WordPress Multisite and Domain Mapping on 1and1.com Shared Hosting

These are just some notes about how I got WordPress Multisite and Domain Mapping running on a 1and1.com shared hosting account.

WordPress Multisite Setup

  1. Follow instructions on this page: WordPress Codex – Create a Network
  2. If you are planning to map independent domains to the various sites on your network, I recommend using the sub-directories for addresses of network sites. As far as I know, wildcard DNS isn’t an option on 1and1.com shared hosting packages.
  3. Ignore the bit about the WordPress files needing to be installed in the root directory/folder of your hosting file-space. It merely needs to be in the root folder of whatever directory/folder your primary network domain name is assigned to.

WordPress MU Domain Mapping – Installation

  1. Install the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin in the usual way.
  2. Once the plugin is installed, some manual configuration is necessary. Follow instructions here: wordpress-mu-domain-mapping/installation/

WordPress MU Domain Mapping – Map Domain Name to Network Site

  1. Create new network-child site (examplenetwork.com/newsite)
  2. Log in to 1and1.com admin > Domains
  3. Click the checkbox of domain name (mynewsite.com) > Destination > Edit Destination
  4. Set “Destination” to “Home Directory”
  5. Set “Home Directory” to the root folder of the network site “/examplenetwork/”
  6. Click OK
  7. Return to examplenetwork.com/wp-admin
  8. Go to the top navigation “My Sites” > “Network Admin” > “Dashboard”
  9. Go to “Settings” > “Domain Mapping”
  10. Set “Server CNAME domain” to “examplenetwork.com”
  11. Under “Domain Options” check
    • Remote Login
    • Permanent Redirect
    • User Domain Mapping Page
    • Redirect administration pages to site’s original domain
  12. Click SAVE
  13. Go to “Sites” > “All Sites”
  14. Hover on “/newsite/” and click “Dashboard”
  15. Go to “Tools” > “Domain Mapping”
  16. Under “Add New Domain” enter “mynewsite.com”
  17. Check “Primary domain for this blog”
  18. Click ADD

NOW SIT BACK AND PATIENTLY WAIT TO SEE IF IT WORKS

5 thoughts on “WordPress Multisite and Domain Mapping on 1and1.com Shared Hosting”

  1. Hej!
    Thank you really much for this! I’ve been trying to get the multi-sites running for a while and just couldn’t!
    I will have 5 different (maybe even more) blog/sites in the next year, and this was the solution to it!
    I have only one problem… once I set up everything and put the address of the “child” site, it redirects me to the “network” site… any ideas why?
    And again, thank you really much for posting this!

  2. Hi! Thanks for the guide. I have several domains mapped already, but now I have this problem. I want to map one external domain with a blog from my network, so it is not possible to do the step 5: Set “Home Directory” to the root folder of the network site “/examplenetwork/”. The only thing I can do is a http adressing, but it doesn’t work. Any ideas? Thanks!

  3. @JuanBlan – If the domain name is external, you need to set its name servers to point to those provided for your 1and1 account. Once you get those settings in place, it should behave exactly like a native 1and1-managed domain name. Let me know if you have other questions.

  5. I’m sorry but it still doesn’t work for me. I have pointed my domain flamencool.net to juanblan.co (where my blog network is installed) by changing its DNS and using the juanblan.co’s ones (ns63.1and1.es and ns64.1and1.es) and pointing to the root. Then it redirects you to flamencool.net/defaultsite, a domain park from 1and1. And if I redirect it not also by DNS but http redirection to juanblan.co, it just redirects it to the juanblan.co main site. Thanks for the help!

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