Why Enterprise Websites Should Consider WordPress Multisite

What is WordPress Multisite?

Multisite is a standard feature in WordPress that lets you run and manage numerous websites from a single WordPress installation. That means one dashboard and codebase to control all of your organisation’s websites.

Each site in the network can have its own content, users, design, and purpose. Every site can be fully unique and customised, but everything is controlled from one central place.

It’s ideal for organisations that need to manage various websites at once — like regional sites, campaign microsites, or different brand properties. 

With Multisite, you can spin up new sites quickly, share resources across the network, and update everything in one go.

See three case studies below showcasing some of the ways we’ve applied Multisite solutions to group website projects.

Discover our complete guide to using WordPress Multisite →

Activate Learning

Itineris collaborated with Activate Learning to develop a network of WordPress websites for the college group. The project included seven individual college sites and a central group site, each designed to establish a unified brand identity, improve site maintenance, and enhance student engagement. Visit the website.

Inspire Education Group

Our team partnered with Inspire Education Group to deliver a scalable WordPress Multisite platform, uniting multiple college brands under one roof. Each site retained its unique identity while benefiting from centralised management and personalised course content. Visit the website.

Chichester College Group

We worked with Chichester College Group to create a Multisite platform, connecting six college websites with a central hub. The solution balanced group-wide consistency with local relevance. MIS and eCommerce integrations streamlined user journeys and enrolment. Visit the website.

How WordPress Multisite Solves Enterprise Website Problems

Enterprises can face plenty of struggles when managing large and growing digital needs. 

First and foremost, different departments or regions might run their own websites on different platforms. This approach means you have a mix of systems, processes, and suppliers in place, which makes each site difficult to manage.

And when you’re managing different websites independently, brand consistency becomes tricky to maintain. Websites on different platforms often look and feel completely separate, which is far from ideal if the different sites ultimately fall under one unified brand.

Then there’s the matter of maintaining a network of disjointed enterprise websites. Security updates are often handled manually and at completely different schedules. 

Finally, disconnected enterprise website management is expensive. Costs stack up fast with separate hosting, plugins, and support for each site. 

In short, disjointed websites can be a mess. And, they only become more of a headache as your digital presence grows.

WordPress Multisite solves all of these challenges with a straightforward solution. It gives enterprises a centralised, scalable way to manage their entire digital estate, while still giving local teams the flexibility they need.

Challenge	How WordPress Multisite Helps
Mixed systems and processes	Unifies all sites under one platform and dashboard, streamlining workflows, reducing complexity, and simplifying governance across departments or regions.
Maintenance and security	Centralises updates and patches, ensuring consistent security protocols across all sites and reducing the risk of vulnerabilities.
Expensive	Consolidates hosting, development, and plugin costs by running all websites on a single codebase – dramatically lowering the total cost of ownership.
Inconsistent branding	Enables shared themes and components, allowing for consistent brand presentation while still allowing for localised customisation.
Messy to control	Gives central admins full oversight of the entire network while still empowering local teams – making it far easier to manage large-scale digital estates.

9 Advantages of WordPress Multisite for Enterprise

For any enterprise web presence, choosing the right CMS is a major decision.

WordPress usage has increased an average of 12% per year since 2011, powering over 43% of all websites. Clearly, there are many compelling reasons to choose WordPress as an enterprise CMS (particularly WordPress VIP), but one standout feature is Multisite. 

Here are some of the biggest advantages of using it.

Single Dashboard to Manage a Website Network

The biggest and most obvious advantage of Multsite is how much more convenient and streamlined it makes managing multiple websites.

With WordPress Multisite, you get one central place to manage all your websites. That means one login, one dashboard, and one control panel for everything — whether you’re managing five sites or five hundred. 

It’s significantly easier than jumping between different platforms or systems. You can oversee users, themes, plugins, and updates from one location.

It’s perfect for enterprise teams who need oversight, consistency, and efficiency across a large digital presence.

Consistency and Customisation

Multisite makes it easy to keep your brand consistent across all websites. 

You can share themes, layouts, and components so that everything aligns with your visual identity. At the same time, local teams can customise content to suit their audience or region.

You can also host completely different brands on the same network, each with its own look and feel. So you get the best of both worlds: strong governance at the top, and flexibility on the ground.

Keep Your Entire Network Safely Updated

Security is far easier with Multisite. You only need to apply updates once, and then the update is pushed across your entire network. 

Whether it’s a plugin, a theme, or the WordPress core, staying on top of updates is a lot more streamlined. 

This reduces the risk of missing patches on individual sites and helps keep everything secure. It also gives IT teams more confidence that the whole platform is up to date and protected.

Saves Time

Launching a new site on Multisite is very quick and easy. You don’t have to set up a new server or install WordPress from scratch. 

All you need to do is create a new site within the network and get started.

And when the site is up and running, updates, user permissions, and shared features can all be managed centrally. That means less back-and-forth and fewer manual tasks for your team.

Saves Money

By running everything through one WordPress installation, you can vastly reduce costs on hosting, backups, and third-party tools. 

You also save money on development and support by reusing components and managing a single platform. As long as you have the support and expertise available to manage one WordPress site, you can apply this to all of the websites within your network. This is far more efficient than trying to manage different sites across different CMS platforms.

Easier Maintenance 

Multisite runs on one codebase, so maintenance is far more straightforward.

Instead of maintaining dozens of separate websites, you just have to manage a single environment.

You only need to test and deploy updates once. And if you’re rolling out a new feature, you can do it across all sites in one go. This makes things easier for your developers and more stable for your users.

Scaling is More Efficient

Whether you’re adding three new brands or rolling out 200 regional sites, Multisite makes it possible. This means you can scale quickly and confidently without the usual complexity.

Because everything is built on the same platform, you can apply performance improvements and new features across the entire network. This is especially valuable for enterprises that need to move fast and adapt often.

And when you do scale your enterprise digital presence, you can maintain a level of consistency. This is important for keeping brand integrity and maintaining a relatable digital presence for your audience.

Flexible Domain Opportunities

Multisite gives you options when it comes to domains. You can use subdomains (like uk.brand.com), subdirectories (like brand.com/uk), or completely separate domain names (like brand.co.uk).

This flexibility helps you structure your sites in a way that fits your strategy, whether that’s by region, language, product, or brand.

Streamlined Management

Once it’s set up, WordPress Multisite is surprisingly easy to manage. 

Admins can oversee the whole network, while individual site managers can work on their own sites without affecting others.

You can set permissions and workflows to suit your team’s needs. And because everything is centralised, it’s far easier to keep control over your web presence, even as it grows.

A Smarter Way to Manage Enterprise Websites

There are many strong reasons why WordPress makes sense for enterprise digital experiences. For organisations with a large digital footprint, Multisite is one of the smartest solutions to employ. 

At Itineris, we’ve worked with many enterprises that have used Multisite to transform the way they manage their digital presence. 

Need help getting your Multisite network set up? Just get in touch.