Possible to create a multisite network where the main site is non-WP?

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example.com <- large non-WP site

I would like to add multiple blogs to the site, with different URL requirements, and manage them all within one Multisite install. However, the original site will remain unchanged, and will not be a part of the WordPress site.

Intended architecture:

  • example.com <- stays as a large non-WP site
  • blog.example.com <- one site in a multisite install
  • team.example.com <- another site in a multisite install
  • areallybigteam.com <- another site in a multisite install (note the different domain)
  • example.com/myteam/blog <- another site in a multisite install (this is not a blocker as it can be moved to a subdomain from the subfolder if needed)

Is this possible with multisite?

My concerns:

  • The multisite/domain mapping may not be able the handle the case where the main domain is not part of WordPress, but other domains within the network are subdomains or subfolders on that domain?
  • Can’t mix subdomain and subfolder sites (pretty sure that’s the case, and not a huge deal)

1 Answer
1

I haven’t tested it, but it should be possible with these steps:

  1. Use example.net (not .com) as main installation for the multisite (or areallybigteam.com).
  2. Install WordPress with subdomains.
  3. Create the sites.
  4. Edit the URLs of all sites as you need: blog.example.com, team.example.com and areallybigteam.com.
  5. Make sure the document root for all these (sub)domains matches your WordPress installation root, except example.com which should go to another directory.
  6. Forget the subdirectory idea; this will not work. 🙂

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