Wordpress MU, is it allowed/supported?

[mikem]

Hello fellow Hostgator webmasters and Hostgator support staff.

I would like to install Wordpress MU on my swamp croc plan. I am not going to offer blog hosting using MU, I am going to use it to create a small blog network. It will utilize my account's main domain.

The installation instructions call for some specific configuration to httpd.conf ( I understand that it's the Apache main conf file) as well as some PHP.ini changes as well as wildcard DNS.

I will list the requirements in the instructions.

Apache
======
Apache must be configured so that mod_rewrite works. Here are
instructions for Apache 2. Apache 1.3 is very similar.

1. Make sure a line like the following appears in your httpd.conf
LoadModule rewrite_module /usr/lib/apache2/modules/mod_rewrite.so

2. In the <Directory> directive of your virtual host, look for this
line
"AllowOverride None"
and change it to
"AllowOverride FileInfo Options"

3. In the <VirtualHost> section of the config file for your host there
will be a line defining the hostname. You need to add the following
if you want virtual hosts to work properly:
"ServerAlias *.domain.tld"
Replace domain.tld with whatever your one is, and remove the quotes.


DNS
===
If you want to host blogs of the form http://blog.domain.tld/ where
domain.tld is the domain name of your machine then you must add a
wildcard record to your DNS records.
This usually means adding a "*" hostname record pointing at your
webserver in your DNS configuration tool.
Matt has a more detailed explanation:
http://photomatt.net/2003/10/10/wild...d-sub-domains/


PHP
===
1. Don't display error messages to the browser. This is almost always
turned off but sometimes when you're testing you turn this on and forget
to reset it.

2. If your PHP is compiled with memory limit checks, the default is 8MB
which is much too small. You should increase this to at least 32MB or 64MB
to avoid PHP out of memory errors. Look for "memory_limit" in your php.ini
file.

3. GLOBAL variables must be turned off. This is one of the first things
any security aware admin will do. These days the default is for it to
be off!

The easiest way of configuring it is via the .htaccess file that is
created during the install. If you haven't installed WPMU yet then edit
the file htaccess.dist in this directory and add these two lines at the
top:

php_flag register_globals 0
php_flag display_errors 0

This is NOT included in that file by default because it doesn't work on
all machines. If it doesn't work on your machine, you'll get a cryptic
"500 internal error" after you install WPMU. To remove the offending lines
just edit the file ".htaccess" in your install directory and you'll see
them at the top. Delete and save the file again.
Read here for how to enable this: http://ie.php.net/configuration.changes

If you don't want to edit your .htaccess file then you need to change your
php.ini. It's beyond the scope of this README to know exactly where it is
on your machine, but if you're on a shared hosted server you probably
don't have access to it as it requires root or administrator privileges
to change.

If you do have root access, try "locate php.ini" or check in:

/etc/php4/apache2/php.ini
/usr/local/lib/php.ini

Once you have opened your php.ini, look for the sections related to
register_globals and display_errors. Make sure both are Off like so:

display_errors = Off
register_globals = Off

You'll have to restart Apache after you modify your php.ini for the
settings to be updated.

4. If you want to restrict blog signups, set the restrict domain email
setting in the admin.

Is this allowed using the swamp croc plan?

Thanks in advance,
Mike Musmeci

[Goddess Dix]

mod rewrite is already on; register globals is already off. you won't have access to the httpd.conf on your shared machine, but shouldn't need it. hg does allow .htaccess overrides, and if you have trouble with your memory limits, ask support for help. you can also use php.ini if needed, but you probably won't need it.

i dont' have a shared plan anymore, but don't see anything here i would expect to be a problem.

[slapshotw]

Mod_rewrite is on the servers so that's not a problem. Support has been known to configure wildcard DNS for people if you file a ticket. You'll be able to turn register globals off if you need to (but they may be off by default). The max memory_limit is 40M as seen here: http://support.hostgator.com/index.p...barticleid=203 .

Hope that helps!

Edit: hmm, Dix to the rescue first!

[Goddess Dix]

snort! but you had some more specific info. i was also too lazy to look up the memory limit.

[mikem]

Thanks Dix and Slapshotw,

The PHP limits knowledgebase article was helpful for the PHP memory info. Knowing Mod_rewrite is enabled is good too.

I am still looking into this right now, I am also checking with the Wordpress MU community to help me make up my mind as to whether MU or plain WP is the right way to go for what I want.

Opinions on the use of either WP or WP MU would be awesome too.

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by mikem

I am still looking into this right now, I am also checking with the Wordpress MU community to help me make up my mind as to whether MU or plain WP is the right way to go for what I want.

Opinions on the use of either WP or WP MU would be awesome too.

it's totally dependent on what you need it to do. in general, i'll favor the simplier install over the more complicated if the simplier can reasonably be made to work the way you need it, simply because it makes your life less complicated.

if you actually want a blog network with different blogs, different authors/userbases, different topics and different themes, the ok, mu may be the way to go.

if, on the other hand, what your trying to manage could be done with a single blog and some creatively chosen plugins (i.e. giving individual authors bios, for example) but the topic is the same general theme, i would go straight wp.

[mikem]

So Dix,

Are you using WP? If so, how is it when used as an information hub?

The site I am trying to put together is on a subject that has many sub-topics, each of which will need a page that has a newsfeed and some static/dynamic information.

I plan to integrate it with phpBB3.

Together Wordpress (or another CMS) and phpBB3 will be the core of my site for the time being, when it grows I will move it to a dedi and expand the scope of the site.

Well, any thoughts are appreciated by this newbie webmaster.

[slapshotw]

You should consider the Expression Engine CMS (http://expressionengine.com/) which also has a built-in and fully integrated with members Forum module: http://expressionengine.com/download..._forum_module/

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by mikem

So Dix,

Are you using WP? If so, how is it when used as an information hub?

i use wordpress, but only for blogging. i'm not using any bridges with my wordpress installs at this point.

The site I am trying to put together is on a subject that has many sub-topics, each of which will need a page that has a newsfeed and some static/dynamic information.

I plan to integrate it with phpBB3.

that's pretty ambitious for someone who bills themselves as a newbie webmaster. i would say, at least, take your anticipated schedule and multiply it by 3 to get a realistic time estimate on finishing.

with what you've said thusfar, i couldn't tell ya one way or another. what i'd do in your situation is browse wp plugins to see if there are reasonable options that route first, and look at mu secondly. you've got MANY layers of things to potentially break in the project you're describing. whatever you can cut out would probably help in the long term.

Together Wordpress (or another CMS) and phpBB3 will be the core of my site for the time being, when it grows I will move it to a dedi and expand the scope of the site.

wp is a nice, lightweight cms.

i'm currently using vbdrupal similarly for cms/bb integration. (see site linked in my sig); it's a slight fork of drupal that integrates with vbulletin. and while i like it, it's not for the faint of heart. drupal does have a built-in forum, but it's pretty lame IMO. i had an existing vb community and was looking for a cms to put on top of it.

[mikem]

Nice site Dix,

I already have a Drupal powered site hosted with GoDaddy. My hosting is paid up for the year there and can't get a refund, so I am pretty much stuck with it. I am disappointed with Drupal only because they haven't chosen any one front end app to make awesome. They do cover the bases, if only fundamentally though.

With Drupal 6 being very jquery heavy I considered it, but people were waiting a while for modules and bugs to work themselves out.

I am still considering using WP-united to bridge phpBB3 with WP. The developer seems to be MIA so it is a chancy proposition to implement it on a production site without support. The community there isn't very large and they are hoping to get the developer to release the code/notes so they can pick it up and run with it.

I have been partial to phpBB3 for a while because I find it more appealing.

BTW Dix, how involved in PHP coding are you? And do you have any recommendations on books/websites to use to learn PHP effectively? My (X)HTML and CSS are good. I have a network engineering background(Microsoft/Cisco) and am working on my Linux skills.

Thanks for your time and openness.

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by mikem

I am disappointed with Drupal only because they haven't chosen any one front end app to make awesome. They do cover the bases, if only fundamentally though.

stock drupal isn't impressive, no, and i wish they would build a wysiwyg editor in already. it's not like it's always goging to be used for coding sites for goshsakes. however, i when i was looking for something to integrate with vb, i wanted scalability, flexibility, an active developer community, and modules to do what i want. and drupal had it.

With Drupal 6 being very jquery heavy I considered it, but people were waiting a while for modules and bugs to work themselves out.

i haven't worked with 6 yet, but it looks like it has a number of comestic enhancements at least. but anytime you go the plugin route, yes, you have to wait for your plugins to catch up with the core.

I am still considering using WP-united to bridge phpBB3 with WP. The developer seems to be MIA so it is a chancy proposition to implement it on a production site without support. The community there isn't very large and they are hoping to get the developer to release the code/notes so they can pick it up and run with it.

yeah, that would pretty much scare me off.

BTW Dix, how involved in PHP coding are you? And do you have any recommendations on books/websites to use to learn PHP effectively? My (X)HTML and CSS are good. I have a network engineering background(Microsoft/Cisco) and am working on my Linux skills.

oh, i'm totally not a coder and i'm sure others could make much more informed suggestions... coding makes me cuss. and my version of "working on my linux skills" is trying to figure out how to run the right shell commands to do something on my dedi without blowing it up.