Is WordPress Multisite Worth It for Your Setup?
Multisite turns one WordPress install into a network of sites sharing a codebase, a plugin set and a user table. It is excellent for the narrow case it was designed for, and a burden for everything else.
The short version
- Shared users and shared plugins is the whole value proposition.
- If the sites are unrelated, run separate installs.
- One compromised site in a network is a compromised network.
- Moving a site out of a network later is genuine work.
When multisite is the right answer
- A university or organisation where departments each need a site but IT manages one codebase.
- A network where the same people log into several sites with the same account.
- Sites that should look and behave consistently because they belong to one brand.
- A setup where you want plugin updates to apply everywhere at once.
When it is not
- A handful of unrelated sites you happen to own. They share nothing; separate installs are simpler.
- Client sites. You do not want one client’s site sharing a database and a filesystem with another’s.
- Sites with very different plugin needs. You end up network-activating plugins most sites do not use.
- Anything where one site may later be sold or handed over.
The costs people underestimate
| Cost | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Shared fate | A vulnerability on one site exposes the filesystem of all of them. |
| Plugin compatibility | Not every plugin supports multisite correctly. Some fail quietly. |
| Host support | Fewer hosts support it well, and some managed hosts charge more. |
| Backups | Restoring one site from a network backup is considerably harder. |
| Extraction | Moving a site out means exporting content, users and uploads separately. |
| Domain mapping | Workable, but another layer to maintain. |
The decision in one question
Do the sites share users, or do they share only an owner? Shared users is the case multisite was built for. Shared owner is just a hosting account, and separate installs on the same server give you the same convenience with none of the shared fate.
Watch out
Converting a single site to multisite is straightforward. Converting a multisite network back to single sites is not. Treat the decision as one-way.
Common questions
Can I run different themes per site?
Yes. Themes and plugins are network-installed but activated per site, which is one of the genuine advantages.
Does multisite save server resources?
Somewhat — one WordPress core, one set of plugin files. The database is larger and query load is similar, so the saving is modest.
What about a management dashboard instead?
For unrelated sites this is usually the better answer. You get central updates and monitoring without the shared database and filesystem.
Sumit
Writes everything on TechMozz.