Multisite for Small Businesses and Startups 🚀 Multisites Effortlessly with Hoztlr Hosting

Managing several WordPress sites can quickly become overwhelming – logging in to different dashboards, updating plugins repeatedly, and juggling multiple hosting accounts. Wouldn’t it be great to run all your sites from a single dashboard?

Welcome to WordPress Multisite, a powerful feature that lets you do exactly that.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through what WordPress Multisite is, how it can benefit your small business or startup, and how to set it up smoothly with Hoztlr’s hosting plans, designed to support multisite perfectly. 

What is WordPress Multisite? 🤔

Think of WordPress Multisite as a master control center where you can manage multiple WordPress websites from one single installation. Instead of setting up WordPress for each website separately, you create a network that hosts all your sites under one roof.

Each site can have its own unique domain or subdomain, content, and design, but all share the same WordPress backend and resources.

Why Should Small Businesses and Startups Use Multisite?

If you run multiple related websites — for example, different product lines, franchises, or regional branches — Multisite can save you a lot of time and effort.

Advantages:

• Centralized Management: One login and dashboard to oversee all your websites
• Cost-Effective: Host multiple sites on one server without separate WordPress installs
• Streamlined Updates: Update themes and plugins once, across all sites
• Quick Site Creation: Spin up new websites in minutes, ideal for growing businesses
• User Roles: Network Admin controls the entire system, while site admins manage their own content

Keep in Mind:

• Shared Resources: Heavy traffic on one site can affect all sites on the network
• Plugin Limitations: Some plugins don’t support Multisite and might cause issues
• Backup Complexity: You need to backup the entire network carefully or use multisite-compatible tools
• Control Balance: Network admins manage plugins and themes, so site admins have limited control 

What You Need Before Setting Up Multisite on Hoztlr

• A Hoztlr hosting plan (Shared or WordPress Hosting) — fully compatible and optimized for Multisite
• An existing WordPress installation or a fresh install via Hoztlr’s one-click installer
• Access to your site’s files (via FTP, cPanel, or the Hoztlr control panel)
• Basic familiarity with editing files like wp-config.php and .htaccess (Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it!) 

How to Set Up WordPress Multisite — Step by Step

Step 1: Enable Multisite in WordPress

Using FTP or Hoztlr’s file manager, open your site’s root folder and edit the wp-config.php file.
Add this line just above the “That’s all, stop editing!” comment:

define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );

Save and close the file. 

Step 2: Access the Network Setup Wizard

Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to:
Tools → Network Setup

You’ll be asked to choose between:

• Subdomains (e.g., site1.yourdomain.com)
• Subdirectories (e.g., yourdomain.com/site1)

Choose based on your business needs and domain setup. 

Step 3: Configure Your Network

Give your network a name and confirm the admin email, then click Install. 

Step 4: Update Your Files

WordPress will provide code snippets to add to your:

• wp-config.php
• .htaccess

Add these snippets exactly as instructed to activate Multisite features. 

Step 5: Log Back In

Log out and log back into your WordPress dashboard. You should now see a My Sites menu in the top admin bar — your multisite network is live! 

Step 6: Add New Sites

Go to:
My Sites → Network Admin → Sites → Add New

Fill out the new site’s URL, title, and admin email, then click Add Site.
Your new site is ready to customize! 

Domain Mapping: Using Custom Domains for Each Site 🌐

Want to use unique domains (e.g., brand1.com, brand2.com) for each site instead of subdomains? You can.

Steps:

1. Point the domain’s DNS to your Hoztlr server
2. Add the domain as an “Addon Domain” in Hoztlr’s control panel
3. Edit the site URL under Network Admin → Sites → Edit to your custom domain 

Plugins to Enhance Your Multisite Experience

• WP Multisite Enhancements: Adds network-friendly features to admin menus
• Domain Mapping System: Simplifies assigning custom domains to sites
• User Switching: Easily switch between different user accounts for testing

Pro Tips After Your Multisite is Set Up

• Only give Super Admin access to trusted users who will control the network
• Regularly back up your entire multisite network using multisite-compatible plugins or through Hoztlr backups
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Cloudflare to speed up all your sites
• Test new plugins on a staging environment before network activation
• Use consistent naming for sites to keep your network organized 

FAQs — Your Top 10 WordPress Multisite Questions Answered