WordPress Multisite allows you to run a network of multiple websites from a single WordPress installation. This is ideal for businesses managing multiple brand sites, organizations with department-specific websites, or agencies hosting client sites. This guide walks you through setting up WordPress Multisite on your SakuraHost account.
When to Use WordPress Multisite
Multisite is the right choice when:
- You manage multiple related websites that share themes or plugins
- You want centralized administration of all sites from one dashboard
- Your organization has departments or branches needing separate sites
- You are building a network of blogs or a SaaS-like platform
Multisite is not ideal when your sites are completely unrelated, need different hosting configurations, or when individual site owners need full plugin installation control.
Prerequisites
- A fresh WordPress installation on SakuraHost (Multisite is easier to set up before adding content)
- FTP or File Manager access to edit
wp-config.phpand.htaccess - Pretty permalinks enabled (Settings > Permalinks — any structure except "Plain")
- All plugins deactivated (you will reactivate them after setup)
Subdirectory vs Subdomain
WordPress Multisite supports two URL structures:
- Subdirectories:
example.co.tz/site1,example.co.tz/site2— simpler setup, no DNS changes needed - Subdomains:
site1.example.co.tz,site2.example.co.tz— requires wildcard DNS and wildcard SSL
Step-by-Step Setup
Open wp-config.php via cPanel File Manager or FTP. Add the following line above the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! */:
Save the file and refresh your WordPress dashboard.
Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins, select all, and choose Deactivate from the Bulk Actions dropdown. This is required for the network setup process.
Navigate to Tools > Network Setup. This page appears only after adding WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE. Choose between Subdomains or Subdirectories, enter your network title and admin email, then click Install.
WordPress will display code snippets to add to your wp-config.php and .htaccess. Copy them exactly as shown.
Add to wp-config.php (above the stop editing line):
Replace the contents of your .htaccess with the provided rewrite rules (they differ from standard WordPress rules).
After saving both files, you will be logged out. Log back in using your existing credentials. You now have a Network Admin dashboard accessible via My Sites > Network Admin.
Configuring Subdomains on SakuraHost (If Using Subdomain Setup)
If you chose subdomains, you need a wildcard DNS record and wildcard SSL:
In your SakuraHost cPanel, go to Zone Editor and add an A record:
- Name:
*.yourdomain.co.tz - Type: A
- Value: Your server IP address
Go to cPanel > Domains (or Subdomains in older cPanel versions) and create a subdomain with * as the name, pointing to the same document root as your main domain.
Managing Your Network
Adding New Sites
Go to My Sites > Network Admin > Sites > Add New. Enter the site address (subdirectory path or subdomain), title, and admin email.
Network-wide Plugins and Themes
As a Super Admin, you can Network Activate plugins to enable them across all sites, or make them available for individual site admins to activate. Themes must be Network Enabled before individual sites can use them.
Domain Mapping
To use completely separate domain names for network sites (e.g., brandB.co.tz instead of yourdomain.co.tz/brandB), WordPress 4.5+ includes built-in domain mapping. Add the external domain as a parked or addon domain in cPanel, then update the site's URL in Network Admin > Sites > Edit.
Performance Considerations
- Multisite shares a single database, so heavy sites impact the entire network
- Use LiteSpeed Cache which fully supports Multisite with per-site cache configuration
- Consider a higher-tier SakuraHost plan for networks with more than 10 sites
- Monitor database size and optimize regularly with WP-Optimize
For the official documentation, see WordPress Multisite Network Administration.