This is no longer true.

The latest version of multiuser WordPress has the standard file editor – it just needs to be enabled.

First, a couple of warnings:

1. Editing themes and plugins directly can render your site unusable. It is vital that you have a backup of the file you are changing, AND file access to your webserver to revert to your backup if needed.
2. The change will affect all your users who are using the plugin or theme that you are changing

So, there are very good reasons why you should not make ad-hoc changes to plugins and themes. However, if you feel that bypassing version control is occasionally worth the risk, here is how to unveil your hidden file editor.

1. Create a file, e.g. file-editor-enabler.php, with the following code:
   

   <?php
add_action( 'admin_init', create_function('$pages', 'if(is_site_admin()) return remove_action("admin_init","disable_some_pages");'),1);
add_action( '_admin_menu', create_function('$theme_menu', 'return add_theme_page( "Editor", "Editor", "edit_themes", "theme-editor.php");' ));
add_action( '_admin_menu', create_function('$plugin_menu', 'return add_submenu_page( "plugins.php", "Editor", "Editor", "edit_plugins", "plugin-editor.php");' ));
?>

2. Upload that file to the mu-plugins directory.

That’s all you need to do. Any code put in the mu-plugins directory is automatically executed.

My thanks go to dsader at the WordPress MU forum for this excellent tip.

Actually, I can see immediately that perfection falls short by lacking a screenshot.

So I’ve added one.

WordPress MU Installation

There are still no Fantastico or Simple Scripts that I am aware of to install automatically, so you have to copy the files to your server, then fill in the form shown above (with your own details, of course).

The choice of sub-domains or sub-directories defaults to the correct choice. I cannot think of a reason why you would want subdirectories, but this would make an interesting topic for discussion in the WordPress MU Installation Forum, if you think you need sub-directories.

The manual install routine is still extremely simple, but as with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way is to leap in without planning. The right way is to follow these simple steps.

1. Prepare your web server – a clean root directory, or create a sub-directory to run WordPress MU from. The choice will be obvious from your site plan, and if you do not have one, stop now.
2. Copy the downloaded WPMU installation to your web server.
3. Prepare a database and an admin user with full privileges, and keep a browser window open with the database and username on view. Better still, copy them into your site plan.
4. In a new browser window, go to your website root or the directory you used in step 1.
5. Fill in the details on the form, using copy and paste for your database and user name.
6. Note the admin password on the confirmation screen – it’s a good idea to change it immediately to something you can remember.

Note that there is now no need to change the permissions of the root and wp-content directories, though the confirmation screen still warns you to change them back.

I’ll keep you informed of other differences between standard and multi-user versions, as I continue with the foundation, function and formatting stages.

A final note about naming. The multi-user version is now called WordPress µ – that Greek letter being pronounced mew. On this site, I tend to refer mostly to WordPress MU, as that seems to be the most common usage. WordPress Multi User, WPMU, and occasionally WordPress Multiuser are also used, and they all mean the same thing.

Thanks to (nz)dave for this image

My standard WordPress installation wizard starts after you have a domain up and running. WordPress Multi User (WPMU) installation requires some changes to how your domain is configured. Specifically, you need to change DNS records if you want user blogs to be userblog.domain.com rather than www.domain.com/userblog.

I need to do a separate Multi User Wizard, but for now, I will list all the steps I took to get WPMU running. I’m pretty sure that the plugins and other configuration steps will differ, so I will generate the first phase of my Multi User Wizard over the next few days.

For now, the installation steps, with a couple of warnings, are:

Domain Hosting

If you are running your own dedicated server, you will probably know how to get the domain running. If so, move on to WPMU installation. If not, there are notes in the README file, but please note that the link for DNS advice has changed slightly.

If you run a typical shared hosting service using cPanel and WHM (WebHost Manager), there are some easy to follow instructions from Blogopreneur.

I am keeping new blogs restricted to people I can trust, so I am not bothered about wildcard DNS settings. Each time I add a new blog, I simply redirect the blog manually in cPanel. It takes seconds to do this in the Subdomains option in cPanel.

WordPress Multi User Install

All versions of WordPress that I have installed, require editing of wp-config.php. This is frowned upon by WPMU installation, so all you really need to ensure is that directory permissions are OK.

1. Copy WPMU to your web server.
2. Ensure permissions on root folder (or wherever you have copied WPMU to) and wp-content folder is set to 777. Permission changes will not normally be required – please see update to WordPress MU Installation.
3. Navigate to yourdomain.com, and an installation form should appear.
4. In cPanel, MySQL Databases, copy and paste the database name and user name into the form. I use this method to avoid any chance of a mistype.

That’s it! Note the auto generated password, login, and change the password to something more memorable. Whilst you are doing this, it’s a good thing to clear the “Use the visual editor when writing” box, unless you have zero HTML experience.

Also, do not forget to set permissions, for the directories in Step 2, back to 755.

See the next thrilling instalment for tips on configuring WPMU.

But first, an important note about what to do if things go wrong.

You may get a message “Error establishing a database connection”. This probably means that you have mistyped the database details – which is why I recommend copy and paste. You can confirm that this is so by scrutinizing the wp-config.php that has been created.

You may also get a message “No WPMU site defined on this host”.

For both these messages, you must restart the WPMU installation from scratch. Delete (or rename) wp-config.php on your web server. In cPanel, phpMyAdmin, drop all tables from the database. Then start again at step 1.

I have had so much interest in a Web Hosting For Dummies book (that does not exist), I’ve introduced a new section looking at appropriate books in the field of web hosting.

Also, a couple of other updates:

• WordPress.com has clarified that it does allow some site monetization as log as it is ethical and incidental (my interpretation). I’ll review this in more detail just as soon as somebody asks me to.
• My installation wizard is on-hold. Now that Pods is here, there is a better way to manage it, but I have other Pods projects to complete first.

These people are Shrewdies.

They want to gain the benefits of web hosting without years of learning technology secrets.

How can Shrewdies get good quality web hosting at reasonable prices? Or free?

There is a good example at WordPress.com, but it is not for commercial gain. It’s necessary restrictions also limit it’s use for optimized not-for-profit projects.

My solution is to set-up my own WordPress.com equivalent, but with fewer restrictions and a closer community. Obviously smaller scale than WordPress.com. Small is beautiful.

I’ll continue to develop the WordPress Wizard for single user WordPress installations, but first a short diversion as I document and develop a WordPress Multi User installation.