WordPress Multisite Network is a version of WordPress which has a powerful feature to add multiple sites and domains in a single WordPress installation.
WordPress has launched this feature in its version 3.0 and now it is available in all its latest versions. Nowadays multiple websites are hosted by a single person & each website has WordPress installed on it. But managing various WordPress accounts is very difficult. With WordPress Multisite Network you can manage all sites on a single platform.
You have an option to add your site even if you don’t have a domain name. You can create your own website on the main domain of wordpress. Your website will work on sub-directory. That means the URL of your website will be created as “maindomain.com/yoursite”. Sometimes the users want to add an external domain in WordPress. For that also the WordPress multi provides the facility to add external domain.
Why we need to add Multiple sites in single WordPress.
As we have already explained above that WordPress Multi helps you to manage multiple sites on a single installation. So you can add multiple sites or external domains in you WordPress.
For a single company you can create many sites in WordPress for different purposes. Like for the marketing department you can create the marketing site separately. Your marketing department will have their own website for work.
Similarly you can create separate sites for all your departments in your company. Each department will have their own website with separate login details. Also each department can add new users in their website and assign them to their user roles and permissions accordingly.
Normally you might have the following questions in their mind:
1) How to add a site in WordPress Multisite
2) How to add an external domain in WordPress Multisite
So now we will show you how you can add a site or external domain in your WordPress.
How to add a site in WordPress Multisite
In this method you don’t need to buy a domain name separately. You can create your website on primary domain of WordPress. For adding a website you need to follow the following steps:
Step 1) Login to your WordPress Multisite dashboard.
For adding a website in WordPress multisite you need to login to your WordPress Multisite dashboard. Once you have logged in to the WordPress you can proceed to the next steps.
Step 2) Move your cursor to My Sites at the top left side and then click on Network Admin.
Step 3) Now click on Sites and then click on Add New. A new page will appear named as Add New Site. Here you need to enter the following descriptions.
Site Address (URL): Enter the name of your website. The point you need to note is that you cant enter the full domain name like mywebsite.com. You need to enter just one word like “mywebsite”.
Site Title: In site title you need to enter the title of your website that means for which purpose you want to create the website. For example: if you want to create a shopping website then you can enter the title “Shopping Website”.
Site Language: Here the English language has been set by default. You can leave it as it is. But if you want to change the language then You can choose your desired language from the drop down menu.
Admin Email: In this section you need to enter the email address on which you want to receive the login details of your WordPress admin panel.
After filling all the fields click on Add Site button at bottom left site of the page.
Note: Before saving the settings make sure that the email you have entered is correct because your WordPress login details will be send on that email.
How to add an external domain in WordPress Multisite
For adding a domain name in your wordpress you must have an active domain name. If you don’t have an active domain name then you need to register a domain name first. The benefits of adding a domain in WordPress is that your website’s name will be shown same as that of your domain name. Adding a domain in WordPress is a bit complex but we have made it very simple for you to get started.
For adding a domain in wordpress you need to follow the following steps:
Step 1) Login to WordPress Multi dashboard.
If you want to add a domain in your WordPress then you need to login to your WordPress Multisite. After logging to your WordPress follow the following steps for adding a domain on your WordPress Multi.
Step 2) At top navigation bar hover your cursor to My sites and click on Network Admin.
Step 3) Scroll down to Plugins and click on Add New. Now you need to search and install WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin and then Network Activate it.
Step 4) After that you need to login to your cPanel.
Step 5) Click on File Manager under Files section.
Step 6) In public_html folder locate wp-config.php file then copy and paste the following code in wp-config.php.
Step 7) After that copy sunrise.php file from /public_html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping and paste it to /public_html/wp-content.
Step 8) Now go back to your WordPress dashboard scroll down to settings and click on Domain Mapping.
Step 9) Under Domain Mapping Configuration you need to enter the IP address of your server or you can enter the CNAMEs.
The domains which you want to add in your wordpress will be linked to the wordpress through these IP or CNAMEs. You will also see more settings under Domain Options. We recommend you to leave all the fields as it is but enable “Permanent redirect”. After that click on Save button.
Step 10) Click on All Sites under Sites then Edit any site for which you want to add an external domain. At the end of site link you will see “id” as shown in screenshot. Save this id number. You will need this id in further steps.
Step 11) Now under Settings click on Domains. A new page will appear. Fill the fields under “New Domain” as directed below:
Site ID: You need to enter that ID which you have got from site link as directed in our 10th Step.
Domain: Enter your external domain name which you want to add.
Primary: Keep this field unchanged and then click on Save button.
Congratulation your domain has added in WordPress. Now you need to enter the IP address or CNAME into your domain for pointing it to your WordPress Multisite.