New to the community? Start here

Is MultiSite more efficient than single installs?

I run a small agency and I’m thinking about the efficiency of using MultiSite versus stand-alone installations of WordPress. Are there any efficiencies in using MS from a file size and number of files point-of-view? My hosting is Siteground and there are both GB and inode limits, so I’m wondering if it’s a better idea to go with MultiSite for future builds in order to remain under their hard limits. All of my sites are low-traffic so there’s no need for expensive hosting.
I just completed a test by migrating a site to an MS environment but I can only see a marginal improvement.

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 23:37:58
  • Nithin Ramdas
    • Support Wizard

    Hi Greig ,

    It would be easier to manage all the site in a Multisite setup. However, it’s subjective regarding efficiency as it entirely depends upon the plugins installed in the multisite and the load the server could handle.

    Are there any efficiencies in using MS from a file size and number of files point-of-view?

    If you meant the size of the multisite for example with 3 subsites compared to 3 separate installs of Single WordPress site? Then yes, it’ll take less size. In a Multisite environment when a new subsite is created, it’ll only create uploads directory, rest of the WP core files are the same.

    All of my sites are low-traffic so there’s no need for expensive hosting.

    If you have looking to implement similar features for all the subsites and it would make more sense to implement a multisite so it could be easy to manage the plugins and themes.

    In other instances, if the multisite is down it can also cause other subsites to go down too, which won’t be a concern for a single WordPress installs.

    I’m not sure about the Siteground plans, so I cannot comment much regarding that aspect. You might find the following article helps to give a better idea:
    https://wishdesk.com/blog/wordpress-multisitevs-multiple-single-sites
    https://www.ostraining.com/blog/wordpress/multisite-vs-multiple-sites/

    Kind Regards,
    Nithin

  • Levent
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Hei Greig,
    I feel i should share my experiences with MS with you.
    I have been trying it out for a while now, Have one live site that has little traffic and 2 “sites” with only Coming soon pages, then 5-6 test demo sites with very little. I have used it to develop client sites then move them to their own environments.

    What i have experienced a few times now is unexplicable conlicts of cache, cloudflare, traffic. As i said there are no sites in the MS with any real traffic… Yet i have problems that break page layouts, making me unable to login, even server errors in the wpmudev HUB with Staging reset & seeing logs…
    I also experienced problems when i added a 7th or 8th subsite… i couldnt login to them… maybe then it is a resource problem somehow but i dont really understand how.

    I am told it could be a resource problem and i should raise the hosting plan level… have raised to level two and it still continues…

    I suggest you try MS for your purpose only with test sites and never live sites.
    Best of luck.
    Levent

  • Michael Pratt
    • Flash Drive

    Turning a site into a multisite instance makes that multisite instance utilize more resources right off the bat. Many hosts (it appears that includes WMPUDEV because my site inexplicably goes down and comes back up randomly, but extremely frequently just as a beta site with minimal sites on it) struggle with the requirements, especially shared.

    If I were you I would look into a cheap AWS instance that you can run (and upgrade) independently. Or even take advantage of WPMUDEVs included hosting (hopefully they will work out the kinks before I intend to go live, or I will do the same.

    If you signup for lightsail $5 per month (choose the Plesk version, NOT the WordPress version, if you want to have a lot of control over the hosting panel, as it does a good job without having to know how to manage a web stack via command line) you will have a robust VPS that can be scaled easily as your business grows.

    You could also buy a Plesk Host license and setup your own AWS server to have more control, like maybe some go on multisite that are similar and cookie cutter and others go on their own shared hosting (using Plesk to manage)… That is what I do.

    The ONLY reason I am using WPMUDEV for my multisite is because it is all very similar websites with the same functionality over and over, and WPMUDEV works with domain mapping through WP Ultimo automatically (and they give out $30 per month free hosting credits with the account), so it is less for me to do if a lot of sites sign up for the paid tier. If the site keeps going down (waiting on support to answer me right now) then I will likely go the lightsail route, or even temporarily put it on my S2 share hosting instance and move it after.

    Best,
    Michael