Create new multisite from existing and keep domain?

Question

Apologies if this is too basic a question, but I have an existing multisite installation and would like to move one of the subdirectory websites "out" and create a new multisite with it due to size and technical considerations.

The catch is I'd like to keep the current domain and not use a subdomain. So lets say my current multisite is mapped to example.com and has directories:

• example.com/apples
• example.com/bananas
• example.com/cherries

Is is possible to take create a new folder in public_html for 'bananas' and make example.com/bananas a new multisite installation?

Or will this not work because there's already an existing installation at the root and in the database, and its DNS is mapped to example.com?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, you can set up multiple installs. You do need to be careful that you don't ever create anything in the "parent" multisite (at example.com) that has the same slug as the folder you place the "child" multisite (at example.com/bananas) - so in the bananas example, never create a Post, Page, Category, Tag, etc. with the slug bananas in the parent site.

You could also consider a Multi-Network - which is basically a MultiSite of MultiSites. Most plugins aren't compatible with these, so if you rely on a lot of plugins that may not be the way you want to go, but it can help ensure you don't have conflicting slugs that cause the "Do I show the actual folder, or the content at this slug?" conundrum.