Multiple Wordpress Blogs

Webmaster Discussion
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#1

Wordpress is definately a good platform, but the constant upgrades are a royal pain in the ass. That includes themes and those lovely plugins. I mean, it seems like everyday, there is either a plugin update or a new security update of core files, and if you run multiple WP blogs, it is a nightmare, even with the automatic update function in the current versions.

Now, many use Blogs Organizer, which costs money, and, from what I understand, does not update the core files of wordpress. So if you have 20, 30, or 50 WP blogs, you are still behind the eight ball.

I stumbled upon Virtual MultiBlog for Wordpress.

This is a FREE guide/script that I am using now, on several of my blogs.

To begin with, it requires ONE SINGLE INSTALL of core files, themes, and plugins.

It works across domains.

Basically it creates blogs for you, using Wordpress, that are ‘phantom’ in a sense, but appear as normal blogs.

YES, you still need to log into each blog, to set it up, which can be tedious, and yes, to add content, etc. but the upgrade hassle is gone.

Each blog can use DIFFERENT THEMES, but you can also use DIFFERENT PLUG INS.

Best of all, you don’t have to dump them into separate locations, but run them all from the one central blog. This is also helpful, when you customize a theme, because those customized pages are in the one location, no matter which blog you alter.

BEST OF ALL > When Wordpress comes out with a new core file update, or security release, you can simply delete, install, the new files IN ONE SINGLE LOCATION THAT UPGRADES ALL OF YOUR BLOGS.

One of the biggest headaches, with wordpress blogs, is that if you want to run a ton of them, specific to certain niches, you have to go through a lot of pain, in upgrading plugins, themes, and core files. It almost makes it not worthwhile, or at best, time consuming. It limits your expansion.

With this script/setup those limits are now gone. You can add the blogs to your heart’s content, without adding to your updating time. The set up of each blog, is a bitch in that it is no different, than if you had to install them individually, but once past that stage, it is a treat to use.

Super Cache and some of those DO NOT WORK, with this script, given that in essence, these new blogs are phantoms.

[INDENT]I am testing this program out, and so far, have saved tons of time, as have upgraded five plugins, one set of core files, for 14 blogs. Total update time spent, was less than 10 minutes total.
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DETAILS ON VIRTUAL MULTIBLOG HERE.

#2

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

My webhost uses Fantastico to automatically update my WP blogs. I only get notified by e-mail once it is done and that’s basicly the only thing I see about the WP updates.

#3

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

I’ve used that at the start, but found that not all hosts updated Fantastico as quickly as it should be. Plus it doesn’t do plugins, last time I checked.

#4

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

Will this work with WP blogs you already have on the net?

#5

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

From what my host says, yes, though I opted to try it out on new one’s first, to see if it delivered as claimed, and so far, it does.

According to them (my host’s techie) it is simply a matter of downloading the xml or export of the blog, then once installed new, you simply import.

I am too much of a chicken to do that, just yet, but will be eventually giving that a whirl.

#6

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

Good find. Do you have to export the blog every time you do a new post to it? that would be tedious, especially if you feed your blogs with rss posts. I have about a dozen WP blogs and Blogs Organizer is still so much easier. You only need to set up you new blog and upload the base files once (it will even automatically upload these for you). Course, BO doesn’t have the vast array of plugins and themes, but for basic blogging it rocks.

#7

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

No, just if you are setting this up, with existing blogs. Once you have set up the new blog, imported the old data, then it runs like any other blog. The feeds will continue to update, and add content.

The only downside, that there is, in my opinion, is that once you set up the initial installation, you will have to manually go and login, to set up each blog, just as if it was a fresh blog, the settings etc. However, once set up, your themes, plugins, and core files are updated from just the one main install.

Posts are still required to log in and do, unless you use rss feeds.

#8

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

Thanks, that is very interesting, using a combo of BO and WP with this could be the perfect solution for me :slight_smile:

#9

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

This looks pretty cool indeed. You can’t beat the price either. Thanks for posting it man. I’ll be looking into it asap.

#10

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

I’ve used it for almost 2 years now. Have 64 blogs on it.

Jimmy

#11

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

great post! playing around with WP and wanted to subscribe to this thread

#12

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

wouldn’t this also mean that if one of your blogs are hacked, they all are?

#13

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

If the db got hacked, no, as each blog actually has its own extension in the db, plus it does set up the individual core files, so in theory, no it wouldn’t impact the other blogs. Course you can also set it to use different db’s for each blog, but from I gather, they are like having a wp install, without the hassle for upgrades and uploading themes/plugins which are drawn from the one.

#14

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

its own extension in the database? could you explain this a little more?

#15

Re: Multiple Wordpress Blogs

in your database, wordpress files all get a unique identifier, you know wp1 or wp2, as you set it up in the wordpress config file. This program, automatically creates separate extensions, or prefixes, for each blog you set up, instead of just one, as you might expect from one install.

If you were to set up five blogs yourself, doing the regular install, and use one single mysql database, you would name each install version with a different extension, prefix. Multi Blog does that automatically, so your mysql would appear the same, as if you had done it the normal route.