Multiple blogs, different domain names, one install to rule them all

Question

I've read a couple questions/answers on here but still am a little bit confused.

My goal:

To have domain1.com and domain2.com under one wordpress installation but have different content (separate blogs) accessible through one admin login (domain1.com/wp-admin).

I currently have GoDaddy hosting but I'm using document root for another site so I currently have wordpress installed in a sub-directory. Do I need to have wordpress installed in doc root?

I hear terms like MultiSite and Create a Network but I see them as basically the same thing. Am I wrong in thinking this?

What do I need to do to accomplish this goal? What steps do I need to follow first? How do I point the 2 domain names to one installation?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi @centr0:

"MultiSite" and "Create a Network" are the same thing in WordPress 3.x.

Follow the steps found in Create a Network in a new subdirectory and this tutorial by Otto should show you have to map domains using the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin ("MU" is the legacy description of Multisite, just ignore that confusion.)

It will be much easier to do this on a new install than try to do in an existing install. Though you can do it, you will have a lot more pain to try to convert an existing install. Better just to export then import any existing content.

And if at all possible, get a different hosting account. Most of the WordPress people on the Linkedin WordPress group talk about how GoDaddy overloads servers and you especially don't want an overloaded shared server for Multisite. Maybe you'll consider getting a new account for this? I'm a fan of A Small Orange web hosting in no small part due to the fact they have a US$25/year account with 150Mb of storage (and they have been my webhost for 5+ years.) But almost any website will do you better than GD.

Answer 2

According to the codex You cannot choose Sub-domain Install in the following cases: WordPress install is in a directory (not in document root).