These installation instructions are broken down into 10 simple steps for your convenience. I’ll be using Version: 2.8.5.2 but there shouldn’t be much variation between the versions for now. When you’re first starting out with WPMU, the trick is to find installation instructions that aren’t three years old (ancient in WordPress years!) and that make sense to you. I remember installing WordPress for the first time and wondering if I just input one wrong value, the whole install could be forever ruined and I may not even know it. Take heart – you can always scrap it and start over. I believe you will find that installing WPMU is as easy, if not easier, than installing single-user WordPress. You won’t have to edit the config file at all. It’s so easy, even a girl can do it! ;)
Download WPMU from http://mu.wordpress.org/download/ and unpack it.
If you want your WPMU installation in a subdirectory then rename the “wordpress-mu” folder to whatever you want. Upload the entire folder to your server. If you want your installation directly on the root then don’t worry about the folder. Simply upload all of the files inside (not the directory itself) to your server.
Create a MySQL database for WordPress MU on your web server, as well as a MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it. (The screencast below has more detailed instructions on how to do this.)
Navigate to index.php at your domain and you will be presented with the install script:
http://example.com/index.php { Root Installation }
http://example.com/subdirectory/index.php { Subdirectory Installation }
You will see something like this:
Delete your .htaccess file and change permissions on the public_html and wp-content directories. If you’re using FileZilla for FireFTP or similar, just right click on the folders and check all the boxes to change to 777.
Select whether you want the blog addresses for the install to be subdomains or subdirectories. If you want subdomains you will need to ask your host to enable Wildcard DNS records for your site. Subdirectories do not require this. You won’t be able to change your choice later so do a little research to see what will be best for you.
Fill in your database name, username, and database password, as requested. You’ll probably want to leave database host as it is. Fill in your server address without any ‘www’s. Name your blog site and add your email.
If all goes well, you should see this happy screen reminding you to reset your directory permissions to 755:
Copy the password it generates for you and login. Immediately change your password to something better that you’ll remember.
You’re finished! Your site should be fully installed now. It will display the default theme and will look something like this:
At some point you’ll want to go to Site Admin >> Options and enable blog and user registrations. You may also want to test out creating a new blog by clicking on Site Admin >> Blogs >> Add a Blog. That will help you determine if your wildcard DNS is working, if you selected that option. Install a theme (please don’t be a ghost town installation!), add plugins, and start building your community. Once you get the hang of installing WPMU, you’ll be able to do it in under five minutes. I’ve created this short screencast that will essentially hold your hand for the entire process.
Our next Easy Install tutorial will cover how to get started with BuddyPress. Installing WPMU should now be the least of your worries. Bookmark this guide in case you need it again.
Extra Resources:
I’ve left out most of the troubleshooting instructions. If something goes sour with your database, PHP configuration, mod_rewrite, or other things that ought to be working, it probably means you have crappy hosting. You can find tips for fixing these things here:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WPMU
Need help deciding between a Subdomain or a Subdirectory Installation? Check out some SEO info here:
http://www.gottaquirk.com/2009/05/27/subdomains-vs-subdirectories-part-2/
Another Excellent Installation Screencast:
http://wpmudev.org/getting-started-with-wpmu/
The link to the screencast is broken. (http://wpmudev.org/getting-started-with-wpmu/)
Works for me when I click on the link in the post. .. but when I click on your link in the comments it doesn’t because of the ) end parenthesis.
Really useful and informative post – cleared a few things up for me – Thanks
Hello,
Thank you for making this guide. I am having trouble with the step #4 area. My problem is that after uploading the files and making a database, when I try to navigate to the index.php area it does not work. Instead of it working as your guide says it will, I get the following message:
“There doesn’t seem to be a wp-config.php file. I need this before we can get started.”
Now if I understand things correctly this is absolutely the wrong message to be getting because the page that is supposed to come up is the one where I create the config file, right? I am lost as to what to do. I have tried this many different times and many different ways and always have the same problem.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Aaron
Did you change the write permissions on the folder housing your instllation? Make sure to set them to 777 or 755. Are you putting it directly on the root?
The permissions are set to 755 and I am not putting it directly on the root. I am putting it on a sub-directory.
Thanks for your quick response to my initial question! :-)
HI Sarah,
Thanks for the guide. I found it invaluable.
I had the same issue as Aaron with the config file. I was installing WPMU as a subfolder with another single WP running called http://www.domesticallyemployed.com. I found this WPMU hack did the trick:
http://wpmututorials.com/installation2/installing-in-a-subfolder/
Dave
Helpful and useful post – thanks.
I remember the days of having to input all the variables by hand. Thank God those days are over now (for the most part) when installing scripts on websites.
Alex
thanks. this guide was really helpful – do you know of any guides on what to do after the install – what are the things I need to know about when setting up my first wordpressmu blog. I am new to WPMU and feeling a little lost.
i just get this :( Fatal error: Call to undefined function wp_die() in /home/munchte1/public_html/thetechbox.com/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1147
@ Aaron:
I don’t know if you read this but hopefully..
This error is because a connection to the database was not possible. Check your host, database, username and password. And make sure you have permissions.
I made a local installation and had to point out my sock.tmp to make it work. I.e. Host: localhost:/tmp/mysql.sock
Hope this helps!
Thanks for this excellent guide!!!!! I can’t believe how wrong the WordPress MU Codex instructions are for installation, when it’s really quite simple. Brava!
And you’re right – even THIS girl could do it.
Thanks for a fantastic article! It makes the installation of MU a breeze.