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WordPress MU experiment

Jul 18th, 2008 | By knup | Category: My Feature, Wordpress, knupNET Sites

So managing a network or several network of sites that contain multiple WordPress blogs is very tedious.  Let’s take my USportsNetwork for example.  This site currently has 20 or so sites in it and I’m in the process of increasing this to 100 or so.  That’s 20 individual WordPress installs.  Which means every time there is a WordPress upgrade, I have to upgrade them all. Yikes!  I have to upload plugins to each site, manage FTP accounts for each and so on.  Enter WordPress MU…

WordPress MU (Multiple User) is basically an extension of WordPress.  It’s like 90% WordPress code with a layer on top for managing multiple sites.  I figured I would give this a shot for one of my networks and see how it goes.  If all goes well – I will convert some of my other networks over to WordPress MU.

I’ve converted about 15 sites over currently and hopefully over the next week will have the entire USN running on one WordPress MU install.  So far…

Advantages:

  • VERY easy to spin up a new blog/site.  Just a matter of clicks.
  • Plugins all managed in one central areas and you can activate them on a site by site basis.  Very nice.
  • These blogs all share a common Users table.  Very cool!  One account that can login and manage them all.  Once I get real good at this it will be great.  Users will need one account to comment on any of my sites!  Nice!
  • Few accounts created on the server – though I do create a “parked” domain for the new sites.
  • One database!  Easier to manage.

Bad things:

  • Possible SEO issues?  I’m not sure about this but I’m wondering how Google and others will handle my sites.  Will they see them the same as they did?
  • WordPress MU has some issues with adding a new site with a NEW domain.  It’s built perfectly for subdomains.  But with some tweaks and a plugin it does the trick.  I think :)
  • Speed?  Will my sites run slower?  Database bogged down since it’s one database?  Not sure!

That’s about it for now.  Any of you ever ran WordPress MU? I’ll continue to report my findings as I plunge forward.

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76 comments
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  1. Dave Starr July 18th, 2008 5:38 pm :

    I think using WordPress multi-user (mu) is an excellent choice, Knup. As far as being able to hold up under larger networks, if I am not mistaken, isn’t Mu what powers WordPress.com with all those thousands and thousands of blogs? Anyway, the thought of using Mu comes to me just about every week or so now, with WordPress updates and new and cool plugins rolling out frequently. The idea of taking care of all (my few) blogs from one central point is ceretainly appelaing.

  2. btard July 28th, 2008 5:03 pm :

    it is what holds up wordpress.com and a lot of other HUGE ass networks however they have many points of redundancy and load balancing built into their network infrastructure that will stop the sluggish behavior of a database and eliminate points of failure.

  3. funnygirl August 7th, 2008 12:11 pm :

    Yay! Interesting.

  4. Internet Marketing Help August 22nd, 2008 8:41 pm :

    This was literally exactly what I was looking for. Each WordPress update is a headache, plugins, etc…. I could go on and on with the wasted hours I have dealt with uploading, and updating, and keeping all the blogs up to date. Thank you so much.

  5. Stephanie September 16th, 2008 1:25 pm :

    Oh awesome, this is something I could definently use on my blog. Are you sure it is as easy as you say? Because I really hope it is considering I am not the most experience blog creator. I still consider myself a bit of a newbie when it really comes down to it. I have added some widgets lately so I hope this won’t conflict with them. Thanks again!

  6. Flowers From Ecuador September 19th, 2008 11:36 am :

    WOW… This is vary interesting.. Thanks for posting this..

  7. zune scene October 11th, 2008 7:07 am :

    That’s a good solution when you need help with a site.

  8. Rowena October 30th, 2008 8:00 am :

    A great tool I guess. I still haven’t tried it though. I’ll give it some thought and give some time to research this very interesting tool. Anyways, thanks for the info. The advantages and disadvantages are well addressed. thanks again

  9. Bill October 30th, 2008 5:12 pm :

    I always wondered (but obviously never asked or sought out the info!) how giant networks administered their individual sites. Sounds like all of us can be “one man bands” nowadays! Well, with a great supporting cast, of course. You guys write lots of content. Well done.

  10. Private Label Rights Guy November 18th, 2008 1:00 am :

    I did try to install it once but it was a bit technical for me to use so I give up the idea of using wordpress MU.

    Nevertheless it was a great platform for managing multiple blog.

  11. SEO November 25th, 2008 12:46 am :

    its really nice to read about this

  12. Rob December 1st, 2008 9:30 pm :

    I have 10 blogs and 10 individual installs. I am agreed with you because having too many separate wordpress blogs sucks, even more than that. I was not familiar with WordPress MU, even I haven’t heard about it before. I shall be looking at your site. Can we convert already installed wordpress in to it?

  13. Johnny December 3rd, 2008 12:23 am :

    I’m going to be using MU again soon for a client and I’m not looking forward to it, had all kinds of probs with a previous version. Hopin this is better!

  14. vue December 4th, 2008 4:53 am :

    :) nice post

  15. mesajlar December 12th, 2008 2:35 am :

    Great article, thanks for share.

  16. Howard December 12th, 2008 9:05 am :

    Hmm and interesting read! There are some good comments here – thanks for the post

    Much appreciated!

  17. Stuartc December 22nd, 2008 8:53 am :

    Thanks for shareing this wordpress plugins are not easy to manage this makes every wordpress users life easyer.

    Thanks again

  18. Shannon Brown December 31st, 2008 9:21 pm :

    Of course myself and a friend started with just a couple of blogs but it has quickly grown to where we are having some of the same issues. It will be interesting to see how this is working for you in the future.

  19. Yogesh Agarwal January 2nd, 2009 11:26 am :

    Great Blog Mate. Really Informative

  20. dans January 7th, 2009 10:35 pm :

    word press is complicated for me but Im still learning the ropes great blogs

  21. Ravi January 10th, 2009 7:44 am :

    Really Helpfull Man. Was Searching for this from long time..

  22. Drew January 17th, 2009 9:12 pm :

    Thanks for the info.I’m gonna check wordpress mu out.
    Drew

  23. DogFreak February 12th, 2009 5:29 am :

    I really appreciate your advice. Will try out WordPress MU now. Thanks!

  24. syed March 11th, 2009 6:50 am :

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  25. Lucky March 25th, 2009 2:17 pm :

    WOW… This is vary interesting.. Thanks for posting this..

  26. Mike | Prefabricated Structures April 4th, 2009 7:10 am :

    I am only worried due the same reason and that is SEO issues. I have 15 different sites and all of them have 15 different clean wordpress installs but it is really a tough job to manage them separately. I am thinking about having wordpress MU but I am looking at all possible drawbacks and SEO is one of them.

  27. Body Flush April 13th, 2009 8:55 am :

    Oh man. Really thanks, this is very useful.
    I will try it soon

  28. Tania April 14th, 2009 5:37 am :

    Great article, thanks for share.

  29. Mark - web design April 27th, 2009 10:31 am :

    I plan to install WordPress MU in one of my community website. Thanks for sharing.

  30. nan May 24th, 2009 11:42 am :

    I was wondering how the Experiment turned out. Did you convert, and area you happy with the results?

  31. baba May 28th, 2009 4:42 am :

    oh man you solved my problem thanks a lot. its a wonderful plugin. how i can get the information about the new wordpress plugins

  32. saras May 31st, 2009 8:20 am :

    wordpress mu is good to make comunity

  33. exchange lrvv July 26th, 2009 6:16 am :

    i also think wordpress mu is good to make comunity

  34. Physique Bodyware USA August 11th, 2009 1:56 am :

    Wordpress mu is very useful for people have many sites, it easier to handle too many sites. But will the speed of the sites slow down as they are on a single database ?

  35. Berufsbekleidung August 14th, 2009 8:28 am :

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  36. Sonja Wilson September 1st, 2009 5:54 am :

    Especially for many blogs and multiple sites, WordPress MU is quite a find. Because of the singular database, its certainly easier to manage. And for whimsical bloggers, ones who want to update ever so often, this is beneficial.

  37. Slifer September 11th, 2009 5:34 am :

    A centralized control over various blogs is innovative and utilitarian. WordPress MU, on that count is useful

  38. Universal September 11th, 2009 8:22 am :

    WordPress is an enchanting world for Bloggers. Its features always bode well for its users. The MU is another feather in its cap.

  39. Western Wear September 11th, 2009 1:11 pm :

    Yeah I am very interested in getting into WordPress Mu cause it is a great way to make a main site and supporting sites under it .. with out much hassle.

  40. Car Reviews September 16th, 2009 8:07 am :

    The WordPress MU is very functional and highly recommended for bloggers

  41. Omrah September 25th, 2009 8:16 am :

    WordPress MU especially centralizes the control and monitoring of various blogs. I find that so uniquely beneficient.

  42. Sadekya September 26th, 2009 9:01 am :

    The MultipleUser is benefiacial for multiple blogs as then all your blogs are in visual alignment and control

  43. Space Coast September 28th, 2009 4:57 am :

    The best part is just a few clicks away, with MU, is a fresh new blog to write.

  44. ebusinessuk September 28th, 2009 5:00 am :

    With the MU, upgrading becomes jiffy and handling of multiple blogs so much more efficient.

  45. free insurnce tips October 20th, 2009 3:39 pm :

    The best part is just a few clicks away, with MU, is a fresh new blog to writ

  46. free mixtape downloads October 21st, 2009 5:17 am :

    Wordpress needs plugins for plugins to make the process simple. If your building a big site and can be frustrating.

  47. Kari Simon October 22nd, 2009 9:48 am :

    Great post. Thanks for the info. I’ve been interested in MU for some time.

  48. theska October 25th, 2009 1:56 pm :

    Great post. It helps me alot. thanks

  49. noviear October 25th, 2009 10:07 pm :

    nice article, i like it

  50. Kari Simon October 28th, 2009 3:57 pm :

    I think MU is a great idea. Have been hearing about it, but I get it better now. Thanks for the post.

  51. the ska November 10th, 2009 11:52 am :

    very nice post. very interesting.

  52. Scullen November 10th, 2009 9:10 pm :

    I think that this is a great plug in and really makes life easier. Thanks for sharing!

  53. Grace November 19th, 2009 10:54 pm :

    So interesting!

  54. Food Processing Equipment November 25th, 2009 4:57 am :

    With a single database and the ease to set up a new blog, the MU is tremendously useful.

  55. Avatar Wii December 1st, 2009 8:21 am :

    I never used MU before and I really need to try use one, will see how it goes.

  56. Stock Brokers India December 14th, 2009 5:17 am :

    WordPress MU is a fine platform to handle multiple blogs. Period.

  57. Holiday Cottages UK December 14th, 2009 5:24 am :

    When you have the whim now and again to update your blog, this MU is particularly useful.

  58. Health Beds December 14th, 2009 5:27 am :

    The MU is useful for aligning and controliing multiple blogs.

  59. Racing Baby Car Seats December 15th, 2009 8:33 pm :

    It seems that you are not sure of getting use of that extension for WordPress. Better yet start to research if that extension really fits for your sites and find its issues or bugs so that you know what to do if there goes something wrong.

  60. Waste Management Company UK December 16th, 2009 8:07 am :

    It is these multiple benefits that WordPress offers that makes it so popular amongst blogging sites.

  61. How to make swags December 26th, 2009 4:58 pm :

    Hi thanks for keeping us updated, im currently looking at swapping my sites over mu so it is interesting to see the process you must go thru, would love to hear an update on how things are progressing.

  62. Topper December 27th, 2009 11:47 pm :

    Thanks for the tips :)

  63. Peter December 27th, 2009 11:50 pm :

    lol what? I didn’t get that :D

  64. Pam December 27th, 2009 11:54 pm :

    lol what? I didn’t get that :D

  65. Pam December 27th, 2009 11:57 pm :

    THATS WHAT HE SAID!!

  66. warehouse hk February 3rd, 2010 12:02 am :

    “good”

  67. rod88.com February 3rd, 2010 2:04 am :

    Excellent, very informative. Keep up the good work!!!
    Thanks..

  68. Michael February 3rd, 2010 2:48 pm :

    Very nice additon, cool plugin!

  69. Blog commenting service February 5th, 2010 10:07 am :

    Recently, we launched a blog network for Georgetown Preparatory School’s Summer ESL Program . The purpose of this project was to give the Georgetown Prep teachers a new way to communicate with their students, and to give the students a new way to practice their English language skills. Also, we wanted to give our staff an opportunity to experiment with WordPress Mu (pronounced “mew”), the multi-user blog program.

  70. Advice on how to get your ex back February 8th, 2010 3:40 pm :

    you may experience a slow down if its all working on one database and one server but im sure theres a way of splitting it up, youll have to experiment with that one

  71. ccna February 8th, 2010 5:05 pm :

    Awesome post. WordPress offers a couple of features to build a high quality website.

  72. phanstar February 10th, 2010 1:45 pm :

    Really awsome page you got there. Some of your posts really impressed me. I will definitely visit your blog again!

  73. Rogelio Signaigo February 11th, 2010 5:01 pm :

    Hey, first I want to say awesome blog. I don’t always agree with your opinions but it’s always a great read.
    Keep up the nice blogging.

  74. Will February 13th, 2010 10:17 am :

    Heya..i really like your blog but i think there is something wrong with your feeds.I cant subscribe to them in Opera

  75. typo3 company india February 15th, 2010 5:10 am :

    thanks for the information. WordPress MU is good for multiple posting.

  76. weeds season 6 May 27th, 2010 5:08 am :

    Great read thanks for the psot

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