A WordPress Multisite network allows you to run and manage multiple WordPress sites or blogs from a single WordPress installation.
It enables you to create new sites instantly and manage them using the same username and password. You can even allow other users to signup and create their own blogs on your domain.
The WordPress multisite network comes with advanced settings that you can use to customize each website / blog on your network.
Pros of Using a WordPress Multisite Network
In many situations, a WordPress multisite network can be more useful than managing multiple standalone WordPress sites. Here are some of the advantages of using a WordPress multisite network:
- As the network administrator, you can easily manage multiple sites from a single dashboard.
- Each site on the network can have its own admins. The site admins will have the capabilities to manage only their own website.
- You can install plugins / themes and activate them for multiple sites with one download.
- Multisite network also makes it easier for you to manage updates. You only need to update your WordPress, plugins, or themes on one “master” install.
Cons of Using a WordPress Multisite Network
Creating a WordPress multisite network is not always helpful in managing multiple sites. Here are some of the disadvantages that you should keep in mind before setting up a multisite network.
- All sites on the network share the same resources. This means that when your network is down, all other sites go down as well.
- It’s not easy to manage traffic and server resources for the beginner level users. In case, one of your websites gets unexpected traffic, then it will affect all other websites on the network.
- If one website gets hacked, then this means all sites on your network will get hacked.
- Some WordPress plugins may not work well on a multisite network.
- WordPress multisite network is not properly supported by all web hosting providers which limits your options. We will talk more about this later in the article.