Multi-domain, not multi-site

  • Resolved jjalenak

    (@jjalenak)


    10 years, 3 months ago

    Really looking for some guidance, and not really sure where this fits as a question. If it’s in the wrong forum, let me know and I’ll move it.

    I’ve got a client who has several businesses (wholesale distribution, retail, etc.) in a number of markets. They have a unique domain for each location. We are moving them to a WordPress-based website (with a catalog plug-in). Here’s the question – they would like to have each domain point (via DNS) to a single WordPress installation so they can serve up the same catalog, etc., but they need to change the header image, colors, and overall branding per domain. In other words

    my-company1.com -> header1, color-scheme-1, branding-1
    my-company2.com -> header2, color-scheme-2, branding-2

    etc.

    This doesn’t really fit a multi-site WordPress installation, but I’m jsut not sure how to support this. I know I can point multiple domains to the same IP address (yes, I know it will hurt pagerank, etc.), but really need to understand the ‘best practice’ to support this type of configuration.

    Thanks!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • jon

    (@adiant)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    Only part that worries me is “serve up the same catalog”, so that is what I think you would want to investigate first, in the following solution: use WordPress Multisite (a “Network”) defined as Subdomains, but using a Plugin to make each Subdomain a separate domain name: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/

    https://codex.ww.wp.xz.cn/Create_A_Network

    Thread Starter jjalenak

    (@jjalenak)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    In regards to serving up the same catalog, each individual location offers the same selection of items. The client does NOT want to make the same edits (adds/updates/deletes) of these items in multiple catalogs (which I think would be the case in a network configuration.) It’s not an eCommerce site as they don’t actually ‘sell’ over the web, but it’s really just a catalog of things they offer.

    I was hoping to find (and haven’t yet) a plug-in that would front the ‘main’ website (i.e. company-1.com), examine the HTTP request, and then select the correct header, etc., almost a dynamic header based on URL from the HTTP request. Does such a plug-in exist?

    jon

    (@adiant)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    I originally wrote this plugin, that should do what you want, on a single site:
    https://ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/jonradio-multiple-themes/
    It provides a wide array of URL selection options.

    I no longer am able to support it, but it has been adopted and the new owner does provide Support.

    Thread Starter jjalenak

    (@jjalenak)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    On a quick review that looks like exactly what I was wanting – but a question comes up. Does this plug-in *require* that different themes be used? Or can I use a single theme, and only change parts of that theme? (i.e. the header, color scheme, etc.)

    jon

    (@adiant)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    Well, I have to explain a WordPress concept to answer that question: Child Themes. The concept is a set of changes to a Theme that are stored as if they are a separate Theme.
    https://codex.ww.wp.xz.cn/Child_Themes

    Then you would, from the WordPress point of view, have separate Themes.

    Thread Starter jjalenak

    (@jjalenak)

    10 years, 3 months ago

    Hadn’t even considered child themes, but that would work perfectly for this situation. Thanks for the help – really appreciate it.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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