Can I run a second wordpress site as a subdomain without using multisite?

Question

I have an two wordpress sites that I would like to host on the same domain. One is already up and running, the other is sitting in waiting.

Can I get the second as a subdomain, or simple within a folder, to run on the same domain (different DB) without converting to multisite?

Answer 1

Point the subdomain to the same directory as the main site, and define different settings in your wp-config.php per $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']:

Example from my local setup:

switch ( $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] )
{
    case 'zzl.dev':
        $table_prefix = 'zzl_';
        $table_name   = 'zzl';
        break;

    case 'wpbuch.dev':
        $table_prefix = 'wpbuch_';
        $table_name   = 'wpbuch';
        break;

    default:
        $table_prefix  = 'wp_';
        $table_name   = 'wpdev';
        break;
}

define( 'DB_NAME', $table_name );

You can change much more variables in the switch: all DB_* definitions, WP_PLUGIN_DIR and WP_PLUGIN_URL (to share the plugin list between different sites), WPLANG and so on.