WordPress Multisite vs. Multiple Single Sites

• Multisite allows one dashboard to control many sites. Great for organizations, schools, or brands that want centralized management.
• Multiple single sites give full independence. Each has its own plugins, themes, and hosting resources, making them more customizable and isolated.
• The right choice depends on goals and growth. Multisite works well for connected sites, while single installations are better if each site needs unique control.

Managing more than one website comes with big decisions: should you use a single WordPress Multisite installation or manage multiple, separate single sites? The choice isn’t just a matter of convenience; it has significant implications for your workflow, security, and scalability.

Understanding the differences will help you decide which approach makes the most sense for your business or project.

What Is WordPress Multisite?

A WordPress Multisite network allows you to run multiple websites from a single WordPress installation. All sites in the network share the same core WordPress files, themes, and plugins. You log into one dashboard, and from there you can create, update, and manage many sites at once.

It works best for businesses with several branded sites, universities or schools with sites for departments, and organizations managing sites for different regions or divisions.

Pros of WordPress Multisite

1. Centralized updates – From one dashboard, you can update WordPress core, themes, and plugins for your entire network with a single click.
2. Easier management – Users can be given access to multiple sites with a single login, making it easy to manage permissions and roles across your network.
3. Efficient hosting – Since all sites share the same core files, themes, and plugins, a Multisite can be more efficient in terms of server space compared to multiple, separate installations.

Cons of WordPress Multisite

1. Single point of failure – This is the most significant risk. A security breach or a critical error in one part of the network can take down or compromise every single site within the network.
2. Limited plugin and theme compatibility – Not all themes and plugins are designed to work in a Multisite environment, which can restrict the functionality you can offer to individual site administrators.
3. Complex troubleshooting – While updating is easier, troubleshooting can be much harder since all sites share the same code base.

What Are Multiple Single Sites?

This is the standard, most common WordPress setup. Each installation runs on its own, with its own dashboard, plugins, and resources.

It works best for businesses with websites that need very different features, agencies managing client websites, or anyone who wants each site completely isolated from the others.

Pros of Multiple Single Sites

1. Safety – Each site is completely isolated, so a security breach or performance issue on one site will not affect the others.
2. Flexibility and customization – Each site can use its own unique set of plugins and themes. There are no compatibility restrictions imposed by the network.
3. Simplified migration and backups – Backing up and migrating a single site is straightforward. Many hosts and plugins offer one-click solutions, which is far simpler than trying to extract a single site from a complex Multisite network.

Cons of Multiple Single Sites

1. High administrative overhead – Managing multiple sites means logging into each one individually to perform updates, which can lead to missed updates and security vulnerabilities.
2. Inefficient use of server resources – Each WordPress installation has its own set of core files, themes, and plugins, which means you are storing multiple copies of the same files on your server.
3. Inconsistent user experience and branding – Without a centralized system, it’s easy for sites to drift in terms of design, branding, and functionality.

Whether you choose Multisite for convenience or separate installs for flexibility, CanSpace Solutions delivers Canada’s best WordPress hosting. Our WordPress-optimized servers are monitored 24/7, include a free Web Application Firewall that preemptively blocks hack attempts (even on outdated core/plugins), and run under 1% average load in a facility built to deflect 99% of DDoS attacks. With all our people and infrastructure in Canada, our team will guide you every step of the way. Contact us anytime for reliable and secure WordPress hosting.