[![How to Install and Set Up a WordPress Multisite Network 1](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/multisite.webp)](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/multisite-1030x396.webp)

# How to Install and Set Up a WordPress Multisite Network

Sep 11, 2024/by [Alina](https://coma.lv/en/author/alina-suhorukova-gmail-com/)

Many of our users quickly learn how to manage several WordPress sites on their own. Some even start helping clients, friends or family members manage their WordPress sites. Recently one of our users asked how to install and set up a WordPress multisite. He had several WordPress sites on subdomains and was interested in managing all of them together. In this article we will show you how to install and set up a WordPress multisite network.

## What Is a WordPress Multisite?

A WordPress multisite network lets you manage several WordPress sites from a single WordPress installation. You can instantly create new sites and control them using the same username and password. You can also let other users register and create their own blogs on your domain.

**Pros of Using a Multisite Network**

- As the network administrator, you can easily control several sites from a single dashboard.
- Each site can have its own admins with permission to manage that site.
- Plugins and themes are installed from a single upload.
- A multisite network also simplifies updates. You can update WordPress, plugins and themes from a single place.

**Cons of Using a Multisite Network**

- All sites in the network share resources, so if one site stops working, all the other sites in the network will stop working too.
- Managing server resources in case of unexpected traffic can be difficult for beginners.
- If your site is hacked, all the sites in the network will be hacked too.
- Some WordPress plugins may not be compatible with a multisite network.

## Who Needs a Multisite Network

Just because you have several WordPress sites does not mean you need to create a multisite network. You can use services such as ManageWP or InfiniteWP to manage several separate sites.

Creating a multisite network makes sense for:

1. Online magazines, where different teams run different sections.
2. Business sites with sub-sites for different branches and locations.
3. Government and non-profit sites that can use multisite for different departments and regions.
4. Your own network of blogs hosted on several subdomains.
5. Schools and universities that can let students create their own blogs on school servers.

## Multisite Requirements

The most important thing you will need for a multisite network is good WordPress hosting. If you do not plan to create many sites and do not expect a huge number of visitors, you can get by with shared hosting. However, because of how multisite works, as your network grows you will most likely need a VPS or a virtual dedicated server.

We recommend BlueHost, since they offer both shared hosting and dedicated servers and are one of the official WordPress hosting partners.

We have also worked with other proven WordPress hosts that support current WordPress 6.x/7.x versions, such as [SiteGround](https://www.siteground.com/) and [InMotion Hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/), which also provide excellent service.

Besides web hosting, you will need basic knowledge of installing WordPress and editing files using FTP.

## Choosing a Domain Structure for the Multisite Network

The sites in your WordPress multisite network can be set up either on subdomains or in subdirectories.

If you choose subdomains, you will need to configure a wildcard for subdomains on your server (we will show how you can do this below).

On the other hand, if you want to create subdirectories, or path-based URLs, for the sub-sites in your network, the only thing you need to do is enable “pretty” permalinks on the root site.

## Configuring a Wildcard Subdomain

Log in to your web hosting account and you will see the cPanel control panel. Scroll down to the domains section and click *Domains*.

![cpanel-domains](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Ekranuznemums-2025-08-15-033738.jpg)

In the next window, click **Create A New Domain**. In the Domain field, enter *.example.com (replace example.com with your domain). Uncheck Share document root if you want a separate folder, or leave it checked to point to the main site. Click *Submit*.

![wildcard](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Ekranuznemums-2025-08-15-035428.jpg)

Next you need to add a wildcard record in DNS. To do this, open **Zone Editor** in cPanel, find your domain and click Manage. Choose + Add Record and set the type to A Record. In the *Name* field, enter *.example.com (sometimes a dot is required at the end, but this depends on the cPanel interface; in some cases just the asterisk is enough). In the *Address* field, enter the IP address of your hosting — the same one used for the main domain. Save the changes.

![DNS](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Ekranuznemums-2025-08-15-040615.jpg)

If your DNS is managed not through cPanel but through an external service such as Cloudflare, the wildcard record has to be added in that provider’s panel.

After making the changes, all that remains is to wait for DNS to update. This usually takes from one to four hours, but in some cases the process can stretch to a day. Once the record has updated, all requests to subdomains will be correctly directed to your server. For a WordPress multisite on subdomains, wildcard support has to be enabled in the network settings.

## Enabling the WordPress Multisite Feature

The multisite feature is built into WordPress. All you need to do is install and configure WordPress in the usual way. Read our tutorial on [how to install WordPress](https://coma.lv/en/2024/08/29/how-to-install-wordpress-a-complete-wordpress-installation-tutorial/) if you need help.

You can also enable the multisite feature on an existing WordPress site. Before you do, make sure you have a full backup of your site.

To enable the multisite feature, you need to connect to your site via an FTP client or the cPanel file manager and open the wp-config.php file.

You need to add this line to the wp-config.php file before the line */*That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging.*/*.

/* Multisite */ define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );

Save and upload your wp-config.php file back to the server. Your WordPress now supports a multisite network.

## Setting Up the Network

Now that you have enabled the multisite feature on your WordPress site, it is time to set up the network. Before you begin, deactivate all plugins on your site. After that, go to **Tools > Network Setup** to set up the multisite network.

![network-setup](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/network-setup.jpg)

In the network setup window you will see a notice that you need to have the Apache mod_rewrite module on your server to set up the multisite network. On modern WordPress hosting this module is usually already enabled.

The next step is to tell WordPress which domain structure you want to use for the sites in your network, i.e. subdomains or subdirectories. After that, enter the name of your network and make sure the Network Admin Email is correct. Finally, click the *install* button to continue.

In the next window WordPress will show you the rules that need to be added to the wp-config.php and .htaccess files. Use an FTP client to edit both files and paste in the code.

## Network Settings

After the multisite network is installed successfully, you need to switch to the network dashboard to set the settings, add new sites and much more. Hover over the My Sites menu in the admin toolbar and a drop-down menu will appear. Click **Network Admin > Dashboard**.

![network-admin](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/network-admin.jpg)

You will notice that new items for managing the multisite network have appeared in this menu. You will also see a dashboard widget that lets you create a new site and add new users.

![multisite-dashboard](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/multisite-dashboard.jpg)

To configure the network, click the *Settings* link in the admin sidebar menu. The first options on the network settings screen are the site title and the administrator email. These fields will be filled with the network name and the email you entered during installation.

**Allowing Registration in the Multisite Network**

The *Registration Settings* section on the network settings screen is perhaps the most important item in the whole setup. By default, registration is disabled for both users and sites. You can open your network to user registration, allow existing users to create new sites, or both at once.

![registration-settings](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/registration-settings.jpg)

You can tick the box next to Registration Notification to receive an email notification every time a new user or site is registered.

If you want to allow site administrators to add new users to their site, you can tick the box next to Add New Users.

The Limited Email Registration option lets you allow user and site registration only for emails with specific domains, which you can add here. This is especially useful if you want to allow registration and creation of new users and sites only for people from your own organization. You can also ban registration for specific domains.

![limitemaildomains](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/limitemaildomains.jpg)

**New Site Settings**

The New Site Settings section on the network settings screen lets you configure the default options for new sites created in your network. You can modify the welcome emails and the content of the default posts, pages and comments.

![newsite-settings](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/newsite-settings.jpg)

**Upload Settings**

It is important to keep an eye on how much of your server resources you use. In the Upload Settings section you can limit the total amount of space a site can use for uploads. The default size is 150–256 MB, which is enough for at least 150 photos. You can increase or decrease this setting depending on how much disk space you have.

![uploadsettings](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/uploadsettings.jpg)

The default file types are images, audio/video and pdf. You can add more file types if you want, for example doc, docx, odt. Finally, you can limit the file size so that users cannot upload insanely large files to the server.

**Menu Settings**

In the menu settings you will find the Enable administration menus option for the plugins section on the network’s sites. This lets site admins see the plugins menu. They will be able to activate and deactivate a plugin on their own site, but will not be able to install new plugins.

![enable-plugin-menu](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/enable-plugin-menu.jpg)

## Adding New Sites to a WordPress Multisite Network

To add a new site to your WordPress multisite, just click Sites in the My Sites > Network Admin menu in the admin toolbar.

![network-sites](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/network-sites.jpg)

This shows you the current list of sites on your multisite. By default, your main site will be the only one in the network. To add a new site, click the Add New button at the top.

![addnewsite](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/addnewsite.jpg)

In the Add New Site window you need to enter the site address. You do not need to type the full address, just the part you want to use as a subdomain or subdirectory. Then enter the site title and add the site administrator’s email.

![addnewsite1](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/addnewsite1.jpg)

You can add an administrator email that is different from the one you currently use to manage the multisite. If this email is not used by another user, WordPress will create a new user and send the password and username to the email you entered.

Once you have dealt with this, click the Add Site button. A new site will be added to your multisite network. As the network administrator, you will receive an email about the new registration. If you created a new user, that user will receive their username and password with registration instructions at the email you entered.

## Adding Themes and Plugins in a Multisite Network

By default, the administrators of individual sites cannot install themes and plugins themselves. As the network administrator, you can install plugins and themes for them and make those themes and plugins available to them. To do this, go to your main site and open**My Sites > Network Admin > Themes**.

![multisite-themes](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/multisite-themes.jpg)

In the Network Admin window you will see a list of the themes currently installed on your multisite. You can make these themes available by clicking Enable Network under a theme. In the same way, you can disable a theme by clicking Disable Network under it.

![enable-disable-themes](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/enable-disable-themes.jpg)

You can also activate and deactivate a plugin for the whole network in the **My Sites > Network Admin > Plugins** window. Keep in mind that if you allowed site administrators access to plugins in Network Settings, they will be able to activate or deactivate plugins on their own.

![activate-plugins-multisite](https://coma.lv/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/activate-plugins-multisite.jpg)

## Troubleshooting a WordPress Multisite

The most common problems come from incorrect configuration of wildcard subdomains. Make sure your web hosting supports them.

Another common problem is that, when using WordPress multisite with subdirectories, some users cannot log in to the admin area of their site after adding the code to the wp-config.php file. To fix this, try replacing the line **define(‘SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL’, false);** in the wp-config.php file with **define(‘SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL’, ‘false’);**

We hope this article helped you install and set up a WordPress multisite network.

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*Our specialization is WordPress website development and maintenance. Contact us for a free consultation — [vadim@coma.lv](mailto:vadim@coma.lv), [+371 29394520](tel:+37129394520)*

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