Introducing WordPress Multisite

So, what is Multisite? It's defined on the Codex as follows:

"A feature of WordPress 3.0 and later versions that allows multiple virtual sites to share a single WordPress installation."

This means that by installing WordPress just once, you can run as many sites as you need. And what's even better is that these can all run different themes and plugins and have their own domain names too if you use a plugin to help with domain mapping.

We'll learn all about this as we work through this chapter.

Uses for Multisite

WordPress Multisite has three main uses:

• Creating a network of sites for use by one person or organization, for example, I use a Multisite installation at http://rachelmccollin.com/ to host a network of demo sites, each of which supports a tutorial or book I've written. Organizations such as BBC America (http://www.bbcamerica.com) use Multisite to host a network of blogs.
• Hosting multiple client sites in one place. I use another...