I came across this great video today from Derek Sivers – he’s just released his new book, Anything You Want, and is apparently doing a series of short videos covering some of the topics in the book.  I’ve worked in large and small companies and non-profit organizations and these “punish everyone” policies are everywhere – I’m making it my mission to get rid of them, and add some common-sense back in, where-ever possible.

Enjoy!

YouTube Preview Image

(h/t to Think Vitamin)

{ 0 comments }

After spending several hours poring over a variety of sites, tutorials, forums, and FAQs, I was able to get the following configuration working on my main site and all subdomains1:

This guide will cover how to setup custom domain mapping for subdomains on a WordPress 3.0+ multisite platform using the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin. There will be a separate guide for setting up Thesis 1.8 on those subdomains.

Getting started

First, I’m assuming that you have a functional install of WPMU or WordPress 3.0 with multisite enabled, and are somewhat comfortable with:

  • making simple modifications to code (PHP, CSS) files, and
  • changing DNS settings

If you’re new to WordPress, or especially if you’re new to the multisite functionality in WordPress 3.0+, then this tutorial is probably not for you. We will be making changes to core files2 and DNS settings3 — if you make a mistake you can bring down and seriously bork your site. Probably not something irreparable, but more than a minor annoyance.

Also, I would recommend at least a passing familiarity with FTP software4 and text editors.56

Still here?

Okay, let’s get started…

Installing WordPress MU Domain Mapping

The WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin permits users of a WordPress MU site or WordPress 3.0 network to map their blog/site to another domain.

This plugin must be installed manually – it will not work correctly if you try to use the Plugins -> Add New functionality from your dashboard.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Download the plugin and unzip it.
  2. Upload the plugin to wp-content/plugins.
    WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin location
  3. Go to Plugins, then Network Activate the plugin.
  4. Now you need to edit your wp-config.php file. This file is typically located in the root of your domain (e.g. “public_html/”).
    WordPress MU Domain Mapping - Step 4
  5. Uncomment the SUNRISE definition line:
    define ('SUNRISE','on')
  6. If you don’t see the SUNRISE definition line on your wp-config.php file, then add it to the line above the last "require_once"command.
  7. The COOKIE_DOMAIN definition will conflict with logins on your mapped domains, so go ahead and comment this out as well:
    //define('COOKIE_DOMAIN',")

Setting up DNS for your subdomains

I use separate providers for my domain registration and my WPMU hosting, so the steps below are what I used to get everything up and running.

Your steps may vary depending on your setup and the tools offered by your domain registration and hosting providers, but the general process is the same.

FYI, I like to keep Network Tools handy during this process so I can make quick checks of the DNS settings.

Here we go…

  1. Login to your domain registrar and edit the DNS settings for the domain (mysite.com) you want to point to the WordPress subdomain (mysite.mywordpress.com).
  2. Change the nameservers for the domain (mysite.com) to the nameservers of your hosting provider. For example, ns##.domainregistrar.com would change to ns##.webhosting.com.7
  3. Login to your hosting provider and park the new domain (mysite.com).
  4. Wait. It can take anywhere from a few minutes (typical) to a few hours (unlikely, but possible) for all of these changes to propogate throughout the system, so go grab a cup of coffee and check everything when you get back.

Now that everything is resolving correctly, we can go back to WordPress…

Configuring the WordPress MU Domain Mapping plugin

  1. Go to Network Admin -> Settings -> Domain Mapping to create the domain mapping database table and set the IP address to point your domains to (this is the IP address for your site, provided by your hosting company).
  2. Domain mapping configuration

  3. You can learn more about the Domain Options on this page from the plugin page, but here’s a quick overview (thanks, Otto!):
    • Remote Login: This will make your login pages for all sites redirect to your main site to do the actual login. The benefit of this is that when you log in to one, you log into all of them. The downside is that the URL changes to another domain in order to log in.
    • Permanent redirect: This makes your subdomain or subdirectory sites redirect to their domains. You should leave this on.
    • User domain mapping page: Turn this on if you want users to be able to put in their own domains for mapping.
    • Redirect administration pages to blog’s original domain (remote login disabled if redirect disabled): This makes all admin pages show up on the original domain instead of on the new domains. You need this enabled for remote login to work.

Once the plugin is configured, it’s time to actually map your domain!

Mapping your domain

The simplest way to map a domain to one of your sites is through the user dashboard.89

  1. Log into the site (mysite.mywordpress.com) you actually want to map to a new domain (mysite.com), then go to Tools->Domain Mapping.
  2. Put in a new domain and set it as the primary.
    Domain Mapping
  3. Click the Set Primary Domain button.

That’s it! You should now have your domain (mysite.com) redirecting to your WordPress subdomain (mysite.domain.com). Hoorah!

  1. A subdomain would look like this: http://subdomain.domain.com. A subdirectory would look like this: http://domain.com/subdirectory. The steps below are for subdomains only. The same functionality should be available for subdirectories, but that is beyond the scope of this tutorial. []
  2. how your site looks and functions []
  3. how you are found on the ‘net []
  4. I use Filezilla. []
  5. I use Notepad++. []
  6. Many hosting providers have web-based tools that provide some of this functionality, but for this tutorial Filezilla/Notepad++ are a better choice. []
  7. You know that these are examples, right? The ##s would be replaced by real numbers and the “domainregistrar.com” and “webhosting.com” would be replaced by the real names. Ok? Just checking. []
  8. This assumes that you checked the User domain mapping page option above. []
  9. You can also set domain mapping through the Network Admin panel. []

{ 2 comments }

A spring refresh

April 11, 2011

If you haven’t visited the site in awhile, it’s time to come back for another look! I’ve added a Resources page with: A cheatsheet for your DNS settings (especially useful for those who are using a GoDaddy domain with Page.ly hosting and Google Apps for email.) A set of shared bookmarks from my pinboard.in account. [...]

Read the full article →

The roundup…

April 11, 2011

A collection of my favorite bits from around the web, in no particular order… Josh Nimoy on the secrets behind the special effects in Tron Legacy An uber-geeky, but fascinating look at some of the technologies behind the scenes in the movie. Hint: that stuff you see on the screen isn’t just gobbledy-gook. (via: core77) [...]

Read the full article →

This week’s roundup: Interesting tidbits on the web

March 22, 2011

How to use LinkedIn (corporette.com) Especially relevant since I seem to be getting a handful of new connection requests each day – some from friends and colleagues, some from random strangers…  How I use LinkedIn has definitely changed over time and will continue to do so as my needs change and the service itself changes. [...]

Read the full article →

The roundup…

February 28, 2011

Thought I’d pass along a few of the interesting sites I found last week… Inventables Bendable wood, aluminum foam, and translucent concrete are just some of the super-cool (and pretty affordable) materials available from Inventables – the “innovator’s hardware store”. Web design tools and resources I use A pretty comprehensive list of resources (with links) [...]

Read the full article →

Getting started: Making your site dynamic.

January 15, 2011

So, you’ve created a great website for your business and sent an email out to friends and family letting them know you’re up and running. You’re all done… Just sit back and let the traffic come to you, right? Not quite. Your website is only the starting point for building your reputation, creating a community, [...]

Read the full article →

Refactoring your business

January 14, 2011

Software developers periodically refactor their code to make it cleaner, more usable, more effective, more scaleable, etc.  Some designers do this as well. And, maybe it’s time to apply this concept to your business as well. Refactoring can be described as: …a disciplined technique for restructuring an existing body of code, altering its internal structure [...]

Read the full article →

Design resource of the day: 65 of the best website designs in 2010

January 12, 2011

I don’t know why they picked 65 sites to highlight (probably because everyone is tired of “Top Ten” lists), but it’s a great resource to see what good design looks like. Some of my faves: Like: Bold typography, clear message, plus a sense of humor. Like: Use of bright colors and “handwritten” typography; all emphasizing [...]

Read the full article →

Tiny house, tiny web?

July 21, 2010

While I was catching up on emails and RSS feeds yesterday, I ran across this video for Tumbleweed Tiny Houses. I’m not sure how I originally found these guys, but somehow over time I’ve become quite a fan (of their company and their houses). Their philosophy of building houses that provide “just what is needed [...]

Read the full article →