’,’on’);
    5) but when returning to the Super Admin at the dashboard, there is no Super Admin -> Domain Mapping subtab to proceed …

    Did I incorrectly install this plugin, or have I missed a step somewhere? Any ideas?? Thanks

    Thread Starter jamiddy

    (@jamiddy)

    OK; another update as I muddle my way through the unknown. Turns out that I did not upload the domain_mapping.php into the correct folder — now that it’s correctly in the mu-plugins folder, everything appears to work! Hooray!

    I’ve also managed to create a new blog and new parked domain which appears to correctly map to a separate URL address, so the overall environment seems to functioning. Now to confront the biggest hurdle: migrating my existing blogs to the multisite install. This is where I get confused: is it necessary to export the existing blogs (which are now add-on domains) and then reimport all of that data into the newly created blogs in the new multisite wp install? Or is there some more simple way to accomplish the migration?

    Yes. You would need to export/import. See: https://shibashake.com/wordpress-theme/move-an-existing-blog-into-wordpress-multi-site

    Export / Import it is.

    Hi, I have also recently installed a multisite network on Bluehost. I set it to subdirectories, and the sites that I create exist, but there is one problem – the wp-admin and wp-login are not found. Basically, there is no backend.

    What might I have missed?

    see this thread, near the bottom:
    https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/need-hosting-advice?replies=20

    unfortunately that didn’t work. the tables all appear to be correct in PHPMyAdmin, and I c+p exactly what was posted for htaccess.

    Per the WP codex instructions, I created a directory called “blogs” in wp-content. When I create a new site, however, this folder is still empty. Is this part of the problem possibly?

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)
  • The topic ‘WP Multisite on Bluehost – best to choose subdirectories or subdomains?’ is closed to new replies.